K. Rosentrater. “Laboratory Analysis of an Electrostatic Dust Collection System”. Agricultural Engineering International: the CIGR Journal of Scientific Research and Development. Manuscript BC 03 008. April, 2004. 1 Laboratory Analysis of an Electrostatic Dust Collection System K. A. Rosentrater Department of Engineering and Industrial Technology Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, 60115, USA Phone: (815) 753-9932; Fax: (815) 753-3702; Email: krosen@ceet.niu.edu ABSTRACT An electrostatic precipitator dust collector was investigated to determine the strength of the electromagnetic field between the system’s discharge and collection electrodes, as well as the collector’s ability to remove airborne particles. The system was tested in a laboratory chamber utilizing water-based aerosol particles to simulate dust particulates. The developed electromagnetic field behaved in a nonlinear fashion: field strength decreased exponentially with horizontal distance from the centerline of the collector, but varied quadratically with vertical distance from the collection electrode, with the maximum field strength occurring near the discharge electrode. Furthermore, for all coordinate directions examined, field strength increased as applied voltage potential between the electrodes increased. Additionally, this system reduced airborne particle concentrations exponentially, and produced removal rates between 8 and 13 times greater than gravitational settling alone. Keywords Dust Collector, Dust Control, Dust Extractor, Electromagnetic Field, Electrostatic Precipitator, Evaluation INTRODUCTION Dust, a major challenge in modern livestock operations, originates from multiple sources, including dry animal skin, hair, feces, and feed particles (Bundy, 1989; Donham and Gustafson, 1982). Its behavior is influenced by many environmental factors, including air temperature, humidity, flow rate, type and amount of feed provided, and animal activity level (Butera et al., 1991; Dawson, 1990; Heber and Stroik, 1987; Predicala et al., 2001; Qi et al., 1992). Many studies have quantified dust levels in livestock housing, especially in swine facilities. Heber and Stroik (1987) investigated 11 commercial swine finishing units and found total aerial dust concentrations ranging from 212,000 to 73,550,000 particles/m 3 , with an average level of 11,209,000 particles/m 3 . Honey and McQuitty (1979) investigated aerial dust levels in a chamber that simulated a swine environment and found an average total dust concentration of 5,160,000 particles/m 3 . Numerous studies have also examined mass concentrations of airborne swine dust, and have found levels ranging from 0.36 to 38.2 mg/m 3 (Heber and Stroik, 1987), 1.0 to 100.0 mg/m 3 (Carpenter, 1986),