Technical Bulletin No. 0071: Procedures for Source Emission Particle Sizing Using Cascade Impactors and Microscopic Sizing Techniques (AQTB)

The increasing importance attached to submicron particles in the ambient air as they relate to health and plume appearance has led to growing use of source emission particle size measuring procedures as a means of defining the performance of particulate collection devices. Two methods of source particle sizing are currently used almost exclusively. Inertial sizing procedures are used most extensively while microscopic sizing procedures are used to a lesser degree. Neither is capable of defining particle sizes below about 0.4 microns. Procedures are however available to estimate the mass of material in the 0.1 to 0.4 micron range (which is of importance in protection of health and plume appearance) by filtering the tail gas passing cascade impactors.