Evaluation of a shaker dust collector for use in a recirculating ventilation system

Details

• Personal Author:
  Anthony, T. Renée ; Park JH ; Peters TM ; Sawvel RA
• Description:
  General ventilation with recirculated air may be cost-effective to control the concentration of low-toxicity, contaminants in workplaces with diffuse, dusty operations, such as in agriculture. Such systems are, however, rarely adopted with little evidence showing improved air quality and ability to operate under harsh conditions. The goal of this work was to examine the initial and long-term performance of a fabric-filter shaker dust collector (SDC) in laboratory tests and as deployed within a recirculating ventilation system in an agricultural building. In laboratory tests, collection efficiency and pressure drop were tracked over several filter loading cycles, and the recovery of filter capacity (pressure drop) from filter shaking was examined. Collection efficiencies of particles larger than 5 microm was high (>95%) even when the filter was pristine, showing effective collection of large particles that dominate inhalable concentrations typical of agricultural dusts. For respirable-sized particles, collection efficiencies were low when the filter was pristine (e.g., 27% for 1 microm) but much higher when a dust cake developed on the filter (>99% for all size particles), even after shaking (e.g., 90% for 1 microm). The first shake of a filter was observed to recovery a substantial fraction of filter capacity, with subsequent shakes providing little benefit. In field tests, the SDC performed effectively over a period of three months in winter when incorporated in a recirculating ventilation system of a swine farrowing room. Trends in collection efficiency and pressure drop with loading were similar to those observed in the laboratory with overall collection efficiencies high (>80%) when pressure drop exceeded 230 Pa, or 23% of the maximum loading recommended by the manufacturer. This work shows that the SDC can function effectively over the harsh winter in swine rearing operations. Together with findings of improved air quality in the farrowing room reported in a companion manuscript, this work provides evidence that an SDC represents a cost-effective solution to improve air quality in agricultural settings. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Air Pollutants, Occupational Dust Environmental Health Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Agricultural-industry Airborne-dusts Airborne-particles Air Cleaner Author Keywords: Fabric Filter Control-technology Dust-control-equipment Fabric-filters General Ventilation Indoor-environmental-quality Indoor Air Quality Inhalable Particles Respirable-dust Ventilation-systems

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• ISSN:
  1545-9624
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Iowa ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  12
• Issue:
  9
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046184
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Hyg 2015 Sep; 12(9):D201-D210
• Contact Point Address:
  Thomas M. Peters, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242
• Email:
  thomas-m-peters@uiowa.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Iowa, Iowa City
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20010930
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:41b36826bf0f9fef3b8482d998ee509b4bd2c80b0c837a67f96178bc58ea2e2ef72aa3f17fecb7c2a7b06fd57afaa4495c39730710a2209e7cb36668cde9069b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/201311/cdc_201311_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 449.35 KB ]