Final Report Summary - ENVIROMONITOR (Demonstration of an on-site Automated Environmental Monitoring Instrument for real-time detection of hazardous air born particles and Activation of alarms)
Executive Summary:
The main objective of the ENVIROMONITOR project is to develop a mobile instrument for qualitative and quantitative analysis of breathable particles. Measurements will be done continuously in real-time, and fast data processing will facilitate the utilization of an alarm function for critical monitoring tasks and in emergency situations. The latest developments in X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) are used to meet these needs. The main challenges to realize this are the collection and automatic transportation of airborne particles into the instrument, development of suitable data processing algorithms for automatic analysis and the limited portability of XRD instruments.
EnviroMonitor is demonstration of results achieved in Nanoair project (project no 222333). The research and development period finished in Nanoair while we were looking for the best and cheapest solution for the industrial production, assemble and disassemble to meet regulations as WEEE and demonstrate this to the market. Design for manufacture (DFM) is the process of taking R&D prototypes and implementing standard production processes so that they can be built in a production environment. We have addressed DFM in this project. Design for efficient manufacture and disassembly of the EnviroMonitor instrument is sought to reduce the cost of the assembly in terms of the component parts and also the construction procedures and to consider compliance with standards.
Project Context and Objectives:
At the end of the project, the Nanoair prototype was composed by:
A dust collection device, with dust impaction principle on Mylar film
an analytical device, for particle characterization, the X-ray diffraction system composed by a SAXS (Small angle X-ray scattering) and WAXS (Wide angle X-ray scattering) combination
A sample changer device, allowing to move samples in the process,
An expert device, composed by computers and networking.
A dedicated housing
The technical feasibility was concluded in Nanoair, but several criticisms were evidenced by partners:
The WAXS technique brought enough information than expected,
Because SAXS technique did not bring too much more information, it can be skipped out.
The dust impaction on Mylar was difficult to control; a dust filtering will be more efficient for an industrial point of view.
The X-ray diffraction instrument was big, heavy and power consuming; solutions could exist to minimize the X-ray source.
A complete system should be easy to install on any sites; with Nanoair housing, size and weight were too high to allow a good site accessibility.
On the basis of the conclusion remarks of Nanoair, an industrial scheme was born in our mind. At the end of the former project, solutions were found to permit the industrialization of the system: improvements on the XRD source and in the sample changer. These major modifications will optimize the size, weight, consumption and reliability. This will obviously reduce the cost of the assembly in terms of the component parts. A complete revising of the cost reduction processes involves looking at all elements of the system (mechanical construction, electronics and software) and drawing a practical balance between time spent on the improvement exercise, and the benefits achieved in relation to the intended production volume.
Project Results:
At the beginning of the project, many discussions have been done for explaining the configuration of the system according to industrial requirements proposed by Ineris. A draft of technical solutions was proposed. As a synthesis, discussions between partners were hold, and achieved by a hardware description; according to the rules of cost reduction, weight and size performing the consortium has chosen the best compromise. To fulfil as well the tasks proposed in WP1, we have suggested considering two levels in the system:
a system dedicated to work-place controlled, EvM_V1, in soft industrial places (§WP1.1 and WP1.2)
a system dedicated for hard environment, EvM_V2 (§WP1.3)
This product declination is also based on cost saving. We decide to built first the soft environment system, and then two hard environment systems.
On the basis of the new X-ray source proposed by Inel, the solution of using filtering for catching aerosols proposed by Comde, a complete re-design was proposed. The system principle was simplified in order to get in robustness improvements. Camfil could suggest several types of filter material.
The pre-design EvM_V1 was built, and taking into account the result of bench marking proposed by Briton.
Components have been supplied by the respective partners, and the assembly was done at Inel factory. The first system was completely assembled and control hardware has been validated. A test software has been written, in order to verify the correct functioning of the whole system. Several tests have been done in order to check the filter band, the detection limit and the system accessibility on site.
At the issue, the EvM_V2 system has been designed but was not yet built. The final software is not yet finished, but is in good progress. This was an chance for Inel to change the manner of programming, by using more advanced techniques. This is also an opportunity to be able to propose software with CFR21 compliance (not yet validated).
Corrective actions have been done in respect to the DoW. In course of the instrument development several technical problems have occurred which desired a search for alternative solutions. The critical points of the project have implied the following deviations in the WP from that described in the DoW (see document "20140211_EvM_Consortium_meeting_V4.pdf"). Several additional tasks have to be added (see figure 2). In this document, we have shown the real progress of the project (see Gant chart). And at least, we succeed in building a miniaturized system (see figures 3 to 7). The miniaturisation has permit to develop, adapt or modify XRD components, which are used now in our conventional instruments.
Potential Impact:
The ENVIROMONITOR project will primarily impact on the market for Occupational Air Quality Detection services provided to various industries and sectors such as construction sites, powder industries, recycling stations, mining, hospitals and airports. In 2005 around 1700 companies with a joint sales turnover of €5 billion and employing more than 30 000 people provided air quality detection services in EU25 (95% SMEs). The global market for these services is estimated at €13.7 billion (2007) with a 4-5% AAGR (EU growth rate estimated be slightly higher). The project will also impact on the equipment supply chain for the air measurement service sector primarily for high tech XRD parts and high tech particulate matter handling parts, of which there are estimated 400 SMEs in Europe. In the longer term, during post-project market introduction, we expect a large number of SME dominated sectors to generate significant benefits from this technology. For companies working with particulate matter the new instrument will provide an efficient tool to analyze and characterize particulate matter both for work-place monitoring and process control applications in real-time with previously unseen quality. For the secondary market, which includes the indoor air quality monitoring and industrial air quality control sectors, the benefits are estimated to lie within €135-145 million over a five-year period.
