Characterization of Cotton Gin Total Particulate Matter Emissions Based On EPA Stack Sampling Methodologies

A project to characterize cotton gin emissions in terms of stack and ambient sampling was recently conducted. The impetus behind the project was the urgent need to collect additional cotton gin emissions data to address current regulatory issues. 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 total particulate emission factor quality ratings for cotton gins are extremely low.  Cotton gins received these low ratings because the data was collected almost exclusively from a single geographical region. The objective for this study was to collect additional total particulate emission factor data for cotton gin systems in regions across the cotton belt based on the EPA approved stack sampling methodologies: Other Test Method 27; Method 201A; and Method 17. This manuscript summarizes the total particulate emissions data for all the systems tested and compares and consolidates the data with emissions data from EPA AP-42.