WO2012120530A1

WO2012120530A1 - A system and method for monitoring green house gas related data of an entity

Info

Publication number: WO2012120530A1
Application number: PCT/IN2011/000752
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rajesh R. MADIWALE; Amit MHETRE; Rohit KHINDRI; Sandip VIJAYVARGIYA
Original assignee: Thermax Sustainable Energy Solutions Ltd.
Priority date: 2011-03-10
Filing date: 2011-11-01
Publication date: 2012-09-13
Also published as: AU2011100274A4; DE202011004824U1

Abstract

A computer aided system for monitoring green house gas (GHG) related data of an entity comprising movable and non-movable equipment is envisaged, wherein this system mainly comprises a first repository to store green house gas related parameters and rules governing these parameters; a sensing subsystem comprising a plurality of sensors coupled to each of the equipment, and continuously sense these parameters and generate corresponding signals; first transmission means to transmit the signals corresponding to these parameters over a first communication network; a second repository to store these signals as records; a green house gas prognostic and diagnostic subsystem to perform prognosis and diagnosis, and generate notifications and solutions; and a reporting subsystem for generating reports.

Description

A SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MONITORING GREEN HOUSE GAS RELATED DATA OF AN ENTITY

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of information systems.

Particularly, the invention relates to the field of Green House Gas (GHG) related information systems.

DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED IN THE SPECIFICATION

The term 'entity' used in the specification refers to premises, manufacturing plants, organizations, geographical regions and the like comprising movable and/or non-movable equipment wherein the equipment invariably emits or sequesters green house gases.

The terms 'short term impact' and 'long term impact' refer to outcomes of operation of entities comprising equipment, based on diagnosis and prognosis of patterns generated when compared with benchmark patterns tailored by domain experts for each equipment for a particular entity.

These definitions are in addition to those expressed in the art.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Rapid industrialization, deforestation, proliferation of concrete jungles has harmed the environment, perhaps irreparably. The amount of green house gases (GHG) emitting from industrial setups have crossed the benchmark of safe and controlled emissions. Industrialization and its lucrative outcome have lured more and more economies to join this race and now, they seem to have forgotten the adverse effects they pile on the environment, which indeed is the key of a sustainable planet.

Considering the amount of greenhouse gas emissions today and the projected figures for tomorrow, environmentalists predict melting of entire polar ice and rise in the sea levels leading to submerging of most of the low lying countries and continents.

Not too long ago, recognizing the need for environmental protection for sustainable planet, nations and organizations alike have started to focus on reducing emissions. However, the steps taken by them are feeble and need well structured policies and effective enforcement of the policies.

One of the gargantuan impediments in formation of such policies and their enforcement mainly at an organizational level and also, at a national and international level is the lack of organized, customized, integrated and structured information relating to green house gas emissions. Such information can be of great help in observing the status of greenhouse gas emissions of any organization and analyzing the impact. On a larger scale, such information can help nations devise there strategies to wane their emissions and contributing to the planet.

In order to address the issue field instruments and systems were developed to sense emission related parameters such as CO₂ emission, fuel consumed and the like.

One of the systems which address the issue, although superficially, is a greenhouse gas online monitoring system disclosed in Chinese patent document CN101782562. The system employs a gas detector set connected to a computer installation. The gas detector set including the control chip, a gas detector, the connection control chip and the gas detector AID transformation chip along with GPRS module. The invention monitors carbon dioxide, the methane, the nitrous oxide many kinds of greenhouse gases in real-time. But, this system is merely used for sensing or monitoring the greenhouse gases and is of little importance when it comes to handling heterogeneous environments and intelligently automating the entire process of monitoring.

Further, this system and other such systems available today lack to show current and projected global picture of the effects of greenhouse gas emissions with factual data.

Moreover, it has been observed that the present systems are not capable of eliminating network data losses and are vulnerable to hacking and malpractices due to use of unsecured data exchange over network.

Additionally, every day new norms and standards and policies are made and brought into practice by governments and organizations and the present systems are incapable of complying with them.

