Meeting strict government air emission regulations while maximising productivity and profitability is a problem many mines are currently facing. One solution to this is Bestech’s AQMTM (air quality monitoring), a system designed to monitor SO2 emissions, surface and air temperatures, solar radiation, and the speed and direction of the wind. It then delivers this data through a web-based platform to mining companies and the Ministry of Environment, helping determine ambient SO2 concentrations and quality assurance.
In 2005 Inco (now Vale Inco) and Falconbridge (now Xstrata) approached Bestech to create an innovative air quality monitoring system to replace their existing outdated system. This request formed the AQM, which is made up of the largest SO2 monitoring network operating in Canada with 17 active SO2 monitoring sites, two meteorological stations, and one SO2 mobile unit operating in Greater Sudbury.
The two mining companies and the ministry all have very large and different information technology architectures for the collected data. The Ministry of the Environment requires accurate third-party historical data to monitor industry emissions, and uses the information for long-term studies. “Just as important as the AQM system is the service that Bestech provides us,” says Frank Javor, Manager of Environment Air for Vale Inco. “Bestech operates and maintains the system, interfaces with the Ministry of Environment and performs the legal reporting necessary.”
The information is received by Vale Inco’s smelter emission reduction program (ERP) operators, who run dispersion models based on numerous pieces of meteorological and AQM data to accurately manage the smelter’s production levels. “The AQM data collected helps our ERP operator make better decisions in a shorter time frame,” says Javor.
Xstrata’s smelting operations receive real-time data to allow them to react and adjust production levels, further ensuring control and legislative emission compliance. It feeds the data from AQM directly into its smelter’s SO2 modelling systems, which allows it to predict what its emission levels will be for the entire work day with a high degree of accuracy. “The ability to rely on the real-time data and know that it’s accurate, reliable and that we can increase or reduce output at different times of the day’s production is very valuable,” says Marc Butler, Superintendent of Environment, Xstrata.
Due to extreme environmental conditions the system operates under, the AQM system was designed using a solid-state PLC collection solution in order to weather out power interruptions and fluctuations that usually cripple PC based systems. The system has been designed with multi-level security access and several data redundancy levels in order to provide 98% data collection and retrieval 24 h/d, seven days a week. Large volumes of data are delivered simultaneously through redundant communication channels that range from cable Ethernet, wireless, dial up or RFH networks managed by the Bestech servers and delivered to the Ministry of the Environment and the operational control centres of each mine site. All data is simultaneously archived using three different types of recording mediums further increasing the system’s capabilities. Should an emission exceedance occur, the system can alert stakeholders through SMS, email or telephone. Instantly, a series of co-ordinated processes occur notifying managers, operators and support technicians to verify their respective operational system settings.
Most recently, the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) purchased the AQM system for its Labrador City operations. “We will be providing a turnkey AQM solution which should be commissioned in June 2010”, says Pat Dubreuil, Manager of Bestech’s Technical Support Division. It will provide IOC with a SQL view interfaced by an OSI PI RDMS solution, further improving IOC’s data capture and historical emission performance and compliance.
“We are seeing an increase in demand for Bestech’s AQM system from various smelting sites and municipalities operating waste disposal sites. These groups are attracted to AQM’s scaleability, its unlimited user licences and full service management options. There are more queries now from other industries who see the flexibility and versatility of AQM’s capability to track data collection for waste water meter flows, piezometer fluctuations and land and geophysics data,” says Dubreuil.
The AQM system is now being incorporated into another of Bestech’s products called NRG1-ECOTM. NRG1-ECO is a minewide energy management solution which provides system control strategies such as ventilation-on-demand (VOD) that dramatically reduces a mine’s energy consumption while maximising productivity, profitability and worker safety. AQM will play an important part within the system in collecting and reporting air quality data within the mines.
“With Bestech’s AQM system and our company’s attention to due diligence and established processes, we feel better prepared to prevent air quality exceedances because AQM is reliable and effective as it feeds data seamlessly into our systems,” says Marc Butler, Xstrata. “In fact,” adds Butler, ‘since working with Bestech and implementing the AQM solution, my involvement with emission-related issues has nearly disappeared.”
In 2010, Xstrata is hoping to exceed its production tonnage from previous years and despite this, Butler feels confident that the smelting operation will further reduce emissions with the help of AQM and Xstrata’s other internal systems. www.bestech.com