PCME provide a full range of robust particulate monitoring systems suitable for the incineration industry, and have considerable experience with the specific emission monitoring environments in the following processes:
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Municipal waste incineration
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Co-incineration processes
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Chemical and industrial waste incineration
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Medical waste incineration
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Sewage sludge incineration
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Cremation
PCME’s involvement with the incineration industry includes supporting plant to meet particulate emissions control obligations, much of which is tightly regulated and requires high performance instrumentation with high quality assurance features for compliance reporting. For example, in Europe PCME provide QAL1 approved systems to plant falling under the Waste Incineration Directive (WID) where monitoring solutions must meet the quality assurance definitions in EN 13284-2, for EN 14181 compliance. Similarly, PCME provide PS-11 compliant PM CEM solutions to US EPA regulated plant, particularly Title 40 CFR Part 60 regulated plant which includes a range of incineration processes.
In addition to the importance of regulatory compliance, the control and treatment of emissions from incineration processes represents a significant proportion of overall costs, and therefore quality data from emissions monitoring technology can provide valuable feedback on abatement plant performance to enable plant operators to implement greater efficiency and control over plant operation. This is particularly relevant for waste-to-energy (co-incineration) plant and energy recovery systems where accurate incineration efficiency data translates into increases in energy production.
Particulate emissions from incineration plant primarily consist of entrained fine ash in the flue gas, with variable amounts of organic and inorganic substances depending on the specific incineration process and reaction balance. Particulate emissions to air from incineration processes are typically reduced to as low as <0.05mg/m3 to 15mg/m3, by means of high performance bag filters alone, or often bag filters in combination with electrostatic precipitators, wet scrubbers and occasionally cyclone filters. Incineration processes often use ‘pre-dedusting’ plant upstream of the main flue gas treatment process, which allows collection of recyclable material in some cases, and reduces the quantity or toxicity of Flue Gas Treatment (FGT) residues in others while reducing load on downstream FGT.
FGT Optimisation through Bagfilter Application Improvement
The multi-stage Flue Gas Treatment (FGT) processes in larger incineration plants can be considered as a whole system, where the bagfilter process can be optimised to provide knock-on benefits to other stages within the whole FGT process. For example, where bagfilter abatement plant is used downstream of FGT reagent injection, the careful control of the caking level on the bagfilter media can provide a contributory stage for the treatment of acid gases, gaseous metals and persistent organic pollutants. PCME’s particulate monitoring systems with rapid dynamic ranging and high signal-to-noise ratio provide the resolution, sensitivity and response required to effectively monitor the performance of multi-row and multi-chamber bagfilters, with Leak Locate features and ‘Predict’ functionality within PC-ME Dust Tools PC software providing the data to maximise the potential for bagfilters to act as a complementary reactor in this way. This is in addition to the typical process and cost benefits associated with best practice application of PCME particulate monitoring technology for abatement plant monitoring and optimisation, including reduced maintenance, increased filter element service life, and decreased process interruption or downtime.
Main Stack Compliance Monitoring
PCME recognise the difference in the details between various national and local regulatory schemes for the monitoring and control of particulate emissions from incineration sources, especially the critical compliance measurement requirements for main stack monitoring, whether this is in terms of the opacity or concentration of emissions to air, and of the initial and ongoing quality assurance measures required to maintain best practice. A typical emission limit value for particulate from incineration processes such as municipal co-incineration is 10mg/m3 (daily average), whereas in practice the presence of high performance baghouse filters as part of the FGT reduce actual emissions to <1mg/m3. PCME provide proven and certified instruments with the necessary signal stability and resolution to discriminate between changes in such highly abated particulate emission levels, thereby providing valuable process feedback data in addition to meeting compliance monitoring obligations.
Sufficient minimum detection level for highly abated emissions:
PCME’s ElectroDynamic™ Probe Electrification technology has a minimum detection level (0.1mg/m3) suitable for highly abated emissions, such as those found after bagfilter plant in Incineration plant, including QAL1 approved instruments with certification range 0-15mg/m3 for Emission Limit Values as low as 10mg/m3. ProScatter™ Forward Scatter instruments such as PCME QAL 181 are suitable for lower concentrations of <0.1mg/m3, and are also certified and compliant to the most demanding European (MCERTS and TUV) and US EPA (PS-11) standards. For monitoring emissions after electrostatic precipitators, PCME’s range of DynamicOpacity™ Ratiometric Opacity instruments are also available with TUV performance approvals.
High Temperature Operation:
PCME instruments include medium and high temperature options up to 800°C, to handle the harsh, aggressive temperatures found in Incinerator plant. High grade ceramics combined with heat shields and heat sinks allow the sensors to operate normally and reliably under temperatures far in excess of standard type sensors.
Network Integration:
Incineration plant typically requires instrumentation across several emissions sources. PCME sensors can be networked into one central control unit, integrated with existing plant DCS/SCADA systems, and provide Ethernet connectivity for plant-wide LAN integration.
Quality Assurance:
Stricter compliance programs and more rigidly enforced emission limits within the incineration industry mean that operators require an increased level of quality assurance, and confidence in their emissions monitoring systems to operate correctly and also minimise emission limit excursion events. PCME offer systems approved to the latest MCERTS & TUV standards, with manual or automated zero and span / reference drift checks for ongoing quality assurance, and other system self-checks such as short circuit and probe contamination and network communication checks to provide confidence in data integrity and to facilitate predictive maintenance scheduling.
