Using an improved electrostatic precipitator for poultry dust removal

Pubic concerns related to particulate matter emissions from animal housing operations are increasing. The goal of this study was to custom develop a simple and low cost electrostatic precipitator (ESP) for poultry dust control. The performance of the improved electrostatic precipitator (iESP) to remove a test aerosol was evaluated under a series of operating voltages between −60 kV and 60 kV. The mass and size distributions of the particles were measured by a cascade impactor. The overall dust removal efficiency ranged from 37% to 79% with the maximum efficiency obtained at −30 kV. The iESP shows high removal efficiencies for particles less than 2.1 μm.