Industrial processes whose activity emits gaseous effluents into the atmosphere do so in accordance with an emission license granted by the APA – Portuguese Environment Agency or by local authorities (CCDR). This license defines the emission limits for the various pollutants associated with the industrial process.
Emitting industries may have installed continuous emission monitoring systems (CEMS) that provide real-time information on atmospheric emissions or may be subject to periodic emission assessments. In either case, independent tests must be carried out. These tests must be conducted by external entities accredited by IPAC – the Portuguese accreditation institute for testing in accordance with EN ISO/IEC 17025.
SONDAR.i has a specialized field team dedicated to the verification of continuous emission monitoring systems (CEMS) according to EN 14181.
The EN 14181 standard – Stationary source emissions – Quality assurance of automated measuring systems aims to ensure that measurements taken to monitor limit values, through continuous measurement systems, comply with the quality assurance requirements specified therein, covering 4 levels of quality assurance:
Level of assurance that the monitoring equipment (AMS) prior to installation is suitable for the function it will perform;
Procedure for calibrating continuous monitoring equipment after its installation, subsequently verifying whether the AMS meets the requirements specified in the European Union Directives;
Verification and maintenance procedure that demonstrates that the above quality levels are maintained during its normal operating process;
Annual control procedure that demonstrates that the equipment meets the requirements determined in QAL 2.
Calibration of “in situ” equipment for all types of combustion and particle emission sources.
SONDAR.i is currently accredited to carry out tests on the following parameters, among others:
Particles; Hydrogen sulfide, H2S; Carbon monoxide, CO; Carbon dioxide, CO2; Oxygen, O2; Sulfur dioxide, SO2; Nitrogen oxides, NOx; Total organic compounds, TVOC; Absolute humidity; temperature; velocity and pressure; Non-methane volatile organic compounds, NMVOC; Methane; TRS; Fluorides; Chlorides; Nitrous oxide (N2O); Chlorodibenzodioxins; Chlorodibenzofurans; PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons); Heavy metals; Ammonia (NH3); PM10, PM2.5; HCl, HBr, HF and halogenated compounds [Cl2,Br2]; PCBs.
