Conventional air filtration cleaning systems don't work well in hog buildings because the abundance of dust quickly clogs filters. Frequent upkeep is needed for filtration efficiency, reducing economic payback.
A non-contact, spiral air cleaning system has been developed at the University of Illinois. It has been proven to capture about 80% of the odor-carrying dust particles.
Dust-laden air enters the dust separator or "deduster" from guide vanes, as shown in Figure 1. The deduster is similar to a large room air filter. But it differs in that it uses centrifugal force to separate and capture the dust particles, instead of using porous air filters that tend to clog quickly in hog buildings.
Dust particles are separated as they flow toward the exterior cylinder, dropping into a bin which can be cleaned periodically.
The deduster works in natural or mechanically ventilated hog barns to reduce the amount of dust that would normally be exhausted from the facility and possibly produce odor downwind.
There are three main advantages to the deduster. First, it only has one moving part, the recirculation fan that pulls air through the unit. Second, there are no filters to clog up; the dust is collected and drops into a bin that can be easily emptied when full and clean air is exhausted. Third, the deduster is projected to offer a relatively low cost and energy usage.
A second generation prototype of the deduster is being tested.
Researcher: Yuanhui Zhang, University of Illinois. Phone: 217-333-2693; e-mail: yzhang1@uiuc.edu.