Advance Your Cost Saving and Emission Reduction Goals
Software Continuous Emissions Monitoring
As organizations continue to face stringent environmental regulations as well as increased external pressures for accountability for impact on the environment as they strive to reduce costs , many have also encountered problems with aging and obsolete systems and pressures to reduce cost and increase profitability.
Reducing energy usage, repurposing/recycling and maximizing resources are must-haves as technology is being used to squeeze every ounce of efficiency from operations. Manufacturers are turning to smart manufacturing technology to achieve their sustainability and ESG Goals, with a focus on improving quality, cutting cost and driving Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).
That’s where Continuous Emissions Monitoring (CEM) comes in. When planning to implement this type of solution for emissions monitoring, organizations can choose to go the hardware OR the software path. Here’s what you need to consider.
Common Challenges with Hardware CEMS
As organizations look to provide the highest levels of accuracy and reliability with their emissions monitoring while meeting all regulatory demands, they should keep in mind that Hardware CEM systems:
- Experience frequent and unexpected downtime
- Require daily, monthly, quarter, semi and annual maintenance. Consumable and spare parts inventories are required to maintain uptime and generally are equal to 10% of the system’s cost.
- Do not provide any diagnostics or insight as to the root causes of an excess emission or the ability to facilitate process control or correction of the problem. It cannot point the operator to the cause or solution of excess emissions.
- Require skilled labor force to operate, analyze, report and maintain hardware systems.
With cost the top of mind for organizations, it’s important to note that Hardware CEM can cost about double compared to Software CEM systems, with a high percentage of operating budget dedicated to forecasted lifecycle, spare parts and utilities expenses. It can also reduce downtime, which we’ll touch on shortly.
Doing More with Software CEM
Software CEM is an alternative to traditional Hardware CEM that continuously monitors emissions by developing an online model using historical and real-time data from existing plant sensors. It interfaces to all major DCSs, PLCs and historians. For example, if there is no existing process in place like Hardware CEM or other monitoring system, process data is obtained from the process’s data historian. Software CEM offers 99.99% availability and up-time for emission monitoring.
These types of Predictive Emission Monitor Systems (PEMS) allow for faster deployment and therefore reduce costs and time to achieve and maintain compliance. consists of an emission model that reflects the relationship between process operations and ambient conditions to emissions.
While Hardware CEM is traditionally used solely for compliance, you can do MORE with Software CEM, including:
- Data Collection & Integration: Leverage data science to gain insights into emissions contributors and identify trends with data visibility
- Anomaly Detection: Identify root causes and flag abnormal operations.
- Compliance Reporting: Meet regulatory demands, including State and Federal Requirements
- Additional Benefits to Net-Zero Journey: Replacing Hardware with Software reduces your Carbon footprint. It also allows your organization to ensure a sustainable long-term solution. It’s easy to maintain with no special equipment, spare parts, shelter, calibrations required.
Getting Started
Not ready to replace your Hardware CEM? Software CEM can also act as a digital twin to replace your emissions data while your Hardware CEM is down. If your Hardware CEM goes down you can use the digital twin to substitute model data, reducing downtime. You can also utilize analytics provided by the Software CEM to determine when you have a potential problem with the Hardware CEM before it fails.
You can learn more about Rockwell's cost-effective, innovative emissions solution here.
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