Biomass fuel is defined as land or sea based material such as wood, dried vegetation, crop residues and aquatic plants, biomass fuel can also include household waste. Biomass boilers are designed to burn this combustible material, the energy generated by the combustion process heats water inside the boiler. The hot water and steam produced is then used to transfer the heat energy to consumers, typically via electricity generation or heating systems. The cooled water or the condensed steam returns to the boiler where it is re-heated within the boiler’s closed loop system.
Bio fuel boilers produce relatively clean smoke emissions compared to traditional coal fired plants. The emissions pass through a series of filters, including electrostatic precipitators, wet scrubbers and filter bags. At this point the exhaust gas is emitted to the atmosphere via a chimney stack which can be up to 5 metres in diameter for an industrial system.
For this application the ACOEM Dynoptic DSL-220 opacity emission monitor is ideally suited to continuously monitor the combustion filtration systems employed when a biomass boiler is operational. If the performance of the filter system deteriorates, the ACOEM Dynoptic monitor will instantly report an increase in emissions, enabling the plant operators to take swift remedial action and service the filter system. The opacity data collected over time can be used to schedule preventative filter maintenance.
The opacity measurements can be viewed at the stack using a wall or panel mount operator interface, and sent to a central control room via the built in serial and analogue communications.
If you are interested to find out more about how ACOEM Dynoptic monitors can be used to monitor Bio fuel applications please do not hesitate to contact us at dynoptic@acoem.com.
