Scentroid

Day: February 22, 2018

  • Police using Scentroid’s Drone Environmental Monitoring to Combat Smog

    Police using Scentroid’s Drone Environmental Monitoring to Combat Smog

    It is a belief that smog kills more than 47,000 people each year in Poland alone. Smog levels increase in winters mostly due to the burning of solid fuels for residential heating.  On some winter days, a haze obscures the lights of Polish city skyscrapers and the air smells like burning plastic. Millions of citizens heat their homes with low-quality coal, scrap pieces of wood, and even garbage. This releases not only smog but dangerous chemicals – an act that is illegal under Polish law. Katowice city in southern Poland, with a population of 297,197 is a large coal and steel center in Poland. It is also one of the most polluted cities in Europe. Polish authorities put into action to use drone environmental monitoring to combat this smog.

    Drone Environmental Monitoring

    In Katowice, the city police began fighting polluters using the Scentroid DR1000 Flying lab. The DR1000 is capable of detecting hundreds of pollutants, but for this application, it is detecting Particulate PM1-10, Ethanol, Formaldehyde, Ammonia, and Hydrogen Chloride.

    These chemicals provide evidence of the burning of low-quality coal, scrap wood pieces, or even garbage.

    Special Police Environmental units deploy the drone in residential neighbourhoods, monitoring for elevated levels of pollutants. They cover a large area and the DR1000 will take readings from specific chimneys. The operator and central station receive all readings live. At this point, dispatched police inspectors conduct further investigation or issue additional fines. The DR1000 Drone Environmental Monitor grabs samples from smokestacks to be sent to a laboratory if further evidence is required.

    Ease of Use

    The Scentroid DR1000 Flying laboratory equipped with 5 sensors is used for fast inspections and continuous monitoring of multiple chemicals. All you need to do is to fly the drone up to the stack height, and full information including all sensors reading, humidity, temperature and GPS position are sent to the ground station and the cloud-based monitoring software automatically.

  • City of Los Angeles Pilot Tests for Improving BioTrickling Filter Performance

    City of Los Angeles Pilot Tests for Improving BioTrickling Filter Performance

    The LA Sanitation owns and maintains over 6,700 miles of sewer. In order to remove odour and other related constituents from the collection system, it operates 3 nearby Air Treatment Facilities. The ATFs utilize Biotrickling Filters (BTFs) technology followed by carbon adsorbers as polishing units. The BTFs at the ATFs consist of two (2) media levels. Both media levels use the liquid from the BTF’s sump for irrigation.

    In order to improve the BTFs performance, a pilot test started in September of 2015. The goal was to evaluate and improve biological process performance in the Biotrickling Filter. This was measured In terms of its odour and specific compound removal efficiencies under different pH irrigation conditions. The removal efficiencies of BTFs for Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S), speciated Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) and Total Non-Methane Hydrocarbon (TNMHC) were measured and recorded for different pH levels during this test.

    Biotrickling Filters Testing Procedures and Protocols

    Knowledge and information gained from the results of these tests will be used to optimize the BTF operational procedures followed at the City’s collection system Air Treatment Facilities (ATFs) and extend the life of the polishing carbon units installed down-stream from the BTFs by reducing the inlet VOC/TNMHC load and the potential capacity taken up by the presence of these compounds.

    The BTF test units were installed on the top of a primary battery at the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant. Foul air from the primary battery was collected and pushed to a manifold where it was distributed to the BTFs.

    The test units were two 3-foot diameter Biotrickling Filter vessels. They were installed in series for this test to simulate levels of media in one unit at actual BTF. Each BTF vessel contained 3-feet of Matala polyurethane media with a single head distribution nozzle. These nozzles irrigate the top of the media with liquid from the sump of the BTF. Each BTF also contained a 3-foot sump, make-up water, overflow drain with p-trap, re-circulation pump, nutrient tank and nutrient pump. Testing parameters including Empty Bed Residence Time (EBRT) were adjusted in the test units to also simulate BTF conditions.

    Biotrickling Filters Testing Conclusions

    Foul air from the primary channel entered the 1st Biotrickling Filter, was treated, and then directed to the 2nd BTF. After passing through the second BTF, treated exhaust air was discharged, returning flow back to the primary battery.

    Dampers were installed on the inlet of each BTF to control the airflow and thereby the EBRT for each BTF. The water irrigation system was then supplemented with nutrients to keep the microorganisms healthy and active.

    The inlet and outlet concentrations of H2S and TNMHC of each BTF, the pH of the drain water and the amount of make-up water applied to each BTF were measured daily. This routine monitoring was conducted throughout this test period.

Larger DR1000 flying for popup
Larger DR1000 flying for popup

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