Getting rid of DE...

[maddbrewer]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone knows of some alternative ways of getting rid of DE...other then putting it down the drain or getting it pumped out by a outside company. Maybe mixing it with spent grain or something? Any answers would be very helpful...Thanks!

Cheers!

[lhall]

We mix our Perlite/yeast cake in with our spent grain, the farmer says the cows eat it just fine.

[pbutlert]

My filter screens have a hinge that allows the whole unit to tip to about a 60 degree angle, and I put a plastic tub with a trash bag underneath, and scrape the cakes off with a rubber spatula into the tub, then into the trash it goes.

[dogfishqc]

lhall - how did you manage to convince the farmer that it wouldn't be harmful to the cows? I think this is a great solution if the farmer goes for it.
Also any concerns about the yeast in the DE?

[lhall]

Dogfishqc,

I can't put my hands on it right now, of course... but I read a technical article somewhere that said the DE was not harmful to livestock, that it pretty much just passed through their digestive system. We have been doing this for a couple years without any problems, and the farmer is loving it.

[jarviw]

I think mixing the DE/Yeast into the spent grain for livestock is pretty standard among the German breweries. the question will be if the addition of yeast will make it too bitter for the livestock to enjoy it... usually not a problem, but may not fly if you constantly brew 100 IBU beers.

DE is really just sand if you will. the reason it's a hazardous material is because it's a fine powder when dry that's bad for the respiratory system. When wet it really doesn't do much. It's still a bitch to dispose because, well, at some point it will dry!

[bunnyfeet]

A local landscaper picks ours up, he loves it as a soil amendment. We do try to drain off as much liquid as possible into our wastewater system before he picks it up. He has no issues with the yeast content; in fact, it actually helps him as it is a source of nitrogen, minor though it may be (most of our yeast comes out in the centrifuge).

Brandon

[lhall]

Well, I spoke with Fred Scheer here in Nashville this weekend, a long-time industry vet, and he said that adding any yeast at all, even in small amounts, to spent grain without heating it up and killing it first, is a very bad idea. He mentioned an expolding cow episode when he worked at a large domestic brewery that resulted in an expensive lawsuit. So we will be finding another way to dispose of it!

[Fred Scheer]

buuuuuuuum.....their goes the cow



HI Linus:

I forgot to mention that we pumped all "spent yeast" in a tank and the heat elements in that tank keept the temperature for the yeast at all times at 170*F; which [of course] killed the yeast, and THAN we pumped the slurry to the spent grain. We found that the yeast on the filter cake was so minute that no effect on the cows could be found .
If, on a 7 BBL tank we pitch with ~ 5 gallon fresh yeast [~ 18 lbs], through the process we get ~ 25 gallons of "spent yeast".
Now, I know that Micro Brewers don't have extra tanks available,
but I think several 1/2 BBL kegs would do the trick too?!

Hope this helps,

BTW: Linus, thanks for all your Hospitality for the Craft Brewers this weekend;
your Beers are GREAT.

Fred

[Matthew Hill]

Maybe try snopes.com?

He mentioned an expolding cow episode when he worked at a large domestic brewery that resulted in an expensive lawsuit

Sound like an urban legend, albiet with a novel twist. Is that like feeding alka seltzer to seagulls? Fortunately, nature provides cows, like seagulls, with two discrete options for eliminating excess gas. I wouldn't stand on either end of that cow.

[lhall]

Fred may be an urban legend, but his story is probably not.

[Jephro]

cowboom

The Mythbusters could have a lot of fun with that one.

[lhall]

Like the one about the Hindenburg...

[dick murton]

Yeast blowing up inside animals if it is still live is certianly true enough to make the feed suppliers (who take yeast from us) insist on it being deactivated, normally by a mix of propionic acid and formic acid. I have als heard th etale about pigs blwing up - perhaps not literally, but their guts distending with CO2 evolved by the yeast - hence the need to "kill" it off

In the UK at least we are not allowed to put KG in animal feed as the KG is very abrasive, and damages teeth, which I guess wouldn't be so bad in an animal that will be killed off at a few months old, but is not so cleaver for breeding animals which might not be culled for a few years. Apparently it can really damage teeth badly enough to need to kill them off early. Unfortunately, landfill is the only option, not cheap, hence increasing interest in cross flow filtration, so no KG / perlite etc is used

Cheers

[liammckenna]

Did some feeding trials with live yeast in cattle once. They tolerate it quite well, love the taste, showed less heat stress in the summertime and had an easier time calving. They already have a huge fermentation going on inside them already with quite a mixture of organisms in their four stomachs.

Remember that cattle are ruminants, pigs are not. Cows spend all day and night belching and farting. I find it difficult to believe that a healthy cow could blow up that way.

Porky, on the other hand....

Have to agree with Dick on the dental issue and DE/KG. If the cattle are finishing/getting ready to go to market, perhaps. If they're breeding stock, I'd be wary of this practice.

Pax.

Liam