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Assessment of Opacimeter Calibration According to

International Standard Organization 10155
a
João F.P. Gomes
a
Centro de Tecnologias Ambientais , Institute de Soldadura e Qualidade , Oeiras Codex ,
Portugal
Published online: 27 Dec 2011.

To cite this article: João F.P. Gomes (2001) Assessment of Opacimeter Calibration According to International Standard
Organization 10155, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 51:1, 3-6, DOI: 10.1080/10473289.2001.10464247

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10473289.2001.10464247

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 NOTEBOOK PAPER
Assessment of Opacimeter Calibration According to
International Standard Organization 10155
João F.P. Gomes
Centro de Tecnologias Ambientais, Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade, Oeiras Codex, Portugal
Downloaded by [University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy - Sofia] at 00:32 14 October 2014
ABSTRACT
This paper compares the calibration method for
opacimeters issued by the International Standard Or-
ganization (ISO) 10155 with the manual reference
method for determination of dust content in stack gases.
ISO 10155 requires at least nine operational measure-
ments, corresponding to three operational measure-
ments per each dust emission range within the stack.
The procedure is assessed by comparison with previous
calibration methods for opacimeters using only two op-
erational measurements from a set of measurements
made at stacks from pulp mills. The results show that
even if the international standard for opacimeter cali-
bration requires that the calibration curve is to be ob-
tained using 3 × 3 points, a calibration curve derived
using 3 points could be, at times, acceptable in statisti-
cal terms, provided that the amplitude of individual
measurements is low.
INTRODUCTION
In previous work on this subject,1,2 the author described
specific aspects of opacimeter calibration using manual
reference methods.3 These consider the calibration of
opacimeters installed in industrial stacks from Kraft (SO4)
pulp mills. Opacimeters are currently used to monitor
continuously the dust emissions from stationary sources.
According to the Portuguese legislation on air quality,
which follows European Directives on the subject, this
monitoring is mandatory for “major” stationary sources
from process industries. Regulations prescribe that these
automatic monitors must be calibrated against the manual
IMPLICATIONS
The work described in this paper includes useful results
that, in certain conditions, are able to validate calibration
of opacimeters done in the past, before the introduction
of ISO 10155. In addition, it allows for the use in particu-
lar situations of a simpler calibration done with fewer
points. The calibration of opacimeters is important in vali-
dating continuous monitoring of emissions from stacks.
Volume 51 January 2001
ISSN 1047-3289 J. Air & Waste Manage. Assoc.Gomes
51:3-6
Copyright 2001 Air & Waste Management Association
reference method, which is the International Standard
Organization (ISO) 9096.4 Before the publication of ISO
10155 in 1995,5 this calibration was performed by con-
structing a calibration curve based on 3 points: one being
the zero of the instrument, and two more obtained op-
erationally for two different dust contents in the stack. It
was then recognized that this procedure was not the ideal
one, as a straight line based on only 3 points can easily
distort any misalignment occurring in certain ranges of
the measuring equipment, such as those with high dust
content.2 However, it was also concluded that for the
majority of calibration operations performed by this pro-
cedure, the calibration could be considered as valid for
each particular source operating in a specific condition,
since the main dependency (>98%) of the calibration pa-
rameters lies on the optical transmitance signal of the
opacimeter.2
CALIBRATION PROCEDURE USING ISO 10155
In 1995, ISO 10155 was issued, referring to the automatic
measurement of massic dust content in stationary sources.5
This standard addresses issues such as operating charac-
teristics, calibration, test methods, and equipment speci-
fications. Concerning the calibration, the standard is
applicable to a specific location of the equipment, and
calibration is made using a direct correlation between the
reference manual method for dust content described in
ISO 9096.4 As a result, when operating conditions within
the stack are subjected to a significant change, such as
the average dust emission or the type of fuel burned, the
calibration is not valid anymore, and thus a new calibra-
tion operation has to take place.
The applicable range of dust content, according to
this standard, respecting the calibration specifications, is
referred to the equipment specifications and must meet
the following criteria:
(1) the correlation coefficient should be greater than
95%;
(2) the confidence interval of 95% should be com-
prised within ±10% of the emission regulated
Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association 3
 Gomes

