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Evaluation of particulate matter and airborne pathogen mitigation with filtration and UV-A photocatalysis

Published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org

Citation:  2022 ASABE Annual International Meeting  2200366.(doi:10.13031/aim.202200366)
Authors:   Myeongseong Lee, Jacek Koziel, Nubia R Macedo, Peiyang Li, Baitong Chen, William Jenks, Jeffrey Zimmerman, Vincent Paris
Keywords:   air pollution control, biosecurity, animal diseases, ultraviolet light, advanced oxidation, filtration, environmental technology.

Abstract. This study evaluated the use of filtration and UV-A photocatalysis for the reduction of particulate matter (PM) and airborne bacterial pathogens in swine barns. Two MERV filters (8 and 15-rated) were used to mitigate PM concentrations measured at the PM 1, PM 2.5, respirable PM, and PM 10 ranges. Filtration was also used to generate different levels of airborne pathogens to be treated by UV-A. Results show that MERV 8 and 15 filters effectively reduced PM concentrations (96–98%) in air exhausted from a swine barn (p ranged from <0.01 to 0.04). UV-A photocatalysis did not mitigate PM concentrations. UV-A photocatalysis treatment reduced measured colony-forming units (CFUs) by 15–95%. The CFU percent reduction was higher when airborne PM concentration was low. The numeric results suggested a real mitigation effect despite p-values that did not meet the usual statistical cut-off of <0.05 for significance due to the large variability of the CFU control samples. Normalization of measured airborne pathogen concentrations by smaller PM size range concentrations led to emerging significant treatment differences for CFUs. A significant decrease (~51% reduction; p < 0.02) in the concentration of viable airborne bacteria was shown for all PM below the 10-micron range.

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