Simulation of Air Quality and Cost to Ventilate Swine Farrowing Facilities in Winter

Details

• Personal Author:
  Altmaier R ; Anthony, T. Renée ; Park JH ; Peters TM ; Sawvel RA
• Description:
  We developed a simulation model to study the effect of ventilation airflow rate with and without filtered recirculation on airborne contaminant concentrations (dust, NH3, CO, and CO2) for swine farrowing facilities. Energy and mass balance equations were used to simulate the indoor air quality and operational cost for a variety of ventilation conditions over a 3-month winter period, using time-varied outdoor temperature. The sensitivity of input and output parameters on indoor air quality and operational cost were evaluated. Significant factors affecting model output included mean winter temperature, generation rate of contaminants, pit-air-exchange ratio, and recirculation ratio. As mean outdoor temperature was decreased from -2.5 degrees C to -12.5 degrees C, total operational costs were increased from $872 to $1304. Dust generation rate affected dust concentrations linearly. When dust generation rates changed -50% and +100% from baseline, indoor dust concentrations were changed -50% and +100%, respectively. The selection of a pit-air-exchange ratio was found critical to NH3 concentration, but has little impact on other contaminants or cost. As the pit-air-exchange ratio was increased from 0.1 to 0.3, the NH3 concentration was increased by a factor of 1.5. The recirculation ratio affected both IAQ factors and total operational cost. As the recirculation ratio decreased to 0, inhalable and respirable dust concentrations, humidity, NH3 and CO2 concentrations decreased and total operational cost ($2216) was 104% more than with pit-fan-only ventilation ($1088). When the recirculation ratio was 1, the total operational cost was increased by $573 (53%) compared to pit-fan-only. Simulation provides a useful tool for examining the costs and benefits to installing common ventilation technology to CAFO and, ultimately, making sound management decisions. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution Air Pollution, Indoor Dust Farmers Livestock Occupational Health Safety Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Airborne Particles Air Contaminants Air Quality Ammonia Author Keywords: Swine Farrowing Facility Dusts IAQ Indoor Air Quality Livestock Industry Simulation Simulation Methods Simulink Ventilation Systems

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• ISSN:
  0168-1699
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement ; Grant
• 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
• Pages in Document:
  136-145
• Volume:
  98
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20052791
• Citation:
  Comput Electron Agric 2013 Oct; 98:136-145
• Contact Point Address:
  Thomas M. Peters, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Iowa, IA
• Email:
  thomas-m-peters@uiowa.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Ammonia (CAS RN 7664-41-7) ; Carbon dioxide (CAS RN 124-38-9) ; Carbon monoxide (CAS RN 630-08-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Iowa, Iowa City
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20010930
• Source Full Name:
  Computers and Electronics in Agriculture
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:78038bc5f241d4c7f816680e524f155b3762d1844613742c08e0ac57f23297b235dad4b5ad9bf50d94dbc4945aa96f03a6938aabd20babf7caf3c780b5d8d1c1
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/212265/cdc_212265_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 864.13 KB ]