Mote Cleaner System Particulate Emission Factors for Cotton Gins: Particle Size Distribution Characteristics

Abstract

This report is part of a project to characterize cotton gin emissions from the standpoint of total particulate stack sampling and particle size analyses. In 2006 and again in 2013, the United States (U.S.) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a more stringent National Ambient Air Quality Standard for particulate matter with nominal diameter less than or equal to 2.5 µm (PM2.5). This created an urgent need to collect additional cotton gin emissions data to address current regulatory issues, because EPA AP-42 cotton gin PM2.5 (particulate matter with nominal diameter less than or equal to 2.5 µm) and PM10 (particulate matter with nominal diameter less than or equal to 10 µm) emission factors did not exist for mote cleaner systems. The objective of this study was to characterize particulate emissions for mote cleaner systems from cotton gins across the cotton belt based on particle size distribution analysis of total particulate samples from EPA-approved stack sampling methods. Two gins with mote cleaner systems were sampled. The exhaust from one of the mote cleaner systems was combined with the module feeder dust system. The average PSD based PM2.5, PM6, and PM10 emission factors for the mote cleaner system that was not combined with another cotton gin system were 0.0016 kg/227-kg bale (0.0036 lb/500-lb bale), 0.018 kg/bale (0.040 lb/bale), and 0.033 kg/bale (0.074 lb/bale), respectively. The PSD was characterized by an average MMD of 17.1 µm AED. The ratio of PM2.5 to total particulate was 1.53%, PM6 to total was 17.1%, and PM10 to total was 31.8%. The average PSD based PM2.5, PM6, and PM10 emission factors for the mote cleaner system that was combined with module feeder dust system were 0.00092 kg/227-kg bale (0.0020 lb/500-lb bale), 0.011 kg/bale (0.024 lb/bale), and 0.022 kg/bale (0.048 lb/bale), respectively. The PSD was characterized by an average MMD of 26.7 µm AED. The ratio of PM2.5 to total particulate was 0.85%, PM6 to total was 9.9%, and PM10 to total was 20.0%.