DEVELOPMENT A DEVICE FOR MEASURINGELECTROSTATIC CHARGE OF AIRBORNE PARTICLES IN LIVESTOCK HOUSING

A device for measuring the net charge-to-mass ratio of airborne particles was developed to measure different levels of charges. The device involves collecting particles on a filter and measuring the electrostatic charge induced on the filter with an electrometer. The reliability of the device was tested by using electrostatic charges of known magnitude and polarity. The ability of device to measure different levels of charges was also tested using different types of airborne particles, including corn starch, sodium bicarbonate, positively-charged water spray, negatively-charged water spray, and uncharged water spray. Furthermore, the device was used to measure the charge of airborne dust in livestock and poultry housing the mean net charge-to-mass ratio was +0.68 mC/kg with standard deviation of 0.31 and -1.17 mC/kg with standard deviation of 0.81, respectively. The obtained results showed a good reproducibility.