Ultraviolet air freshener for poultry houses, cowsheds and pigsties with the smell of toothpaste

The researcher invented a triple action system. It not only removes dust, but with the help of ultraviolet light destroys bacteria, viruses that penetrate through filters, and at the same time aromatizes the barn.

Clean air in a barn, pigsty or poultry house is the dream of many livestock breeders and veterinarians. But what if it also smelled of minty freshness?

For Iowa State University Professor of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Jacek Koziel, the study of barn air cleanliness has been a long-standing subject of research. For the past 15 years, he has been testing the power of ultraviolet light to filter out airborne pathogens and eliminate nasty dung.

Koziel has a deep conviction that improving air quality in livestock buildings is beneficial for many reasons: workers and animals breathe a healthier atmosphere, barn odor is reduced, and at least some gaseous emissions can be reduced.

Teaming up with Kryton Engineered Metals Inc., an Iowa-based metal fabrication and molding company, and the Iowa State University Industrial Research and Service Center, the scientist upgraded an air conditioner to filter the air in large rooms.

Koziel and his team designed a box with multiple filters and ultraviolet light, a spectrum of light with wavelengths too short for the human eye to detect.

As the particles pass through the box, more than 95% of airborne pathogens and total particulate matter, or PM, the type of air pollution that causes asthma and other health problems, are reduced.

“This box is a double barrier system that not only removes dust in advance, but also uses ultraviolet light to destroy any bacteria or viruses that are still alive and passing through the filters,” says the scientist.

His recent research at the Iowa Pig Nutrition Research Farm found that ultraviolet light technology removes stink and gives the air a minty, toothpaste-like scent.

“UV light breaks down stinky chemicals in the air when it hits the surface of photocatalysts, so that was sort of our discovery. In the past, UV technology has been used for high value-added high-tech applications. But very little UV research is known in the livestock industry,” Koziel says.

Test trials are currently underway at the Robert T. Hamilton Poultry Research Center in Iowa. With a chicken room designed for students to come and observe, the team has a real-life situation where they can test the effectiveness of the Kryton FastAir prototype.