Evaluation of washing solutions to remove particulate matter attached to greenhouse covering material

초록

Particulate matter (PM) affects various industries such as agriculture, in which PM attached to the surface of greenhouses reduces the light intensity provided to crops, potentially reducing yield. To evaluate appropriate washing solutions for removing fine PM dust from a greenhouse, a procedure to reproduce the PM deposition phenomenon was first designed and applied to a series of specimens using various PM component mixes. The washing efficiencies of zeolite (an eco-friendly adsorbent), sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) surfactant, and inorganic acid (oxalic acid) were then compared and analyzed. The experiments showed that the washing efficiency of SLES was highest for all PM component mixes, whereas oxalic acid showed high efficiency only when removing PM containing metal ions (NaCl). Zeolite showed the second-highest washing efficiency when removing any of the evaluated PM component mixes, and showed no distinct difference from SLES within the confidence interval when removing PM with ammonium salts. Accordingly, considering the high ratio of ammonium salts in most PM, it is expected that zeolite can be used as a washing solution to remove fine dust from the surfaces of greenhouses to ensure appropriate light transmittance and avoid the environmental and health issues associated with SLES use.

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