🌿 PM10 and PM2.5 mass concentration in flue gas — two-stage impactor with round nozzles, three fractions (> 10 µm, 10–2.5 µm, < 2.5 µm), concentrations below 40 mg/m³, PN-EN ISO 23210

Environment PN-EN ISO 23210

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. We have a preview of ISO 23210:2009 (first edition) — from the table of contents to the beginning of 6.3 (page 9 of 42); PN-EN ISO 23210:2010 introduces the text unchanged (IDT). Scope (Clause 1): a standard reference method for determining PM10 and PM2.5 mass concentrations at stationary emission sources by use of two-stage impactors, especially suitable for concentrations below 40 mg/m³ as half-hourly averages in standard conditions (273 K, 1013 hPa, dry gas); acceptable for flue gas of various installations — cement and steel plants and combustion processes. The standard is NOT applicable to flue gases saturated with water vapour, to cases where most particles are likely to exceed PM10 (raw gases, plant operating failures), and it cannot be used to determine the total mass concentration of dust. Notes to the scope: above 40 mg/m³ the collecting plates and backup filters may be overloaded and sampling times shortened; the plates and filters can be used for further chemical analysis; for data assessment a parallel measurement of total dust can be useful. The standard describes round-nozzle impactors but does not exclude others if they meet its criteria in a validation by an independent testing laboratory.

HOW THE IMPACTOR WORKS (Clauses 3–6 of the preview). Introduction: the separation curves are to be the same as for PM10 and PM2.5 in ambient air according to ISO 7708:1995; the method does not measure the contribution of emissions to secondary particulate formed in the atmosphere. PM10 are particles passing a size-selective inlet with 50 % efficiency at an aerodynamic diameter of 10 µm (thoracic convention), PM2.5 — at 2.5 µm (high-risk respirable convention); the aerodynamic diameter is the diameter of a sphere of density 1 g/cm³ with the same settling velocity. Impactors are used at low concentrations, cyclones at high ones. The aerosol is accelerated in a nozzle and deflected by 90°, and particles with too much inertia hit the collecting plate; an impactor stage is described by its cut-off diameter d50 (50 % separation efficiency), with design conditions: ratio of nozzle-to-plate distance to nozzle diameter 0.5–5.0, of nozzle length to diameter 0.25–2.0, laminar flow (Reynolds number 100–3000). The two-stage impactor divides particles into three fractions: larger than 10 µm (first stage), from 10 to 2.5 µm (plate of the second stage) and smaller than 2.5 µm (backup filter). PM2.5 is the mass on the backup filter, PM10 the sum of the second-stage plate and the backup filter; the fraction above 10 µm is not used. Permissible deviations of the separation efficiency from ISO 7708 (Tables 1 and 2): ±10 % in about 1.0–2.5 µm (PM2.5 stage) and 2.0–10.0 µm (PM10 stage), and above — ±15 % with greased plates and ±30 % with quartz-fibre filters. The impactor is validated by a laboratory operating a recognized quality system (e.g. per ISO/IEC 17025), with two experiments per stage using monodisperse latex aerosol.

STATUS (state of the card on 29 September 2026). The card of PN-EN ISO 23210:2010 (English version) has no "Withdrawn" header — the standard is CURRENT: published 19-02-2010, 45 pages, price group S, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT 280 for Air Quality, ICS 13.040.40, "Introduces: EN ISO 23210:2009 [IDT], ISO 23210:2009 [IDT]"; the PKN search shows no Polish version. ISO 23210:2009 was reviewed and confirmed in 2026 — the edition remains current (ISO page of the standard, read on 29 September 2026). DISCREPANCY: the "Scope" field of the PKN card speaks of half-hourly averages "below 50 mg/m3", while the text of the standard (Clause 1) says below 40 mg/m³. All 11 laboratories end their concentration range at 40 mg/m³ (AB 940 writes 0.04 g/m³, AB 947 — according to the database copy).

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation-scope database, data loaded up to 17 September 2026, read on 29 September 2026). All notations of the number 23210: 38 entries at 11 laboratories, always as "PN-EN ISO 23210:2010". The "Laboratories" tab searches for notations BEGINNING WITH "PN-EN ISO 23210" and shows all 11 laboratories — checked with the tab query on the labcoda.pl production server on 29 September 2026: 11. Current scopes on the PCA website (read on 29 September 2026, issues from 26.01.2026 to 17.09.2026): all entries stand in the valid issues, every pair of range limits from the copy appears in the current document and no entry is suspended; the PCA page of AB 947 has no scope file, so its three entries could not be compared with a document.

SUBJECT AND RANGES. All laboratories — flue gas, usually as a set of three entries: sampling, concentration and emission "from calculation". PM10 and PM2.5 — 10 laboratories; AB 412 — PM-10 only. Concentration ranges: lower limits from 0.4 mg/m³ (AB 746, AB 886; PM2.5 at AB 300, AB 418, AB 947) and 0.5 mg/m³ (AB 940) via 0.6 (AB 1004) and 0.8 mg/m³ (PM10 at AB 300, AB 418, AB 947) to 1 mg/m³ (AB 409, AB 412, AB 869, AB 877); the upper limit — always 40 mg/m³. The laboratories call the technique "gravimetric", "weighing", "impaction" or "impactor". Samples for determining metals in dust are also taken according to this standard: AB 412 (PM-10, together with PN-EN 14385:2025-05 and procedure WBJ-2/IB/183 issue 5 of 12.06.2025) and AB 940 (PM10 and PM2.5).

