Evaluation of stationary source particulate measurement methods. Volume IV. Basic oxygen furnaces. Interim Oct 73-Jun 77

A procedure, EPA Method 5, for sampling and determining particulate concentrations in emissions from stationary sources was specifically evaluated at basic oxygen furnaces (BOF) equipped with wet-scrubbers or electrostatic precipitator (ESP controls. Although wet-scrubber emissions could potentially present the most difficulty since the sampling system must handle a moisture-laden gas stream with entrained water droplets, no problems were found when using Method 5. Variation of the sampling rate at 0.7 and 1.3 times isokinetic also did not significantly affect the accuracy of the mass measurements. Chemical analyses confirmed that the Method 5 procedure extracts a representative sample of the BOF/ESP stack particulate emissions. The same general chemical composition was found on Method 5 filters and in grab samples removed from the stack at the sampling point.