Hence, there is felt a need for a system which can

■ render computerized green house gas emissions calculation and prediction of reduction;

■ provide an emission credit management system for effectively utilizing computing and managing emission credits; ^■ rapidly and precisely calculate the amount of cuts of toxic substances contained in exhaust gas; and

^■ time efficient, cost efficient and space efficient system for monitoring of green house gas related parameter.

OBJECTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a system for monitoring green house gas related parameters.

Another object of the present invention is to provide intelligence through diagnosis & prognosis of an entity's GHG related information.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a reliable system for monitoring green house gas related parameters.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an authentic system for monitoring green house gas related parameters.

Still another object of the present invention is to ensure zero percent loss during data acquisition.

Still another object of the present invention is to effectively monitor equipment in different scenarios.

Still further an object of the present invention is to render computerized green house gas emission calculation and prediction of reduction. One more object of the present invention is to provide an emission credit management system for effectively utilizing, computing and managing emission credits.

Still one more object of the present invention is to rapidly and precisely calculate the reduction in green house gases.

Additionally, an object of the present invention is to provide a time efficient, cost efficient and space efficient system for monitoring green house gas related parameters.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a computer aided system for monitoring green house gas (GHG) related data of an entity comprising movable and non-movable equipment, the equipment adapted to emit or sequester green house gas, the system comprising:

^■ a first repository adapted to store green house gas related parameters and rules governing the parameters;

^■ a sensing subsystem comprising:

^■ a plurality of sensors adapted to be coupled to each of the equipment at appropriate locations, the plurality of sensors further adapted to continuously sense at least one of the parameters and generate corresponding signals;

^■ first transmission means adapted to transmit the signals corresponding to the parameters over a first communication network;

^■ a second repository adapted to store the signals as records; green house gas prognostic and diagnostic subsystem comprising:

registering means adapted to register the plurality of sensors with the green house gas prognostic and diagnostic subsystem and a report generation subsystem;

sampling and collation means adapted to receive the transmitted signals and sample at least one of the transmitted signals and further adapted to collate the sampled signals into groups;

pattern building means adapted to access the first repository and extract the rules to build benchmark patterns and current patterns for the groups of signals;

a third repository adapted to store the benchmark patterns of groups of sampled signals corresponding to the parameters, wherein the third repository is populated by domain experts;

comparator means adapted to match the current patterns with the benchmark patterns stored in the third repository to extract matched patterns;

parsing means adapted to parse the matched patterns to predict short term and long term impact on green house gas emission of the entity and solutions thereof, based on the matched patterns;

notification generation means adapted to generate notifications based on the prediction; central repository adapted to store the groups as records; reporting subsystem comprising: ^■ sequestration data collection means adapted to communicate with dedicated sequestration equipment in order to collect sequestration data;

^■ data acquiring means coupled to the central repository and the sequestration data collection means and adapted to acquire the groups and the sequestration data;

^■ computation means adapted access the acquired groups to compute emission data selected from the group consisting of project emission, leakage emission, and baseline emission, the computing means further adapted to access the acquired sequestration data; and

^■ report generation means adapted to access the computed emission data, perform inventorying and generate reports.

The system as described herein above further comprises:

^■ requesting means coupled with the central repository, the requesting means being adapted to request the sensing subsystem to retransmit the signals stored in the second repository, the signals corresponding to the parameters; and

^■ facilitation means adapted to extract the signals stored in the second repository, and trigger the first transmission means to transmit the extracted signals.

Typically in accordance with the present invention, the system further comprises first editing means adapted to edit the rules for building the benchmark patterns and the current patterns.

Typically in accordance with the present invention, the system further comprises second editing means adapted to edit the benchmark patterns stored in the third repository. Alternatively, in accordance with the present invention, the sensing subsystem is a part of a SCADA system.

Typically in accordance with the present invention, map generation means is adapted to generate green house gas element maps for a specified region using the reports pertaining to the equipment of the specified region.

