Overview
ISO 13909-5:2025 - "Coal and coke - Mechanical sampling - Part 5: Sampling of coke from moving streams" is the ISO technical standard that specifies procedures and requirements for designing and establishing mechanical sampling schemes for coke taken from continuous (moving) streams. Published in 2025 as the third edition, it complements other parts of the ISO 13909 series and focuses on practical requirements rather than prescribing a single sampler design, acknowledging the diversity of equipment and site conditions.
Key technical topics and requirements
- Establishing a sampling scheme: stepwise guidance covering definition of quality parameters, lot definition, required precision, sample combination, variability assessment, number of sub-lots and increments, sampling interval, nominal top size and minimum increment mass.
- Design considerations: selection of material to be sampled, determination of parameters (moisture vs physical samples), division of lots, basis of sampling, and management of precision and bias in sampling.
- Precision and variance: treatment of total variance into components - primary increment variance and preparation/testing variance - and how these inform sample count and increment sizing.
- Minimum sample and increment mass: procedures to ascertain minimum mass and average increment mass based on nominal top size and analytical needs.
- Sampling methods: approved approaches include time-basis sampling, stratified random sampling, and reference sampling, with guidance on increment-taking, sampling intervals and increment mass.
- Mechanical sampler design: general design requirements, safety, sampler operation, location, and checking for precision and bias. Specific guidance is provided for falling‑stream-type samplers and cross-belt-type primary samplers, including operation, design and maintenance considerations.
- Handling, storage and sample preparation: requirements to preserve sample integrity, preparation practices (see also ISO 13909-6), and strategies to minimize bias.
- Verification and quality control: measures for checking sampler performance and ongoing verification to maintain confidence in results.
Practical applications and users
ISO 13909-5:2025 is intended for:
- Coke producers and customers requiring representative samples for commercial transactions
- Plant engineers and process control teams using sampling data for operations optimization
- QA/QC laboratories and analysts preparing and testing coke samples
- Equipment manufacturers and maintenance teams designing or installing mechanical samplers
- Inspectors, auditors and regulatory bodies assessing conformity and sampling reliability
Benefits include improved representativeness of test samples, reduced sampling bias, defensible commercial sampling procedures, and better-informed process control decisions.
Related standards
- ISO 13909-1:2025 - General introduction to mechanical sampling
- ISO 13909-6 - Preparation of test samples of coke
- ISO 13909-7 - Methods for determining precision of sampling, sample preparation and testing
- ISO 13909-8 - Methods of testing for bias
- ISO 21398 - Guidance to the inspection of mechanical sampling systems
For implementation, consult the full ISO 13909-5:2025 document and related parts for detailed procedures, formulas and verification methods.