List of Websites:
www.enviromonitor.eu
The main objective of the ENVIROMONITOR project is to develop a mobile instrument for qualitative and quantitative analysis of breathable particles. Measurements will be done continuously in real-time, and fast data processing will facilitate the utilization of an alarm function for critical monitoring tasks and in emergency situations. The latest developments in X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) are used to meet these needs. The main challenges to realize this are the collection and automatic transportation of airborne particles into the instrument, development of suitable data processing algorithms for automatic analysis and the limited portability of XRD instruments.
EnviroMonitor is demonstration of results achieved in Nanoair project (project no 222333). The research and development period finished in Nanoair while we were looking for the best and cheapest solution for the industrial production, assemble and disassemble to meet regulations as WEEE and demonstrate this to the market. Design for manufacture (DFM) is the process of taking R&D prototypes and implementing standard production processes so that they can be built in a production environment. We have addressed DFM in this project. Design for efficient manufacture and disassembly of the EnviroMonitor instrument is sought to reduce the cost of the assembly in terms of the component parts and also the construction procedures and to consider compliance with standards.
Project Context and Objectives:
At the end of the project, the Nanoair prototype was composed by:
A dust collection device, with dust impaction principle on Mylar film
an analytical device, for particle characterization, the X-ray diffraction system composed by a SAXS (Small angle X-ray scattering) and WAXS (Wide angle X-ray scattering) combination
A sample changer device, allowing to move samples in the process,
An expert device, composed by computers and networking.
A dedicated housing
The technical feasibility was concluded in Nanoair, but several criticisms were evidenced by partners:
The WAXS technique brought enough information than expected,
Because SAXS technique did not bring too much more information, it can be skipped out.
The dust impaction on Mylar was difficult to control; a dust filtering will be more efficient for an industrial point of view.
The X-ray diffraction instrument was big, heavy and power consuming; solutions could exist to minimize the X-ray source.
A complete system should be easy to install on any sites; with Nanoair housing, size and weight were too high to allow a good site accessibility.
On the basis of the conclusion remarks of Nanoair, an industrial scheme was born in our mind. At the end of the former project, solutions were found to permit the industrialization of the system: improvements on the XRD source and in the sample changer. These major modifications will optimize the size, weight, consumption and reliability. This will obviously reduce the cost of the assembly in terms of the component parts. A complete revising of the cost reduction processes involves looking at all elements of the system (mechanical construction, electronics and software) and drawing a practical balance between time spent on the improvement exercise, and the benefits achieved in relation to the intended production volume.
Project Results:
At the beginning of the project, many discussions have been done for explaining the configuration of the system according to industrial requirements proposed by Ineris. A draft of technical solutions was proposed. As a synthesis, discussions between partners were hold, and achieved by a hardware description; according to the rules of cost reduction, weight and size performing the consortium has chosen the best compromise. To fulfil as well the tasks proposed in WP1, we have suggested considering two levels in the system:
a system dedicated to work-place controlled, EvM_V1, in soft industrial places (§WP1.1 and WP1.2)
a system dedicated for hard environment, EvM_V2 (§WP1.3)
This product declination is also based on cost saving. We decide to built first the soft environment system, and then two hard environment systems.
On the basis of the new X-ray source proposed by Inel, the solution of using filtering for catching aerosols proposed by Comde, a complete re-design was proposed. The system principle was simplified in order to get in robustness improvements. Camfil could suggest several types of filter material.
The pre-design EvM_V1 was built, and taking into account the result of bench marking proposed by Briton.
Components have been supplied by the respective partners, and the assembly was done at Inel factory. The first system was completely assembled and control hardware has been validated. A test software has been written, in order to verify the correct functioning of the whole system. Several tests have been done in order to check the filter band, the detection limit and the system accessibility on site.
At the issue, the EvM_V2 system has been designed but was not yet built. The final software is not yet finished, but is in good progress. This was an chance for Inel to change the manner of programming, by using more advanced techniques. This is also an opportunity to be able to propose software with CFR21 compliance (not yet validated).
Corrective actions have been done in respect to the DoW. In course of the instrument development several technical problems have occurred which desired a search for alternative solutions. The critical points of the project have implied the following deviations in the WP from that described in the DoW (see document "20140211_EvM_Consortium_meeting_V4.pdf"). Several additional tasks have to be added (see figure 2). In this document, we have shown the real progress of the project (see Gant chart). And at least, we succeed in building a miniaturized system (see figures 3 to 7). The miniaturisation has permit to develop, adapt or modify XRD components, which are used now in our conventional instruments.
Potential Impact:
The ENVIROMONITOR project will primarily impact on the market for Occupational Air Quality Detection services provided to various industries and sectors such as construction sites, powder industries, recycling stations, mining, hospitals and airports. In 2005 around 1700 companies with a joint sales turnover of €5 billion and employing more than 30 000 people provided air quality detection services in EU25 (95% SMEs). The global market for these services is estimated at €13.7 billion (2007) with a 4-5% AAGR (EU growth rate estimated be slightly higher). The project will also impact on the equipment supply chain for the air measurement service sector primarily for high tech XRD parts and high tech particulate matter handling parts, of which there are estimated 400 SMEs in Europe. In the longer term, during post-project market introduction, we expect a large number of SME dominated sectors to generate significant benefits from this technology. For companies working with particulate matter the new instrument will provide an efficient tool to analyze and characterize particulate matter both for work-place monitoring and process control applications in real-time with previously unseen quality. For the secondary market, which includes the indoor air quality monitoring and industrial air quality control sectors, the benefits are estimated to lie within €135-145 million over a five-year period.
List of Websites:
www.enviromonitor.eu