Quantification of Almond Sweeping Emission Reductions Through Changes In a Sweeper Operation

Almond harvest accounts for a significant amount of PM10 emissions in California each harvest season. This paper addresses the reduction of blower passes during the harvest from 3 to 1 as a possible mitigation measure. Ambient total suspended particulate and PM10 sampling was conducted at two orchards during harvest with alternating control and experimental treatments. Onsite meteorological data was used in conjunction with inverse dispersion modeling using Industrial Source Complex-Short Term version 3 to develop emission rates from the measured concentrations. A reduction of 50% in emissions was achieved by the experimental treatment representing a significant potential for emission reductions across the entire state. The harvest efficiency was also measured to determine the possible financial impacts from a crop removal aspect. The results of reducing the blower passes are that approximately 4.5 kg/ha of almond meats will be left in the field with the reduced practices.