Fossil CO2 emissions are the main cause of climate change. We build the PmCTrace system, which according to EN / ISO 13833 collects CO2 in a cartridge proportional to the volume flow over a month. The cartridges are evaluated in the C14 laboratory for the ratio of biogenic / fossil CO2.

The PmCTrace system is successfully used in cement works and waste incineration plants to conveniently and precisely determine the fossil CO2 content from the exhaust gas.

The advantages of the PmCTrace system at a glance

• Exhaust gas measurement instead of analysis of the fuel mixture
• Greater accuracy at a lower cost
• Simple and automatic
• Monthly mean value of fossil CO2 emissions Biomass share (BMA) and fossil CO2 share

Biogenic CO2 measurement - biomass fraction

With the self-developed volumetric system, the PmCTrace® extracts 0.5 to 30 ml / min proportionally to the measured speed, adjustable in the range of 0.2 and 30 ml / min. The speed in the chimney is measured with the robust Genius5 pitot sensor.

The period can be configured from 3 hours to 2 months, typically 1 month. In one month, the CO2 content of 0.5 ml / min x 60 min x 24 hours x 30 days = 21.6 liters of smoke gas is collected in the self-developed cartridge. With 10% CO2, for example, 4.4 g CO2 are collected, which represents the monthly CO2 emissions.

The cartridge is sent to the C14 laboratory, where the PmC value is determined. Based on the definition by EN 13833, according to which 105 pmC = 100% biogenic share, the biogenic CO2 is calculated. The biomass fraction (BMA) is the percentage of the biogenic CO2. The fossil share is the supplement to 100%. The typical accuracy of the accredited laboratory is 0.3 PmC.

Measurement technology against climate change

Renewable fuels are climate-neutral, recognizable by their content of the carbon isotope with mass 14. The radioactive isotope C14 is generated by cosmic radiation in the CO2 in the atmosphere and is absorbed by plants and trees. If carbon lies underground for a long time, the C14 isotope degrades with a half-life of 6000 years, i.e. 1% in 120 years. Coal, oil and natural gas have 0%.

With this method, which is also used to determine the age, the proportion of fossil carbon in complex fuel mixtures is elegantly determined.

The PmCTrace® is an effective measuring instrument for emissions trading. CO2 taxes are charged exactly and precisely to the polluter. The increase in the proportion of biomass in the fuel mixture is detected immediately and leads to a reduction in CO2 taxes in the first month.

Cut down trees to burn more biomass?

Global warming will not be reduced if forests are cut down for the operation of biomass cogeneration plants. It makes more sense to use fuel mixtures for energy that are otherwise dumped as waste or slowly rot in dumps and continuously release the CO2 into the atmosphere. The PmCTrace® supports this recycling by elegantly relocating the costly sampling of the fuel mixture to the exhaust air.

Some cement works already use these fuel mixtures and thus help to reduce global warming. In a research project of the VDZ, the PmCTrace® was validated in cement works and compared with manual methods in a round robin test in Milan. It can be used from 5 – 110 PmC.

Renewable energy plants the solution

The application in renewable energy plants is also very promising, in order to prove with the measurement of the PmC (Parts Modern Carbon) that pure biomass is burned. Over 97% organic content is considered a pure biomass incineration plant. The production of chipboard and wood fiber boards creates an ecological cycle in which the valuable material "wood" is first used as a product and then as an energy supplier.

Many years ago Fritz Egger said to me that it is a waste to process the forest into wood chips for the sole purpose of incineration. His philosophy of the environmental cycle can be read at: https://www.egger.com/shop/en_GB/about-us/environment

Ten years later his ideas led to the development of the PmCTrace®.

More details and information

can be found in

Genius5-pmCTrace brochure as pdf

Replacement parts and refills

We offer replacement parts and refills for all our products, of course also for the PmCTrace. Please send your requests to spares@genius5-instruments.at