Additionally, in accordance with the present invention, the first transmission means is adapted to transmit the signals being embedded with messages, the messages are in a form selected from the group consisting of email, SMS, MMS, packets, and their combinations thereof.

Preferably, the diagnostic and prognostic subsystem further comprises:

^■ second transmission means adapted to transmit the notifications and solutions to users over a second communication network; and

^■ receiving means adapted to receive feedback from the users and update the third repository.

Additionally, in accordance with the present invention, the second transmission means is adapted to transmit the notifications and the solutions to users the notifications and solutions being embedded with messages, the messages are in a form selected from the group consisting of emails, SMS, MMS, packets, and combinations thereof.

The first communication network and the second communication network is typically selected from the group consisting of internet, PSTN, mobile network, GSM network, CDMA network, VPN, OFDM network, LAN, MAN, WAN, 3G network, satellite communication network and combinations thereof. Further, the system described herein above, comprises remote vigilance means adapted to capture real time audio, video data and transmit it to the users using the second transmission means.

In accordance with the present invention, the parameters (for instance, for a heat generating equipment) are typically selected (but not limited to) from the group (for e.g. heat generating equipment, not limited to) consisting of steam flow, steam temperature, steam pressure, feed water temperature, electrical energy consumption, fluid flow, inlet temperature of the heat transfer fluid at the inlet, temperature of the heat transfer fluid at the outlet of the heater, electrical energy consumption, calorific value of fuel, fuel usage, capacity of equipment, moisture content values, chemical reactions, operating pressure, ambient temperature, operating load, age of equipment, steam generation frequency, meter reading, delta energy consumption, and their combinations thereof.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a method for monitoring green house gas (GHG) related data of an entity comprising movable and non-movable equipment, the method comprising:

■ providing a first repository for storing green house gas related parameters and rules governing the parameters;

■ coupling a plurality of sensors to the equipment;

■ registering the sensors with a green house gas prognostic and diagnostic subsystem and a report generation subsystem;

■ continuous sensing by a sensing subsystem of at least one of the parameters and generating signals corresponding to the sensed parameters; ^■ providing a second repository for storing signals corresponding to the parameters as records;

^■ transmitting the signals corresponding to the parameters over a first communication network;

■ receiving the transmitted signals;

■ sampling at least one of the transmitted signals and collating the sampled signals into groups;

^■ accessing the first repository and extracting the rules for building benchmark patterns and current patterns for the groups;

^■ comparing the current patterns with the benchmark patterns stored in a third repository to extract matched patterns;

■ parsing the matched patterns to predict short term and long term impact on green house gas emission of the entity based on the matched patterns and their solutions thereof;

^■ generating notifications based on the predictions;

■ colleting sequestration data;

■ receiving the transmitted signals;

■ computing emission data selected from the group consisting of project emission, leakage emission, and baseline emission from the transmitted signals;

^■ accessing said sequestration data and computed emission data; and

■ generating reports by performing inventorying of the sequestration data and the computed emission data.

The method described herein above, further comprises the step of generating green house gas element maps for a specified region using the reports pertaining to the equipment of the specified region; and the step of capturing real time audio, video data and transmitting it to users using second transmission means.

The method described herein above still further comprises the following steps:

■ transmitting the notifications and solutions to users over a second communication network; and

■ receiving feedback and updating the third repository.

Furthermore, the method described herein above comprises the following steps:

■ requesting the sensing subsystem to retransmit the signals stored in the second repository when data is not received for specified time interval;

■ extracting the signals stored in the second repository,; and

■ triggering the first transmission means for transmitting the extracted signals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described in relation to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 illustrates a schematic of a system for monitoring green house gas related data of an entity in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 illustrates a schematic of a method for monitoring green house gas related data of an entity in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 3 illustrates matching of stored patterns of signals with a current patterns for the same entity in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and FIGURE 4 illustrates matching of stored patterns of signals with a current pattern for different entities in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The drawings and the description thereto are merely illustrative of a computer aided system for monitoring green house gas related data of an entity comprising movable and non-movable equipment. The drawings and description only exemplify the invention and in no way limits the scope thereof.

