Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYGIENE AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
Volume 203, Issue 4, Pages 335-345Publisher
URBAN & FISCHER VERLAG
DOI: 10.1078/1438-4639-00035
Keywords
bioaerosol; airborne; microorganisms; endotoxin; MVOC; odour; ammonia; biofilter; reduction
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The intention of this study was the determination of the potential to reduce specific microbial bio-aerosol (cultivable bacteria and fungi, total cell counts of microbes, airborne endotoxins and microbial volatile organic compounds, MVOC), odour and ammonia emissions from a pig facility by biofilters. Five identical biofilter units in half technical scale were filled with different filter materials (Biochips, coconut-pear, wood-bark, pellets+bark and compost) and connected in parallel to a piggery. The results showed obvious differences between the filter materials. Numbers of airborne cultivable bacteria were decreased by ca. 70 to 95 % and the total counts of bacterial cells from ca. 25 to (>) 90 %. The total amount of fungal cells was reduced by at least 60 %, although the percentage of cultivable moulds in the air after passing the filters was sometimes higher than before. Airborne endotoxins and MVOC were effectively reduced by all filter materials to at least 90%. Regarding odour, the average reduction was between 40 and 83 %, whereas only one of the filters proved to be capable of slightly reducing the ammonia emissions. No relationships between odour/ ammonia and microbial bioaerosols with regard to the reduction efficiency of the different filter materials or the total load of the emitted air could be established. A tendency could be shown, that biofilters best capable to reduce odour emitted slightly more airborne bacteria, both cultivable and total cell counts.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available