title: Design, development and demonstration of an improved bird washing machine.
abstract: Since oil was first extracted, pollution of the seas and oceans or adjacent coasts has been an obstacle for the oil industry and environmental activists. The major concern is oil discharge into the water which may lead to birds' affliction or death, besides putting marine life in jeopardy. This paper presents the first description of the design and implementation of a new bird washing machine that can be utilized for cleaning of oil-coated birds with the minimum of stress. The machine is equipped with a pneumatic system comprised of 19 moving nozzles which evenly cover the bird's body and is designed to be used in contaminated environments where a vast number of birds are affected. Experimental trials show an improvement in operation efficiency compared to other methods in a reduction in washing time, energy consumption and a decrease in fatality rate of washed birds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ahrar Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Rasht, Iran, harajabi@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rajabi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Monsef
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moghadami
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zare
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Armandei
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D059392:Petroleum Pollution; D018635:Rescue Work / Q000379:methods*
references.citation: Environ Pollut. 2001;112(3):443-61
references.pmid: 11291451
references.citation: Environ Pollut. 2000 Mar;107(3):285-94
references.pmid: 15092974