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ARS Home » Plains Area » Las Cruces, New Mexico » Cotton Ginning Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #290846
Title: Mote cleaner system PM10 emission factors and rates for cotton gins

Author
item BUSER, MICHAEL - Oklahoma State University
item Whitelock, Derek
item Boykin Jr, James
item Holt, Gregory

Submitted to: World Wide Web
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/28/2013
Publication Date: 1/28/2013
Citation: Buser, M.D., Whitelock, D.P., Boykin Jr, J.C., Holt, G.A. 2013. Mote cleaner system PM10 emission factors and rates for cotton gins. National Cotton Gin Technical Reports. Report #OSU12-62. Available: http://buser.bioen.okstate.edu/air-quality/national-cotton-gin-technical-reports.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: This manuscript is part of a series of manuscripts that characterize cotton gin emissions from the standpoint of stack sampling. The impetus behind this project was the urgent need to collect additional cotton gin emissions data to address current regulatory issues. A key component of this study was focused on EPA PM10 emission factors. EPA AP-42 emission factors are generally assigned a rating that is used to assess the quality of the data being referenced. The ratings can range from A (Excellent) to E (Poor). EPA current PM10 emission factor quality ratings for cotton gins are extremely low. Cotton gin data received these low ratings because it was collected almost exclusively from a single geographical region. The objective for this study was to collect additional PM10 emission factor data, based on Method 201A, the EPA-approved stack sampling methodology, for mote cleaner systems from cotton gins located in regions across the Cotton Belt. The project plan included sampling seven cotton gins across the Cotton Belt. Key factors for selecting specific cotton gins included: 1) facility location (geographically diverse), 2) industry representative production capacity, 3) typical processing systems, and 4) equipped with properly designed and maintained 1D3D cyclones. Two of the seven gins had mote cleaner systems. The exhaust from one of the mote cleaner systems was combined with the module feeder dust system. In terms of capacity, the two gins were typical of the industry, averaging 36.0 and 46.2 bales/hr during testing for the stand-alone mote cleaner system and mote cleaner and module feeder dust system, respectively. The average measured PM10 and total particulate emission factors for the stand alone mote cleaner system were 0.050 kg/bale (0.109 lb/bale) and 0.090 kg/bale (0.199 lb/bale). The ratio of PM10 to total particulate was 54.9%. The PM10 emission rate averaged 1.79 kg/hr (3.95 lb/hr) for the stand-alone mote cleaner system. The average measured PM10 and total particulate emission factors for the mote cleaner system combined with the module feeder dust system were 0.071 kg/bale (0.157 lb/bale) and 0.109 kg/bale (0.241 lb/bale). The ratio of PM10 to total particulate was 65.1%. The PM10 emission rate averaged 3.27 kg/hr (7.21 lb/hr) for the combined mote cleaner and module feeder dust system.