Regulators Training on Real time Pollution Monitoring System: From Understanding to Implementation

January, 15-19, 2018
Background of the Programme Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi organized a one week training programme on “CONTINUOUS EMISSION AND EFFLUENT QUALITY MONITORING SYSTEM FOR ENVIRONMENT PROFESSIONALS from 15-19th January at its Anil Agarwal Environment Training Institute, Tijara, Rajasthan. The paid training programme was organized under CSE’s capacity building initiatives towards proper implementation of continuous monitoring in India. The training programme was designed to develop the knowledge base and skills of environmental professionals on following aspects of continuous emission monitoring system (CEMS):

• Basic understanding of “Real time monitoring/ or continuous emission monitoring system” and its importance.

• Status of CEMS implementation and challenges in implementation

• Technical knowledge and practical experience on suitable device selection, correct installation, operation & maintenance, data transmission, inspection and compliance check.

• Checklist preparation for inspection of CEMS and CEQMS installations and course correction for proper implementation.

• Equipment demonstration, exhibition and field visit for hands on experience.

The training was attended by 25 participants from various industries. The participant group included environmental engineers, control and instrumentation engineers, senior chemist, process and environmental manager. The training sessions involved lectures, group exercise, discussions, product exhibition and demonstration and field visits. A diverse group of experts including experts from CSE, CEMS and CEQMS device manufacturers, regulators and service providers were involved as resource persons.

Summary of the training sessions
Day 1
The training programme was started with the introduction of CEMS and CEQMS. It introduced the participants to the basics of CEMS and CEQMS equipments, technologies, installation and history of CEMS regulations. The presentation highlighted the importance of quality assurance of devices and experiences of Europe and USA which started CEMS decades ago. The technical sessions of the day one was dedicated for Particulate Matter (PM) CEMS. It included presentations and discussions followed by group exercise. During the presentations and discussion session, available technologies, location of installation, operation and maintenance, points to check for regulators etc. were discussed in detail. The key points of the technical sessions were following:

 Suitable device selection
All the technologies available were explained in brief with their pros and cons. CSE shared some typical solutions for major sectors like cement, coal fired power plants, pulp and paper etc. All the measurement technologies are affected by various processes and gas conditions in the stack. Thus a discussion on suitability of PM CEMS in various conditions was also held.

 Location of CEMS installation
Locations of CEMS installation have to be in reference to the position of sampling port and height of the stack. The following should be kept in mind:

• The device installed in stack/duct needs to follow 8D/2D formula and should be 500mm below the manual sampling port.

• The position of PM CEMS with respect to other monitors should also be taken care of. The plane and angle of installation should be such that there is no interference from other monitors or to the other monitors.

 Calibration and importance of isokinetic sampling and dust factor
The lecture focused on isokinetic sampling as a must requirement for correct readings. The dust factor is obtained while calibrating a PM instrument. This factor should not be changed by the industry and if it is changed, then it should be notified to the regulators along with the reason of change. The lecture highlighted the importance of calibration and maintenance of CEMS device.

 Key points to note
During presentations, key points related to PM CEMS were shared which they can notice during self inspection of the plant. Knowing the fact that many of the CEMS installations are not perfect and need course correction, self-inspection checklist for the maintenance and calibration is suggested.

Group Exercise and Presentation Based on the presentations and discussions, participants took part in group exercise and presentation session. The participants were divided into 4 groups. Each participant worked in the respective group and prepared answers for the given questionnaire on following points:

• PM CEMS technologies,

• Key factors to select suitable technology,

• Location of installation,

• Importance of dust factor and

• Key points to check during inspection.

After discussion, each group presented their answers. The participants were actively involved and well appreciated the exercise.

Day 2
The second day of the programme was on Gaseous CEMS. It consisted of presentations followed by group exercise and group presentations. The lecture discussed various available technologies, location of installation, operation and maintenance, regulatory aspects of air pollution monitoring etc. The following major points were discussed in the lecture:

• Types of technologies and points to consider
  The various types of technologies and their architecture for installation for measuring different gaseous pollutants were discussed in detail.

• Calibration and maintenance
  The lecture explained various types of calibration. The availability of calibration cylinders, their certificate of validation, last calibration date etc. were few points to be kept in mind.

• Quality assurance of CEMS
  The lecture covers the quality assurance system for CEMS equipments, installation and maintenance in Europe and USA. It gave the brief overview of the certification system and monitoring of CEMS exist in various countries. Lecture provides the status of quality assurance mechanism of CEMS in India and way forward.

• Regulatory aspects of online air pollution monitoring
  During presentations, regulatory requirements, purpose related to Gaseous CEMS were shared. Practical experience of Gaseous CEMS technologies were shared with the participants

Group Exercise and Presentation
Based on the presentations and discussions, a group exercise session was conducted. The participants were divided into 4 groups. The exercise highlighted the following points:

• Parameters for online gaseous monitoring for major sectors (cement, iron and steel, fertilizers, power plants etc.),

• Technologies available to measure them,

• Key factors to select suitable device,

• Location of installation and

• Key points to check during inspection.

Each group, based on their learnings throughout the day, completed the exercise and presented. The participants found the training sessions and exercise quite informative and a good learning experience.

The day ended with product demonstration interaction with experts and product manufacturer. Environmental professionals from various industries discussed got opportunity to explore various CEMS equipments and understand about them from respective with experts.

Day 3
The day began with the presentation and discussion on regulatory aspects of effluent quality monitoring system. Resource persons shared and discussed on following key points related to continuous effluent quality monitoring systems:

• Parameters to monitor by various industries

• Various technology options, their functioning and suitability

• Operation and maintenance of devices

• Key points to note for proper implementation of continuous effluent quality monitors

After presentation on effluent regulatory aspects, expert for CEQMS explained various technology, calibration and maintenance aspects of the online effluent quality monitoring system. It was followed by presentation on implementation challenges based on CSE’S CEMS survey.

Last presentation of the day was on CEMS data acquisition and handling system (DAHS).The expert presented and discussed on following key points:

• Various mode of data acquisition and handling system,

• Pros and cons of different modes of data handling

• Various real time experiences of data manipulations and reporting

• Various aspects of CEMS data analysis

• Key points for self-inspections data acquisition and handling system and data quality in industries.

Day 4
The Fourth day of the programme was scheduled for a site visit to Ultra Tech Cement Plant, Kotputli, Rajasthan. The site visit was intended to show the CEMS installation and its operation and maintenance.

The plant has installed PM CEMS and Gaseous CEMS. The visit was organized with a purpose to give practical exposure to the participants on CEMS. The participants got opportunity to see the extractive type gaseous monitoring system, its functioning. The probe installation was in stack how ever it was not permitted to climb the stack for security reasons.

Day 5
Last day of programme was started with lecture on self-assessment of CEMS and CEQMS implementation and wrapped-up with feedback collection and certificate distribution. Participants were very positive and appreciated CSE and resource persons for this capacity building initiative. They also requested CSE to organise more of such training programmes on CEMS in future.