ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY/NET ZERO


THE IMPORTANCE OF MEASURING AND MONITORING GHGs


fossil fuels or waste derived from fossil fuels. To-date these projects have largely been in the pilot stage, as researchers and process operators seek to refine and prove the technology before investing in a full-scale facility. For example, Signal analysers are being utilised at a pilot carbon capture unit at a natural gas combustion plant in southern Arkansas, USA. The company Aqualung Carbon Capture is trialling its novel carbon capture technology on a generic gas-fired boiler, and approached Signal for help with its requirement to continuously check for non- combusted hydrocarbons in the boiler’s emissions.


As the world urgently seeks ways to decarbonise, James Clements, from Signal Group, explains how gas analysis will perform a vital role – particularly in carbon capture


he climate crisis is forcing nations to urgently find ways to lower their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and carbon capture is likely to be one of the key technologies in enabling this goal. This, in turn, is prompting a demand for GHG analysers to help assess capture technologies and to verify that GHG reduction claims are valid. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) involves the capture of CO2 emissions from industrial processes, or from the combustion of fossil fuels to generate power. Primarily, this CO2 is then stored underground in geological formations. Alternatively, it could be utilised in industrial processes by converting it into plastics, concrete or biofuel, for example. This is known as Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS). However, with all of these options, as the saying goes: ‘you can’t manage what you don’t monitor’ so the measurement of GHGs such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide will be essential.


T It is important to acknowledge that carbon 34 MARCH 2025 | PROCESS & CONTROL


capture may not be the silver bullet that solves the climate crisis. Firstly, it has yet to be implemented on a large scale, secondly, even if it is successful, it will only partially lower GHG emissions, and thirdly many environmental groups are unhappy with reliance on carbon capture because it risks extending the use of fossil fuels. Nevertheless, given the climate emergency, enormous investments in carbon capture are either underway or planned. The UK is one of the countries leading the growth in carbon capture capacity. In October, for example, the UK government announced £21.7 billion of funding for carbon capture projects over 25 years. The announcement is in line with the UK’s ambition to store 20 to 30 million tons of CO2 per year by 2030 by using CCS technology.


Many other countries are also legislating for and investing in decarbonisation strategies including carbon capture. At Signal Group, our main involvement with carbon capture has been with combustion processes involving


Signal’s gas analysis system included an S4 SOLAR heated FID VOC analyser with a heated line and model 346 front-end filter. In most countries, FID (flame ionisation detection) is the standard reference method for the measurement of total hydrocarbons, and the sampling handling system is designed to ensure that the sample being delivered to the analyser is truly representative of the emissions, with no possibility of condensation in the sample line, or the analyser. In the example above, a Signal analyser is being used to detect incomplete combustion; not just for safety reasons, but also because fossil fuels are inevitably an important part of the transition to a decarbonised economy, so it is vital that where they are used, they are utilised as efficiently as possible. In order to be able to check and verify carbon capture it is necessary to measure GHGs both before and after the capture process. Consequently, it is preferable to deploy analysers that are able to take samples from two different locations concurrently, and frequently it will also be necessary to be able to continuously measure more than one GHG. S4 PULSAR gas analysers employ Gas Filter Correlation technology to measure only the gas, or gases, of interest, with negligible interference from other gases. The optical bench is enclosed in a heated chamber which means that an external chiller is not necessary for non-condensing samples. By using two sample cells of different lengths, in series, it is possible to select a low-range and a high- range. This is important for applications such as carbon capture where high levels exist before capture, and very low levels after. In addition to their remote connectivity software (S4i), Signal’s S4 analysers also feature a rugged, detachable tablet which serves as a control screen, and connects wirelessly to the analyser via an inbuilt 802.11 wifi that can connect up to 50 metres away.


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