7 minute read
Equipment
MEASURING POLLUTION GETS HIGH-TECH
Many technological solutions related to seaports have emerged in recent years and, in particular, many tools have been developed to measure pollution from maritime activity, writes Mikel Iceta, Kunak
Air quality is a key factor in improving the management and image of a port. Maritime transport is "one of the most valuable assets" in almost any economy and its contribution to GDP is enormous, as well as the generation of direct and indirect jobs, as Martin Dorsman, Secretary General of the ECSA, pointed out in 2018.
One of the fastest growing activities is related to holiday cruises and, consequently, their environmental impact derived from the type of fuel used in the ships, whose main emissions are sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM1, PM2.5 and PM10), in addition to those generated by ferries and freight transport.
In addition, noise and environmental pollution generated both by the ships themselves and by passengers or port activity (vehicle traffic, loading and unloading of goods, etc.) is particularly relevant.
Taking into account all of the above and seeking greater sustainability, green ports are emerging with force, which aim to minimise the environmental impact on the atmosphere, resources and marine biodiversity and the nearest inhabited areas.
To this end, a fundamental measure in the framework of these sustainable ports is the continuous and real-time atmospheric monitoring through the deployment of air quality meters, which allow port authorities to detect the presence of hot spots, establish early warnings of high pollution levels and adopt databased measures.
MONITORING ADVANCES
Enormous advances are emerging in this type of technological solutions for monitoring and measuring air quality, both indoors and outdoors and many products are being launched on the market.
These air quality devices are cheaper, easier to use and less bulky than traditional equipment and allow real-time monitoring of local air quality that can affect the health of citizens.
However, the data and measurements provided by many of these products are of questionable quality and the lack of accepted performance specifications for air sensors is leading to confusion among purchasers as they are unsure of the current accuracy of air sensors, how to operate them and assess whether they are fit for purpose.
This is why there is a need to establish standards and technical specifications and a methodology for analysing the performance of these types of sensors.
Air quality devices are not a direct substitute for existing analysers or reference networks, but are suitable for other applications such as complementing existing monitoring systems, for source identification and characterisation, for research, etc.
Kunak is actively involved in the development of the future EU Technical Specification (WG 42) on "Performance evaluation of air quality sensors".
We believe it is important to promote the development of this standardisation. In this way, any manufacturer of air quality devices will be able to improve and innovate on the same terms, creating air quality solutions that can reach everywhere with maximum guarantees.
REAL-TIME DATA
Each Kunak AIR Pro unit monitors real-time data of selected contaminants and sends it wirelessly to the Kunak Cloud platform (no post-processing in the cloud).
This data is stored and can be viewed from any device (PC, tablet or mobile).
This cloud platform allows viewing, analysing and exporting the data collected by any device, offering detailed information and advanced processing, autonomy, mobility, scalability and a simple remote calibration tool, as well as managing the network from a single place.
In addition, through an API, the information collected can be integrated into other websites or platforms.
The main functionalities offered by the platform include multidevice and multi-sensor remote configuration and the ability to create user profiles, permissions and access to devices.
The unit allows for accurate and geolocated data, as well as real-time multi-device and multi-sensor analysis. Users benefit from advanced air quality statistics, raceability of actions, remote calibration and the fact that it is installable on-premises.
8 The sensor make it
possible to know the origins and magnitudes of pollutant and noise
A practical example of the benefits of this solution is the project that Kunak is carrying out in collaboration with Labaqua for the Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB) through the installation of 25 devices that monitor pollution and noise levels in five ports of the Balearic Islands (Palma, Alcúdia, Eivissa, La Savina and Maó).
NETWORK OF SENSORS
Thanks to this network of sensors, it is possible to know the origins and magnitudes of pollutant and noise sources in order to study proposals that contribute to improving the quality of life of users and citizens through an early warning system and thus be able to take decisions in advance.
The objective of the APB is to analyse the data obtained by the sensors and provide an assessment of the qualitative correlation between port activity and environmental pollution, based on objective data and through scientific rigour.
In order to meet this objective, a solution for environmental monitoring of ports was developed with the following functionalities: 4 System for the generation of periodic reports with the sending of 1 daily report on the state of air quality in the study area. 4 Early detection of episodes of increased pollution and reduction of response time to 96%: by means of a system of alarms, alerts and statistics in real time. 4 Increased correlation of pollution episodes with maritime traffic and port management. 4 More than 1.5 million air quality data per month. 4 Improved perception of environmental performance. 4 100% compliance with the target on complaints or denunciations received for air pollution reasons (target 4; received 0). 4 100% compliance with the objective on complaints or denunciations for noise pollution (target 7, received 5). 4 Compliance with the objective of reducing the pressure of port operators' activities on air quality.
KUNAK AIR PRO
Since we launched Kunak AIR Pro at the end of 2020 the reception has been tremendously positive and there have been many customers (current and new) who have shown great interest in knowing the product and implementing it in their projects in countries like Denmark, Guatemala, India, UK, Spain.
In addition, we are working for the coming months in different projects in other countries, so we are very happy and the growth expectations are very remarkable.
We have spent many months developing this product to be able to respond to the main needs of the market and of any air quality project, anticipating the future demands of customers, companies and administrations.
The response from customers could not have been more positive. A large majority have expressed their satisfaction with the ease of installation, the practical system of interchangeable cartridges, the integrated display that shows immediately if everything has been installed correctly, the careful design and the quick start-up and delivery of high-quality data without requiring prior calibration.
NEW TECHNOLOGIES
At Kunak we are committed to the continuous improvement of our products and services.
Currently, we are working on a reduced and more compact version of Kunak AIR Pro focused on projects that do not require the measurement of so many pollutant gases, which we hope to have ready in the coming months.
On the other hand, we continue to work on the development of other products such as our Kunak Cloud platform, which is already in version v2.1.0, the improvement and update of the K101 datalogger and the upcoming launch of a new Gateway, in order to respond to the needs of our customers.
In 2020 Kunak obtained the certificate of registration in the Registry of Carbon Footprint, compensation and carbon dioxide absorption projects from MITECO (Ministry of Ecological Transition of the Government of Spain).
To this end, Kunak has calculated the company's carbon footprint and has created a plan to reduce emissions and protect the environment and mitigate climate change by implementing changes in consumption and responsible driving habits.
In addition, with the new Kunak AIR Pro we have made a strong commitment to offer a sustainable product thanks to a 100% recyclable packaging and the design of the intelligent gas cartridges that allow their reuse, thus reducing waste.
At Kunak we believe in a sustainable future where we can all make small gestures to help reduce our environmental impact.
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