Dust emissions from grain elevator operations can be a safety and health risk as well as a nuisance. Fundamental data on air entrainment and dust emission are needed for designing adequate and effective dust emission control methods. This study measured the amount of entrained air and emitted dust during corn receiving operations at an elevator operated by the USDA−ARS Grain Marketing and Production Research Center in Manhattan, Kansas. Shelled corn (maize) was unloaded from a storage bin, representing a hopper−bottom truck, to the receiving pit at rates of 17 to 262 kg/s and drop heights of 38 to 56 cm. Airflow rates were measured with propeller anemometers. The emission rates of total suspended particulates (TSP) and particulate matter smaller than 10 mm aerodynamic diameter (PM10) were measured with high−volume particulate samplers. The amount of air entrained per unit volume of grain decreased with increasing grain flow rate (0.26 to 2.07 m 3 /m 3 ). The emission rates of TSP (8.3 to 52.1 g/metric ton of grain received) and PM10 (0.6 to 6.1 g/t) decreased with increasing grain flow rate and decreasing drop height.

Dust emissions from grain elevator operations can be a safety and health risk and a nuisance. Dust emission and air entrainment data are needed for designing adequate and effective control methods. This study measured the dust emitted and air entrained during corn receiving operations at an elevator operated by the USDA Grain Marketing and Production Research Center, Manhattan, Kans. Shelled corn (maize) was unloaded from a storage bin, representing a hopper bottom truck, to the dump pit at rates of 17 to 118 kg/s. The resulting airflow rates and dust emissions were measured with propeller anemometers and high volume samplers, respectively. Both the amount of air entrained per unit volume of grain (specific air entrainment) and dust emission rate expressed as g of dust per unit mass of grain decreased with increasing grain flow rate. The highest specific air entrainment was 2.07 m 3 /m 3 at a grain flow rate of 17 kg/s while the lowest was 0.27 m 3 /m 3 at a grain flow rate of 114 kg/s. The highest dust emission rate was 14.6 g/tonne at a grain flow rate of 17 kg/s while the lowest was 8.3 g/tonne at a grain flow rate of 118 kg/s.