🌿 PAHs in flue gas — isokinetic sampling of the gas phase and particles, methods A, B and C, ISO 11338-1

Environment ISO 11338-1

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. The abstract on the ISO website (read on 29 September 2026): "ISO 11338-1:2003 describes methods for the determination of the mass concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in flue gas emissions from stationary sources such as aluminium smelters, coke works, waste incinerators, power stations, and industrial and domestic combustion appliances. ISO 11338-1:2003 describes three sampling methods, which are here regarded as of equivalent value, and specifies the minimum requirements for effective PAH sampling. The three sampling methods are the dilution method (A), the heated filter/condenser/adsorber method (B) and the cooled probe/adsorber method (C). All three methods are based on representative isokinetic sampling, as the PAHs are commonly associated with particles in flue gas. Information is provided to assist in the choice of the appropriate sampling method for the measurement application under consideration. ISO 11338-1:2003 is not applicable to the sampling of fugitive releases of PAHs." Note in the abstract: sample preparation, clean-up and analysis are described in ISO 11338-2 — it is combined with one of the sampling methods of Part 1 to obtain the whole measurement.

STATUS (ISO website, read on 29 September 2026). "Status : Published", publication date 2003-06, edition 1, 25 pages, committee ISO/TC 146/SC 1, ICS 13.040.40, stage 90.93 "International Standard confirmed"; a sentence from the page: "This publication was last reviewed and confirmed in 2026. Therefore this version remains current." The PKN catalogue has no standard adopting ISO 11338-1 — the PKN search for "11338" returns no standard (29 September 2026) — which is why accreditation scopes cite the ISO document directly.

REGULATIONS. The regulation on requirements for measuring emissions (consolidated text — Journal of Laws 2023 item 1706) gives reference methodologies for periodic measurements, e.g. in Annex 3 (waste incineration or co-incineration plants), table B: metals according to PN-EN 14385, dioxins and furans according to PN-EN 1948-1, 2, 3, hydrogen chloride according to PN-EN 1911. PAHs do not appear in this regulation; a regulation that would point to ISO 11338-1 WE HAVE NOT ESTABLISHED.

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation scope database, data up to 17 September 2026, read on 28 September 2026). All records of number 11338 with Part 1: 24 entries at 12 laboratories. Sampling for the determination of PAH concentration is listed under this standard by all 12; ten also have the entry "PAH emission (by calculation)" (AB 300, AB 409, AB 412, AB 550, AB 782, AB 833, AB 877, AB 886, AB 994, AB 1624), and AB 1305 has it in the PCA scope in a shared cell with sampling — in our copy this second entry has lost its reference document. AB 746 records under this standard, together with ISO 11338-2 and the procedure PB-35, also "PAH concentration" (0.00005–1 mg/m³, high-performance liquid chromatography) and "PAH reduction efficiency (by calculation)". Forms of the record: "ISO 11338-1:2003" with or without a method note — 11 laboratories; "ISO-11338-1:2003 – Metoda B" with a hyphen after "ISO" — AB 994. The "Laboratories" tab searches for records BEGINNING with "ISO 11338-1" and will show 11 Polish laboratories — checked with the tab query on the labcoda.pl production server on 29 September 2026: 11 Polish; AB 994 remains outside it. Since 29 September 2026 the tab also shows a Czech laboratory (ČIA 1461, Kladno) — 12 in total.

WHICH METHOD. Seven laboratories record method B for the standard (AB 300, AB 412, AB 550, AB 782, AB 877, AB 886, AB 994); AB 782 describes it as a "condensation-adsorption method with a heated filter". Three give no letter, but the technique "filtration-condensation-adsorption" or "-absorption" (AB 409, AB 833, AB 1624). AB 1305 records "Metoda C" (method C), and as the technique — "filtration-condensation-adsorption method" (PCA scope issue no. 20 of 29 January 2026); according to the ISO abstract, filter, condenser and adsorber are the components of method B, while method C is a cooled probe and adsorber. Which method AB 1305 actually uses for sampling — WE HAVE NOT ESTABLISHED. AB 746 gives neither a letter nor a sampling technique. The dilution method (A) is recorded by no laboratory.

