National Agricultural Library

Application of an electrostatic space charge system for dust, ammonia, and pathogen reduction in a broiler breeder house

Airborne dust in poultry housing is known to be one of the primary means by which disease-causing organisms are spread throughout a house. An electrostatic space charge system (ESCS) was used to reduce airborne dust in a small-scale broiler breeder house. The system used ceiling fans to distribute negatively charged air throughout the room and to move negatively charged dust downward toward the grounded litter where most of it would be captured. The system significantly (P < 0.0001) reduced airborne dust by an average of 61%, ammonia by an average of 56% (P < 0.0001), and airborne bacteria by 67% (P < 0.0001). Earlier studies with an ESCS have resulted in significant reductions of airborne dust, bacteria, and airborne transmission of disease in poultry hatching cabinets, caged layer rooms, and in controlled environment disease transmission cabinets. The ESCS was shown to be a reliable and easily maintained system for reducing airborne dust, ammonia, and bacteria in a small broiler breeder house. Results of this study combined with the results of related ESCS studies suggest that the system could probably be scaled up to full-sized production houses for poultry or other animals for dust reduction, pathogen reduction, and possibly ammonia reduction. All of the applications have potential for improving human health as well as animal health.

Applied Engineering in Agriculture

Volume 20, Number 1

pp. 87-93