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Role of smart sensors in monitoring air quality in industrial environments
Articles- Jul 26,24
Maintaining air quality within industry premises and surrounding areas is becoming increasingly important today. Smart sensors can be an effective tool to improve air quality, says Emily Newton.
Industrial air quality is becoming increasingly important, especially as scientists learn more about pollutants’ effects on nearby residents and others not directly engaged in activities that cause decreased cleanliness.
However, smart air quality sensors provide improved visibility, telling factory leaders whether current conditions are within expected parameters or reaching dangerous levels. How do decision-makers apply them to meet needs?
Improving air quality in a challenging area
Contaminant awareness can help executives understand the extent of problems, giving them the tools and insights to solve them. Leaders at New Zealand’s Port of Tauranga installed air quality monitors and preventive measures in 2019, hoping the combined efforts would make dust and debris more manageable.
Measurements taken in 2022 showed progress, with a 22 per cent reduction in fine particulate matter compared to two years earlier. Additionally, port officials invested in 12 new air quality sensors. They are less accurate than those installed in the facility’s central industrial zone, but they detect salt and nitrogen dioxide. A color-coded system makes connecting current data with potential health risks easy.
The project also involves using sensor technology in nearby residential areas. It will collect dust for later analysis, allowing researchers to examine the general makeup and most common pollutants. They can use those details to make more informed decisions about improving air quality for workers and anyone else affected by the facility’s air quality.
Involved parties said sea spray, petrol and diesel exhaust, and ship emissions were some of the primary pollutant sources. The sensors do not identify all of them, but they help parties pinpoint the most significant contributors. Additionally, some detectors send real-time statistics to a public-facing website, creating a useful information source for residents and others who may wish to alter their activities based on the most recent readings.
Helping occupants detect indoor air quality changes
Smart air quality sensors also allow factory managers and others in oversight roles to understand when unusual changes need further investigation. For example, leaky ductwork in a facility can cause air loss, adversely affecting temperature regulations and economic operations. Statistics indicate systems can become up to 20 per cent more efficient once people repair those issues.
Tools that track industrial air quality could provide early warnings that convince the appropriate parties to look into issues before they get out of control. Over the last several years, many industrial managers have also become more concerned with air quality due to its link with infectious illnesses that could require employees to take off and recover.
Some sensors also reduce or eliminate manual maintenance steps, such as alerting the relevant employees when it is time to change an air filter. Waiting too long to switch it out could mean a system does not remove contaminants as effectively.
Faulty equipment could also worsen air quality, especially if it causes slow leaks that lead to contaminant buildups. A practical preventive measure is to combine air quality sensors with those attached to industrial equipment to detect unusual operations. The associated data can simultaneously reveal machine problems that are affecting air quality or could soon if professionals do not take urgent action.
Promoting positive and lasting changes
Data shows ambient and household air pollution causes 6.7 million premature deaths annually. Improving how people track air quality trends in industrial environments could reduce that figure and show authority figures how to make the most meaningful changes.
Leaders have strong business cases for addressing poor air quality because ignoring it could result in regulatory action, including fines. Additionally, industrial executives must take decisive steps so that their companies can operate as harmoniously as possible in local communities.
In one North Carolina county, concerned residents and environmental organizations are working together to measure the air quality effects of the area’s hog farms. Statistics show the eastern part of the state has 95 per cent of those facilities, and nearby residents are primarily low-income or marginalized groups.
Participants hope they can pull data from the sensors to show a link between environmental racism and industrial air quality problems caused by factory farming. Community members in the affected area only recently got access to federal air quality monitors. However, numerous collaborative efforts seek to close the information gap.
If data shows an apparent problem, that information should motivate industrial executives and others in power to make meaningful and effective choices to reduce pollutants and take residents seriously. Even once an industrial facility has a long-standing presence in the community, those working there must continually listen to external feedback and genuinely take concerns seriously. Otherwise, protests and reputational damage could restrict operations and profits.
Sensors make industrial air quality more controllable
Those supervising industrial environments must correctly understand the conditions before deciding how to tackle them. Did a specific pollutant become more prominent over the last three months? What are the likely causes of all or most of the identified contaminants? Air quality sensors can answer those questions and many others. Reliable information can empower modern leaders, showing them that air quality is a factor within their influence.
About the author:
Emily Newton is a tech and industrial journalist and the Editor-in-Chief of Revolutionized magazine. Subscribe to the Revolutionized newsletter for more content from Emily.
Smart air quality sensors
Smart sensors
air quality
industrial air quality
air pollution
Emily Newton
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