Abstract
Poultry houses are one of the major sources of agricultural particulate matter (PM) emissions into the environment. Litter properties, poultry activities, and indoor climate of poultry houses are the main parameters that influence the dust emission, but precise quantitative effects and their interactions are hardly known. The objective of this study was to gain quantitative insight into the dust spreading process from poultry litter by using the discrete parcel method (DPM) and global sensitivity analysis (GSA).The dust spreading process includes the creep, suspension, and saltation of fine particles was simulated with the DPM within the aerial region close to the litter. The simulations proved that a collision between an object and the litter should happen to release particles from the litter into the air. It was indicated that the released particles with a diameter ≥30 μm and particle density ≥1400 kg m −3 were deposited on the litter for all tested air velocities. Also, particles <10 μm diameter remained suspended for airflow velocities >1.5 m s −1 . The GSA indicated that the creep process has a direct relation with the airflow velocity and coefficient of restitution and an inverse relation with the particle density and the coefficient of friction. Overall, it was shown that the DPM is a suitable numerical technique to simulate the dust spreading process, and hence, it can be recommended for future studies to examine this process on larger scales. • The DPM is a suitable numerical technique to simulate the dust spreading process. • A collision with sufficient energy should happen to release dust from litter into the indoor air. • The fine dust release process is very sensitive to the litter density and the airflow velocity. • The fine dust with a diameter smaller than 10 μm will not settle in the presence of airflow. • The creep process is less sensitive to the coefficient of restitution between litter particles.
Highlights
Cage-free poultry houses, such as the aviary housing system commonly used for laying hens, emit a considerable amount of organic particulate matter (PM)1 into the air which has adverse effects on human and animal health
The boundary layer of the airflow within a poultry barn was simulated by the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and it was accurately validated based on Spalding's equation with % errors of 1.9 and 2.1 for the indoor air velocities of 0.5 m sÀ1 and 2.5 m sÀ1, respectively
Single particle sedimentation (SPS) within the air was simulated by the discrete parcel method (DPM) with a percentage error of 1.1 that proved the accuracy of the DPM model for simulating the spreading process of fine dust within the air
Summary
Cage-free poultry houses, such as the aviary housing system commonly used for laying hens, emit a considerable amount of organic particulate matter (PM) into the air which has adverse effects on human and animal health I. Cambra-Lopez, Hermosilla, Lai, Aarnink, & Ogink, 2011; de Rooij et al, 2019; Winkel, Mosquera, Groot Koerkamp, Ogink, & Aarnink, 2015). The fine dust (PM10, PM2.5, or even smaller) mainly originates from the litter and is emitted into the air due to different poultry activities in the litter. Litter coverage of the floor is Nomenclature Symbol Description. Latin Cþ Cf DEFGKK ksl M Ps P R Re T U uþ ut x, y, z yþ Subscripts AFNPT ∞. Air Fluid Normal; normalized Particle Tangential Free airflow. Smooth wall constant Skin friction coefficient Diameter Coefficient of restitution Force Gravitational acceleration Von Karman constant Stiffness Interphase exchange coefficient Mass Close-pack pressure constant Pressure Radius Reynolds number Time Velocity Dimensionless velocity Friction velocity Characteristic distances Dimensionless wall distance
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