Pig Production Archives

A demonstration of the EPI Air System in an empty tent at the last World Pork Expo raised the curiosity of hundreds of leaders in the Pork Industry, as well as Pig Progress Magazine. Here is a summary of an article published on November 30, 2011 on PigProgress.net titled “Murphy-Brown going for Cleaner Air using Ionization” by Dick Hagen and Vincent ter Beek.

The Demonstration

What had to be shown is invisible to the eye, explained John Baumgartner, President of Baumgartner Environics (BEI). John invited guests to come inside, then activated a system which created a tingling effect on the face, hands and head. Inside the tent, BEI was demonstrating “An emission of negative ions,” explained Baumgartner – “a way of cleaning the air in pig and poultry barns.” Matthew Baumgartner, the company’s general manager, goes on, “The ions go to work capturing and holding particles onto interior surfaces. The net result is ventilation enhancement that results in faster gain and less mortality.” This patented system of cleaning the air in poultry and swine barns is called EPI Air (See Video of EPI Air works in a hog barn here).

Some History of Ionization

This not-so-new way of cleaning the air has been around since 1842, and its most popular industrial application is used to reduce the ash loads released into the environment by coal-fired power plants. But BEI has developed and marketed EPI Air for use in swine and poultry barns today. The patented EPI Air (Electrostatic Particle Ionization) is based out of Olivia, Minnesota, USA for agricultural buildings worldwide.

Research by Murphy-Brown

Murphy-Brown, Smithfield’s pig production division, has executed a contract to install Electrostatic Particle Ionization (EPI) systems in nursery facilities totaling 655,000 spaces and in wean-to-finish facilities totaling 864,000 spaces in their western US operations.

In initial trials, EPI units were installed in two, 2,000 head production nurseries and tested for five turns. A total of approximately 44,000 nursery pigs ‘tested’ the technology. The results were positive: average daily gain increased 12.2%, average weights increased by 9.3% and mortalities were reduced by 26.1%. Besides these production gains, Murphy-Brown also checked multiple dust size levels, ammonia, odor and hydrogen sulfide in these barns. Its PhD researchers measured a 57.7% reduction in particulate matter of 10-micron size; a 47% reduction in PM 2.5; a 43.1% reduction in PM 0.05. The EPI barns had a 55% reduction in ammonia versus the control barns; a 58.6% reduction in hydrogen sulfide, and an 18.9% reduction in odor.

Read the Complete Article

Read article on Pig Progress Website: Murphy-Brown going for Cleaner Air using Ionization
View the PDF of Pig Progress Article: Murphy-Brown going for Cleaner Air using Ionization