What is a Continuous Emission Monitoring System?
Understanding the basics of CEMS Analyzer is important to being able to understand a continuous emission monitoring system. These are systems that constantly monitor and measure the concentrations of pollutants in the air and water. These include things like NOx and SO2 as they move into the atmosphere. A CEMS also measures volumetric flow and reports the emissions to the Environmental Protection Agency. Other local agencies also gather this data to ensure that the air pollution is minimal.
Measurements of this data have to be recorded every 15 minutes, with some equipment reported in electronic format. This ensures their proper operation and the CEMS is then subjected to the mandated quality assurance tests. This includes a daily calibration error check. Any types of stationery source monitoring often requires continuous emissions monitoring systems and Continuous Emissions Monitoring systems are typically used to monitor emissions from things such as:
- Refineries
- Chemical manufacturers
- Power plants
- Pulp and paper mills
- Petroleum refineries
- Manufacturing facilities
The data that is collected by the CEMS is then used to calculate all mass emissions rates for every pollutant in the air and water. The data is also used to create reports which are submitted to the earlier mentioned agencies.
A continuous emission monitoring system is a necessity for the environment,