Abstract
A negative ionization system was installed and evaluated in two identical swine grower/finisher rooms, an experiment and a control. A T-test was used to clarify the effect of the ionization system on three category particle counts with considerations of effects of the room temperature, relative humidity, ventilation, body mass of pigs and electrostatic voltage of the surface. From the result, there was a significant modified inhalable dust counts difference between the two rooms. Consequently, it was found that the ionization system decreased the modified inhalable dust counts significantly. Effects of ventilation and relative humidity on dust settling were not found in this study from the results of the T-test. However, the electrostatic voltage was considered as a factor which directly affects the modified inhalable dust counts in this study. Also, it was suspected that the efficiency of modified inhalable dust reduction decreased with the electrostatic voltage difference between the two rooms. The least square mean electrostatic voltage in the experimental room was 320 V compared with 137 V in the control room. The high electrostatic voltage in the experimental room did not present a hazard to operators but had an adverse effect on the dust setting.HomePageKeywords: Dust counts, air quality, ionization, electrostatics, livestock building