Incinerators are among the latest industry sector to be affected by tighter EU legislation on air quality, with the implementation of the Waste Incineration Directive (2000/16/EC) (WID).
As waste incineration and co-incineration plants in Europe face new requirements to meet tough new emissions limits, monitoring systems are in the spotlight, says Air Products.
Municipal and industrial waste incinerators are among the latest industry sector to be affected by tighter EU legislation on air quality, with the implementation of the Waste Incineration Directive (2000/16/EC) (WID).
Following the deadline of 28 December 2005, new incineration plants (plants that cannot be defined as 'existing incineration or co-incineration plant'), must now be fully compliant with the directive.
The directive sets out tough new emission limits for a wide range of principal pollutants including nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO2), hydrogen chloride (HCl) and heavy metals (cadmium and mercury).
The legislation also introduces strict regulatory control and technical standards for waste incineration and co-incineration plants throughout Europe.
These standards require that incinerator operators are responsible for monitoring waste emissions either continuously or by regular checks.
In addition, in the UK, a yearly spot check is commissioned by the Environment Agency and is carried out by independent testing houses.
Anne-Catherine Gridelet, Air Products's marketing specialist for analytical and laboratories in Europe, comments: "Most incinerator operators should now be ready with processes compliant with the new legislation, with efficient emissions monitoring and abatement systems in place that have been developed with their particular process in mind.
"Even so, the new requirements will not be easy to achieve for some and the technical guidance provided for emissions monitoring systems is detailed and comprehensive.
"This guidance has been developed according to the latest new quality standard for stack emissions monitoring, known as EN 14181".
EN 1418 was adopted by the UK in 2004 and sets out to standardise best practice for automated continuous emissions testing across Europe.
Since its introduction, it has been incorporated into a raft of environmental legislation - not just the Waste Emissions Directive but also Integrated Pollution Prevent and Control (IPPC) Directive (96/61/EC); Large Combustion Plant Directive (2001/81/EC) and Solvent Emissions Directive (1999/13/EC).
For waste incinerators, one of the main concerns will be ensuring that even when low concentrations of emissions are present, monitoring systems are able to provide accurate and reliable analytical readings.
Anne-Catherine Gridelet comments: "Emissions testing systems have developed significantly to ensure that stable and accurate analyses can be provided for all emissions regardless of their reactivity or their concentrations.
"For example, this is the case for HCl and HF, for which the daily average values are set to 10mg/m3 and 2mg/m3 respectively in Annex V of the Directive.
"When using an emissions monitoring system, whether continuous, automated or otherwise, operators should ensure that the system has been proven to operate to the required standard and that the calibration gases used are accurate, stable and traceable to national standards.
"Typically, emissions monitoring systems should come with MCerts certification and calibration gases should be delivered by speciality suppliers".
As a supplier of speciality gases and gas handling equipment for emissions testing, Air Products's Experis range of gas products includes calibration gas mixtures delivered with ISO 6141 calibration certificates, specifying uncertainty levels of each component gas and allowing traceability to national standards.
Air Products also supplies a wide range of certified gas mixtures, produced at its European laboratory, accredited to ISO 17025 standard.
Air Products serves customers in technology, energy, healthcare and industrial markets worldwide with a unique portfolio of products, and services, providing atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance materials and chemical intermediates.
Founded in 1940, Air Products has built leading positions in key growth markets such as semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, home healthcare services, natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and adhesives.
The company says it is recognised for its innovative culture, operational excellence and commitment to safety and the environment and is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability and FTSE4Good Indices.
The company has annual revenues of $7.4billion, operations in over 30 countries, and nearly 20,000 employees around the globe.
