Mobile Optical remote sensing system for industrial VOC emission monitoring

Important results from the project

The goal of building a working instrument prototype for quantification and leak detection of VOC emissions from industries has been achieved. The prototype made it possible to evaluate a number of different components, optical setups and detectors. A good candidate for the future production of FluxMini has crystallized as one which met the performance requirements in a real measurement situation. The goals of developing user-friendly software and an instrument-integrated solar tracker have also been met.

Expected long term effects

The results show that it is possible to construct a simpler, cheaper and more user-friendly measurement instrument for VOC emissions than existing ones (SOF, DIAL). The sensitivity for FluxMini is slightly lower than for SOF but is judged to be sufficient to be commercially viable. When the instrument hits the market, far more companies and authorities can monitor their emissions, which provides large business opportunities and positive environmental effects on air quality and climate. We intend to productify FluxMini and there are in-depth discussions with global partners.

Approach and implementation

The project was divided into five work packages, from design of hard- and software to test and verification of the prototype. The completion was delayed due to a sharp increase in new orders at FluxSense, beside the COVID-19 pandemic. VINNOVA granted an extended time-line and the project was successfully completed within the estimated total working hours. The work effort was intensified at the end with an active test and development phase. We enlisted the help of four different consulting firms that contributed with expertise and manpower during this critical final phase.