AAAR 35th Annual Conference October 17 - October 21, 2016 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
Laboratory Scale Pig Buildings: A Controlled Environment to Develop Reduction Strategies for Airborne Contaminants
JONATHAN PILOTE, Valérie Létourneau, Ariane Lévesque, Matthieu Girard, Stéphane Godbout, Stéphane.P Lemay, Caroline Duchaine, CRIUCPQ, Université Laval
Abstract Number: 569 Working Group: Bioaerosols
Abstract Pig buildings produce and emit a large amount of airborne contaminants in the environment. Odours, gas, dust, and airborne microbes have already been blamed for the emergence of infectious, toxic, and inflammatory-based diseases diagnosed among exposed humans and animals. Eight laboratory scale pig buildings are used to test the efficiency of three distinct technologies aiming to reduce airborne contaminants in these working environments. New technologies such as vegetal oil spraying, separation of the liquid from the solid phase in manure using a v-shaped gutter and scrapper as well as an air treatment unit (ATU) are explored. In this experimental setup, pigs are used as a natural and continuous source of aerosols, odours and gases. Four experimental replicates are realised in order to investigate all possible combinations of these technologies. Each replicate is spread through seven weeks during which methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), ammonia (NH3) and the environmental conditions are monitored. Three times during each 7-week experiment, airborne dust and endotoxins, and bioaerosols are isokinetically sampled from the exhaust air of each chamber and downstream each air treatment unit. The airborne particles PM2.5 and PM10 are also monitored in real-time during the sampling of biological contaminants. Although biological, gas, and odour analysis are still to be completed, preliminary results show that airborne particle concentrations are reduced by the air treatment units even if ATUs are by themselves a constant source of particles. Vegetal oil spraying is as well effective at reducing airborne particles. In fact, few particles are detected in the exhaust air of chambers if oil is applied. This study confirms the usefulness and validity of the laboratory scale pig buildings for the study of bioaerosol emission control.