Characteristics of Agricultural Dust Emissions from Harvesting Operations: Case Study of a Whole-Feed Peanut Combine

Peng Zhang, Hongbo Xu, Zhichao Hu, Youqing Chen, Mingzhu Cao, Zhaoyang Yu and Enrong Mao
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Peng Zhang: Nanjing Institute of Agricultural Mechanization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Nanjing 210014, China
Hongbo Xu: Key Laboratory of Modern Agricultural Equipment, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Nanjing 210014, China
Zhichao Hu: Nanjing Institute of Agricultural Mechanization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Nanjing 210014, China
Youqing Chen: Nanjing Institute of Agricultural Mechanization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Nanjing 210014, China
Mingzhu Cao: Nanjing Institute of Agricultural Mechanization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Nanjing 210014, China
Zhaoyang Yu: Nanjing Institute of Agricultural Mechanization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Nanjing 210014, China
Enrong Mao: College of Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 11, 1-14

Abstract: The rapid development of peanut mechanization has increased the amount of dust expelled from peanut mechanized operations, which degrades the air quality and endangers the health of agricultural workers. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to figure out the characteristics of dust emission from mechanized peanut harvesting. To this end, the particulate matters of diameters ≤ 2.5 μm and ≤10 μm and the total suspended particles were sampled in real time during peanut harvesting in Henan Province, China, and the airborne particle concentrations and particle size distributions were measured. The dust particles discharged during the mechanized peanut harvesting were concentrated within the 2~30 µm size range. When the wind speed was reduced below the settling velocity of the largest particles, the more massive particles were carried in the downwind. The amount of free silica in the dust samples was determined by X-ray diffraction analysis. Both the total dust and free silica concentrations exceeded the occupational exposure and threshold limits. To improve the characteristics of dust emission, the microstructure and dispersion of the dust were also investigated. Reducing the agricultural operations during periods of high wind speed, low crop-moisture content, and low air humidity is recommended for reducing the dust exposure of workers. The results will provide guidance and technical support for reducing the dust emissions of mechanized harvesting operations, improving air quality, and reducing the health hazards to operators.

Keywords: agricultural field; peanut harvesting; particulate matter; air quality; dust emission (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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