ALONGSIDE THIS STANDARD. In the same entries: PN-Z-04030-7:1994 — AB 418 and AB 947. PM10 and PM2.5 in flue gas without this standard are given by 17 laboratories (AB 300 and AB 412 also have entries with it): dust sampling according to PN-Z-04030-7:1994 (AB 300, AB 835, AB 943, AB 974, AB 975, AB 976, AB 1089, AB 1144, AB 1181, AB 1305, AB 1642, AB 1880; AB 1028 — "for granulometric analysis") or PN-EN 13284-1:2018-02 (AB 300, AB 835, AB 974, AB 1305, AB 1642, AB 1880), with in-house procedures at AB 753 (PB/01/05 of 20.05.2024), AB 919 (DSZLB_IB/13 issue C of 01.01.2022), AB 975 (Instruction I-27), AB 1089 (I04/L05 issue 1 of 12.03.2019), AB 1181 (IB-004 issue 01 of 11.01.2021), AB 1305 (IB/08 of 20.01.2020) and AB 1642 (EV-IR-48 issue 2 of 26.03.2026, besides PM2.5 and PM10 also PM1), and PM10 and PM2.5 emission "from calculation"; AB 550 determines the share of the PM2.5 and PM10 fractions in dust from filters by laser diffraction according to ISO 13320:2020 ((0 – 100) %), and AB 412 — metals in PM-10 dust in a flexible scope ("standards, test procedures"). All these rows stand in the current PCA scopes without suspension (read on 29 September 2026). Both total-dust standards have separate entries in the Knowledge Base.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. The standard says of itself that it does not measure total dust. It also follows that PM10 and PM2.5 by this standard are the mass collected downstream of the first impactor stage, not a part of a total-dust result. The figures "PM10" and "PM2.5" in reports according to this standard and according to total-dust standards supplemented by a procedure or a particle-size analysis look the same, but may come from a different way of separating particles — the report should be checked for which one. The second place — gases saturated with water vapour and raw gases with a large share of particles above 10 µm: the standard excludes them from its scope, and the measurement will still formally succeed.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. The preview ends at the beginning of 6.3, so we do not give the sampling train (Clause 7), the preparation of filters and plates, the measurement procedure and post-treatment (Clause 8), the calculation (Clause 9), the performance characteristics (Clause 10), the report (Clause 11) or the annexes — including the normative Annexes A (calculation of the sample volumetric flow rate of the impactor) and G (determination of a representative sampling point).

Method principle

Flue gas is drawn through a two-stage impactor with round nozzles; the cut-off diameter of a stage depends, among other things, on the volumetric flow rate through the impactor (Equation 1 in 5.2). In each stage the flow accelerates in the nozzles and turns by 90°, and particles with a larger aerodynamic diameter hit the collecting plate: the first stage retains particles larger than 10 µm, the second — from 10 to 2.5 µm, and the backup filter — smaller than 2.5 µm. The mass on the backup filter is PM2.5, and the sum of the second-stage plate and the backup filter is PM10; the fraction above 10 µm is not used. The separation curves correspond to ISO 7708 (thoracic and high-risk respirable conventions), and the impactor is validated with latex aerosol. Sampling, calculation and requirements for the result are in Clauses 7–11, beyond our preview.

Applications

• Periodic measurements of PM10 and PM2.5 emissions from stacks and ducts — cement plants, steelworks, combustion processes; in the scopes of 11 laboratories (38 entries)
• Sampling PM10 and PM2.5 dust for the determination of metals (AB 412, AB 940)
• Concentrations below 40 mg/m³; not for gases saturated with water vapour and not for total dust

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-EN ISO 23210:2010 (wersja angielska; EN ISO 23210:2009, ISO 23210:2009 IDT)

Title (PL)

Emisja ze źródeł stacjonarnych — Oznaczanie stężenia masowego pyłów PM10/PM2,5 w gazach odlotowych — Pomiary niskich stężeń przy użyciu impaktorów

Title (EN)

Stationary source emissions — Determination of PM10/PM2,5 mass concentration in flue gas — Measurement at low concentrations by use of impactors

Step-by-step procedure

1. Qualifying the measurement

   Expected concentration below 40 mg/m³, gas not saturated with water vapour, most particles smaller than PM10 — otherwise the standard does not apply (Clause 1).

2. Validated impactor

   Separation curves according to Tables 1 and 2 (reference: ISO 7708) and the conditions of 5.2; validation in a laboratory with a recognized quality system, two experiments per stage with latex aerosol.

3. Sampling and weighing

   Sampling train, preparation of plates and filters, measurement and post-treatment — Clauses 7–8 and Annexes A and G; we DO NOT GIVE them, the preview does not cover them.

4. Result

   PM2.5 from the backup filter, PM10 from the second-stage plate and the backup filter; calculation (Clause 9) and report (Clause 11) beyond the preview.

Required equipment and apparatus

Health and safety (OHS)

• Work on stacks and flue-gas ducts — measurement platforms, hot probes and gas of varying composition; follow the plant's safety rules
• SUBSTANTIVE NOTE: PM10 and PM2.5 by this standard are masses collected in the impactor, not part of a total-dust result; when comparing reports, check which method gave the fractions

Frequently asked questions