Table 1. Opacimeter signals and respective dust content measured by manual ref- response of the installed opacimeters was recorded ev-
erence method (8 points). ery minute. These values were then integrated with time
to obtain the calibration adjustments.
Dust Content Measured by:
Opacimeter (Op) Manual Method
RESULTS OBTAINED
Table 1 shows both the measured dust content values and
Test 1 99.9 82.3
the respective opacimeter registered values during the
Test 2 96.3 74.7
Test 3 92.9 107
same time period, expressed as mg/Nm3, as measured in
Test 4 261.5 227 the recovery boiler stack. (Similar results were obtained
Test 5 264.2 256 in the other mentioned stacks but are not presented here
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Test 6 185.7 182 so as not to cause difficulty in subsequent analyses.) Us-

Test 7 362.8 288 ing a linear regression, the following calibration equation
Test 8 398.9 358 was derived:

Cd = (Op × 0.8388) + 12.1 (1)

level for dust content, which is 300 mg/Nm3 re-
garding particulate; and Cd is the true value of dust content (mg/Nm3). The re-
(3) the confidence interval of 95% is such that spective statistical parameters concerning this regression
75% of the operating values lie within ±25% are presented in Table 2. As mentioned before, the cali-
of the emission regulated level, the same as brations shown in Table 2 were derived from eight opera-
above. tional measuring values, corresponding to three different
This standard prescribes that to determine the dust dust content levels.
content in the stationary source, measurements of at least For comparison purposes, another linear correlation
three different levels of dust content should be made ac- was derived from these values but considered only 3
cording to the ISO 9096 standard method. These mea- points, which are the average values for each dust con-
surements are to be repeated 3 times each, thus obtaining tent level, as presented in Table 3. Another calibration
a total of nine independent values made at the same time equation was then obtained:
with the automatic measuring device. These measure-
ments should cover the entire operating range of the Cd = (Op × 0.8256) + 14.31 (2)
equipment, thus varying the emissions levels within the
stack. The latter could be obtained by varying the load of The respective statistical parameters for this later
a boiler or by using different loads for the dust-removal correlation are presented in Table 4. Figure 1 shows the
devices installed before the stack. plot of manually measured values and opacimeter-regis-
tered values during the first concentration level (test 1).
OPACIMETER CALIBRATION CAMPAIGNS The corresponding statistical parameters are shown in
AT A PULP MILL Table 5.
To test this procedure, ex-
tensive measurement Table 2. Statistical regression parameters for eq 1.
campaigns were per-
formed on the stacks of a Regression Statistics
Portuguese pulp mill pro-
ducing raw pine pulp, as Regression coefficient r 0.98350
2
follows: recovery boiler, r 0.96727
2
bark boiler, smelt dissolv- r adjusted 0.96182
SD 20.2279
ing tank, and lime kiln
Df SS MS F Significance Factor
stacks. A series of eight
Regression 1 72566.23 72566.23 177.34959 1.10 × 10-05
and nine measurements
Residuals 6 2455.023 409.1706
at each stack were made
Totals 7 75021.26
for different operating SD Statistical t p Value Lower 95% Higher 95%
conditions, resulting in Confidence Interval Confidence Interval
different dust emission Y 15.60950 0.7751953 0.467666 –26.09470 50.29553
levels. During these mea- M 0.062989 13.317267 1.10883-05 –0.684708 0.992964
surements, the electronic

4 Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association Volume 51 January 2001
 Gomes

