Realtime Gas Emission Monitoring at Hazardous Sites Using a Distributed Point-Source Sensing Infrastructure

Sensors (Basel). 2016 Jan 20;16(1):121. doi: 10.3390/s16010121.

Abstract

This paper describes a distributed point-source monitoring platform for gas level and leakage detection in hazardous environments. The platform, based on a wireless sensor network (WSN) architecture, is organised into sub-networks to be positioned in the plant's critical areas; each sub-net includes a gateway unit wirelessly connected to the WSN nodes, hence providing an easily deployable, stand-alone infrastructure featuring a high degree of scalability and reconfigurability. Furthermore, the system provides automated calibration routines which can be accomplished by non-specialized maintenance operators without system reliability reduction issues. Internet connectivity is provided via TCP/IP over GPRS (Internet standard protocols over mobile networks) gateways at a one-minute sampling rate. Environmental and process data are forwarded to a remote server and made available to authenticated users through a user interface that provides data rendering in various formats and multi-sensor data fusion. The platform is able to provide real-time plant management with an effective; accurate tool for immediate warning in case of critical events.

Keywords: VOC monitoring; photoionization detectors; wireless sensor networks.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Environmental Monitoring / methods*
  • Gases / analysis*
  • Internet
  • User-Computer Interface
  • Volatile Organic Compounds / analysis*
  • Wireless Technology*

Substances

  • Gases
  • Volatile Organic Compounds