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
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
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Photo: 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.
devices will be able to improve and innovate on the same terms, creating air quality solutions that can reach everywhere with maximum guarantees.
8 The sensor make it possible to know the origins and magnitudes of pollutant and noise
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.
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