Table 3. Opacimeter signals and respective averaged dust content measured values CONCLUSIONS
(3 points). The results show a trend similar to that found in previous
work:1,2 even if the international standard for opacimeter
Dust Content Measured by: calibration requires that the calibration curve is to be ob-
Opacimeter (Op) Manual Method
tained using 3 × 3 points, a calibration curve derived us-
ing 3 points could be, at times, acceptable in statistical
Average 1 96.4 88.0
terms. This conclusion is drawn from the comparison
Average 2 237.1 221.7
Average 3 380.9 323.0
between Tables 2 and 4 and because in this particular situ-
ation, the obtained calibration curve parameters do not
significantly differ from
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Table 4. Statistical regression parameters for eq 2. each other. One of the most
important features is that,
Regression Statistics in both situations, these pa-
rameters are comprised
Regression coefficient r 0.99633 within the 95% confidence
r2 0.99267 interval as required by ISO
r2 adjusted 0.98534 10155. These conclusions
SD 14.2723
could then be drawn for
Df SS MS F Significance Factor
calibration operations
Regression 1 27583.76 27583.76 135.4139 0.05457
where the amplitude of
Residuals 6 203.699 409.1706
opacimeter-registered val-
Totals 7 27787.46 203.6995
SD Statistical t p Value Lower 95% Higher 95% ues during tests are signifi-
Confidence Interval Confidence Interval cantly not comprised
Y 18.79670 0.76107 0.58584 –224.5281 253.1394 within the statistical confi-
M 0.07094 11.6367 0.05457 –0.07587 1.726997 dence interval of ±2SD
(standard deviation) when

Figure 1. Graph plot of measured values for Test 1.

Volume 51 January 2001 Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association 5
 Gomes

Table 5. Statistical parameters concerning both measured and registered values for REFERENCES
the first concentration level (Test 1). 1. Gomes, J.F.P. Calibração de Opacimetros de Unidades de Fabrico de
Pasta de Celulose; Técnica 1996, 23, 1-96.
2. Gomes, J.F.P. Assessment of Opacimeter Calibration on Kraft Pulp
Parameter Opacimeter Values Amplitude Mills; Atmos. Environ. 1998, 32 (4), 659-664.
3. Gomes, J.F.P. Monitoring of Pollutant Emissions Using Stack Sam-
(manually measured values) pling Techniques. In Industrial Air Pollution; Muezzinoglu, A., Ed.;
Springer-Verlag: Berlin, 1992; Vol. G31, 51/58.
4. Stationary Source Emissions–Determination of Concentration and Mass
Average 99.8929 11.2545 Flow Rate of Particulate Material in Gas-Carrying Ducts: Manual Gravi-
SD 1.58045 1.22659 metric Method; ISO 9096; International Standard Organization: 1992.
5. Stationary Source Emissions–Automated Monitoring of Mass Concentra-
P50 97.5 9 tions of Particles: Performance Characteristics, Test Methods and Specifi-
Mode 94 7 cations; ISO 10155; International Standard Organization: 1995.
Deviation 11.8270 9.09664
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Sample variance 139.879 82.7488

Kurtosis 1.40148 0.99870
Skewness 1.11569 1.05686
Variation range 57 40
Minimum 80 0
Maximum 137 40
Sum 5594 619
About the Author
Count 56 55
João F.P. Gomes holds a B.S. degree in chemical engineer-
Higher value 137 40
ing from the Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal, an
Lower value 80 0 M.S. degree in combustion engineering from the University
95% confidence interval 3.16730 2.45917 of Sheffield, United Kingdom, and a Ph.D. degree in envi-
ronmental sciences from the Technical University of Lisbon.
He is presently head of the Chemistry and Environmental
referred to the average value, which is the situation de- Laboratory and Environmental Technologies Center, ISQ,
picted in Figure 1. It is well known that there are several Oeiras, and a professor at University Lusofona, Lisbon, Por-
tugal, chair of Air Pollution. Dr. Gomes’ scientific interests
industrial situations in which such behavior is quite diffi-
and research include air pollution, environmental manage-
cult to attain because of the dynamics of the industrial ment, remote monitoring of the environment, and environ-
processes themselves, for example, large combustion units mental protection and control.
with heavy steam load requirements.

6 Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association Volume 51 January 2001