36


Measurement and Testing


THE ROLE OF SENSOR-BASED AIR QUALITY SOLUTIONS IN MITIGATING INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION


Industries are increasingly prioritizing the reduction of their environmental impact, and sensor-based air quality systems have emerged as an essential tool to manage improved environmental actions, economic effi ciency, and overall sustainability.


Industry pollution is a major concern which causes signifi cant damage to the population and to wildlife and ecosystems. However, it is not only a climatic impact issue but the high societal costs caused by air pollution from the industry. According to the European Environmental Agency (EEA), the cost of industrial pollution in 2024 ranged between €268-428 billion. The last few decades have seen clear progress in activities related to industrial air emission control. The incorporation of innovative technologies and more effi cient production processes, not only enhances environmental awareness, but also mitigates the overall environmental impact.


Thus, the fi rst step is understanding and controlling industrial emissions. New cost-effective, and robust methodologies designed for the identifi cation of fugitive emissions and industrial pollutants, such as sensor-based air quality devices, are valuable tools for the implementation of fenceline monitoring. Sensor- based air quality systems afford real-time monitoring with suitable spatial coverage for the determination of representative pollutants at the industrial fenceline, providing useful information on overall concentration levels and potential problem areas. These systems enhance the protection of public health and worker safety, by controlling emissions within diverse industrial processes. They enable the detection of ineffi ciencies in the production process, facilitating the mitigation of product losses and leading to cost reductions, thus, enhancing overall operational effi ciency and economic sustainability.


Air quality sensor-based systems are compact and cost-effective air quality solutions, which can integrate different sensors, more related to air quality, i.e. NOx, O3


, SO2 S, VOCs, CH4 and NH3 . , CO2 and particulate matter,


but also other pollutants for different industrial sectors, such as HCl, H2


Even though sensor-based systems provide an excellent option to monitor different pollutants, they are not regulated yet. Over the past decade, there has been a worldwide effort to evaluate sensor-based systems, focusing on data quality, such as the AQSPEC program in the US, and the Airlab Microsensor Challenge in France. These independent evaluations were the fi rst attempt to show independent performance assessments of sensor-based systems. However, there is a lack of an internationally accepted standard protocol that allows comparing the performance of


PIN OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2024


Kunak AIR Pro station in a WWTP


instruments in different evaluation studies. In Europe, the CEN/ TS 17660-1:2021 was developed but has not been validated yet, while the USEPA created different evaluation protocols. Besides, other certifi cation bodies created specifi c certifi cations, such as MCERTS Certifi cation for Indicative Ambient Particulate Monitors in the UK.


As one of the leaders in the sensor-based instrument market, Kunak develops compact and cost-effective air quality solutions, designed for harsh environments with an easy integration of real-time data into industrial systems and maintaining wireless data transmission to the cloud software, Kunak Cloud. Kunak AIR solutions were awarded as the Most Accurate Multipollutant Sensors in the Airlab Microsensor Challenge in 2021 and 2023 editions, as well as demonstrated its performance and high accuracy in several independent evaluations (AQSPEC Program, QUANT evaluation organised by UKRI and DEFRA, RICARDO evaluation, etc.), together with the MCERTS Certifi cation for Indicative Ambient Particulate Monitors.


Several applications showcase the successful advantages of employing sensor-based systems for continuous pollutant monitoring:


Odour monitoring


Monitor pollutants related to odour nuisance to prevent possible effects on nearby populations in Waste Water Treatment Plants (WWTP), landfi ll sites & manure, pulp & paper, compost management and fertilizers plants. Control del critical points in which odour episodes could occur and forecast affected areas.


Typical projects for odour monitoring in which Kunak participates are the monitoring of H2


S, VOCs and NH3 in a WWTP. Kunak


systems equipped with anemometers are deployed in the fi eld, allowing pollution sources characterization. In one of the projects, the accuracy of the H2 readings against an H2


level of precision, with a correlation coeffi cient (R2 a mean absolute error (MAE) of 6.9 ppb. Besides, the H2


resulted in a slightly lower R2 for the H2


S sensor was tested by comparing its S analyzer. The results indicated a high ) of 0.77 and S and


VOC sensors were able to identify concentrations of methyl- mercaptans, not detectable by the H2


to the analyzer. Essentially, the combined use of H2


S analyzer. This discrepancy S sensor when compared S and VOC


sensors provided a more comprehensive understanding of the pollutants present. Additionally, another successful case was the identifi cation of ammonia emission sources stemming from the sludge treatment plant.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52