Evaluation of Electrostatic Particle Ionization and BioCurtainT Technologies to Reduce Air Pollutants from Broiler Houses

Abstract

The continuing growth of poultry production, along with the increasing urbanization of rural areas, is leading to more odor-related complaints from neighboring communities and more scrutiny from policy makers. It is therefore in the best interest of poultry producers to look at control methods for abating odors. Previous studies have shown that substantial amounts of volatile and odorous compounds are adsorbed and transported by dust particles. Thus, by reducing the amount of dust emitted from the poultry facilities such as broiler houses, odor may be reduced as well. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of two commercially available control technologies (BioCurtain™ and electrostatic particle ionization (EPI™) system) in reducing the total suspended particulate matter (TSP), ammonia (NH3), and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) emitted from a broiler facility in Texas. The study was conducted at a broiler production facility in two identically designed, ventilated, and managed broiler houses where one served as the treatment house and the other, the control. Measurements were done on two consecutive days each in September and December 2010. BioCurtain™ was tested independently on the first day and in combination with and the EPI™ on the second day. Reductions in the NH3 and H2S emission rates by as much as 9% (1060 vs. 960 g/hr for NH3 and 9.3 vs. 8.5 g/hr for H2S) and by as much as 43% (396 vs. 227 g/hr) for the TSP emission rates were achieved with the BioCurtain™. The EPI™ system reduced the NH3 and TSP emission rates by as much as 17% and 39%, respectively.