CURRENT SCOPES ON THE PCA WEBSITE (read on 29 September 2026). All entries stand in the valid issues. At AB 746 (issue no. 38 of 22 July 2026) the sampling entry (p. 36/40) is active, while the entry "PAH concentration" with ISO 11338-1 and ISO 11338-2 (p. 37/40) is in bold italics: footnote "*) Accreditation suspended at the request of the body in the part of the scope marked in bold italics from 17.04.2026 to 16.10.2026" (our translation).

ALONGSIDE THIS STANDARD. For PAHs in flue gases the scopes also cite ISO 11338-2:2003 — Part 2 (sample preparation, clean-up and determination) — at six laboratories: AB 213, AB 300, AB 412 (record without a year, together with the procedure WKJ-4/IB/129), AB 550, AB 746 (entry suspended) and AB 886; in-house procedures for PAHs — AB 081, AB 550, AB 719, AB 746 (PB-35, together with both parts of ISO 11338, entry suspended) and AB 950 — and the general record "Normy" (standards) (AB 409). Procedures only for benzo(a)pyrene (alone or with a few other substances) are held by AB 081 (flue gases from the combustion of smokeless solid fuels), AB 418 (PB-122/09.2023, filters, high-performance liquid chromatography), AB 719 (PA-27 — benzo(a)pyrene and dibenzo(a,h)anthracene on filters), AB 753 (PB/06/01 — sampling and emission) and AB 976 (SOP 305 — sampling for, among others, benzo(a)pyrene). The copy has no other standards for PAHs in flue gases.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard — ISO sells it. We do not give the design of the sampling trains, the material of filters and adsorbers, the temperature of the filter and condenser, the sampling volume and duration, the isokinetic conditions, the way the sample is recovered or the criteria for choosing the method.

Method principle

According to the abstract on the ISO website: PAHs in flue gases occur in the gas phase and bound to particles, which is why samples are taken isokinetically by one of three equivalent methods — dilution (A), heated filter, condenser and adsorber (B), or cooled probe and adsorber (C). The analysis of the sample is described in ISO 11338-2; only the combination of both parts gives the whole measurement. The standard does not apply to fugitive releases. We DO NOT GIVE details of the sampling trains or sampling conditions — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Measurements of PAH emissions from stationary sources — according to the ISO website among others aluminium smelters, coke works, waste incinerators, power stations, combustion appliances
• In accreditation scopes: 12 laboratories, all with sampling, 11 also with calculated emission; most often method B

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

ISO 11338-1:2003

Title (PL)

Emisja ze źródeł stacjonarnych — Oznaczanie wielopierścieniowych węglowodorów aromatycznych w fazie gazowej i w cząstkach — Część 1: Pobieranie próbek (tłumaczenie tytułu nasze; normy nie wprowadzono do PN)

Title (EN)

Stationary source emissions — Determination of gas and particle-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons — Part 1: Sampling

Step-by-step procedure

1. Choice of sampling method

   One of three equivalent methods: A (dilution), B (heated filter, condenser, adsorber) or C (cooled probe, adsorber). It is worth stating the letter in the report — in accreditation scopes most often B.

2. Isokinetic sampling

   The flue gas sample is taken isokinetically, because PAHs are commonly associated with particles (ISO abstract). Conditions NOT GIVEN.

3. Retention of the gas phase and particles

   Particles and gaseous PAHs are retained in the components of the train appropriate to the chosen method.

4. Analysis

   Preparation, clean-up and determination according to ISO 11338-2 (outside this standard).

5. Emission

   PAH concentration and emission are calculated from the analytical result and the sampling data — in the scopes usually as a separate entry "PAH emission (by calculation)".

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Sampling in flue gas ducts — work with hot gases and at height; some PAHs are carcinogenic
• SUBSTANTIVE NOTE: the method letter and the description of the technique in the scope should match — at AB 1305 "method C" stands next to a description of filter, condenser and adsorber (components of method B according to ISO)

Frequently asked questions