The invention focuses on an intelligent, reliable & authentic system that enables monitoring & managing greenhouse gas related parameters of an entity. Also, it is within the scope of the invention to manage and monitor greenhouse gas related parameters of an individual or community.

In accordance with the invention, a diagnostic & prognostic subsystem is provided to analyze the parameters related to greenhouse gas emission sensed using a sensing subsystem. Further, the diagnostic and prognostic subsystem proactively suggests to users, solutions to avoid system/process failures and comply with current greenhouse gas standards and has the ability to comply with upcoming greenhouse gas standards and norms. The diagnostic & prognostic subsystem also alerts the user for the actions to be taken during various events.

In accordance with the invention, the system considers various types of project emissions, leakages and sequestration natural/artificial to compute effective greenhouse gas emissions, thus improving greenhouse gas assessment, verification, audit and certification anywhere in the world. The invention includes the features and capabilities of communicating via internet / GSM/ 3G/ GIS/ Satellite Communication; providing audiovisual aid on any handheld device; use of highly secured data transfer models; and use of interactive tools & online validations.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the system includes a greenhouse gas inventorying subsystem which performs functions of maintaining an inventory of the sensed parameters and generating reports on pre defined intervals such as daily, monthly, yearly and the like.

In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, in order to ensure zero percent data loss during server system or network communication shutdown or server system or network communication malfunction, a sensing subsystem is provided with a local storage to continuously store the sensed parameters. These stored parameters can be accessed again anytime by request coming from central repository and hence, there is no data loss.

Further, the invention includes the features of generating greenhouse gas element maps for specified region/area/country. The invention also proposes visualizing the data/ equipment / premises through audio visual aid on any handheld device anytime.

Referring to figure 1, there is shown a computer aided system for monitoring green house gas related data of an entity, the equipment adapted to emit or sequester green house gas. The system 100 includes a sensing subsystem 105 which is used for sensing; a diagnostic and prognostic subsystem 110 for performing the function of prediction of short term and long term impact on greenhouse gas emission of the entity; and a reporting subsystem 115 to generate reports after performing the function of inventorying.

The sensing subsystem 105 comprises sensors 105a coupled with each of the equipment which continuously senses at least one greenhouse gas related parameters associated with the equipment. Also, it is within the scope of the invention to use sensing systems as part of supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems for greenhouse gas related data of the equipment. For instance, the parameters for a heat generating equipment can be included from but not limited to steam flow, steam temperature, steam pressure, feed water temperature, electrical energy consumption, fluid flow, inlet temperature of the heat transfer fluid at the inlet, outlet temperature of the heat transfer fluid at the outlet of the heater, electrical energy consumption, calorific value of fuel, fuel usage, capacity of equipment, moisture content values, chemical reactions, operating pressure, ambient temperature, operating load, age of equipment, steam generation frequency, meter reading, delta energy consumption, combinations thereof and the like.

The output signals from the sensors correspond to the values of sensed parameters. The said signals are transmitted using a first transmission means 105b which transmits the signals over a first communication network. The said first communication network, in a preferable embodiment, is an internet or a GPRS network. Alternatively, said network can be a mobile network, a GSM network, a CDMA network, VPN, an OFDM network, LAN, MAN, WAN, a 3G network, a satellite communication network and combinations thereof. Also, the first transmission means 105b transmits the signals after embedding the signals with messages; the messages for instance, are in the form of an email, SMS, MMS, packets, and combinations thereof.

To ensure zero percent data loss the sensing subsystem 105 includes a second repository 105c which stores the signals as records, to be accessed and retransmitted at a later point in time, in case of any discrepancy in the communication of signals or incorrect processing.

The system includes a greenhouse gas prognostic and diagnostic subsystem 110 which comprises a registering means 110a to register the sensors with the greenhouse gas prognostic and diagnostic subsystem 110 and a report generation subsystem 115.

Further, a sampling and collation means 110b is provided which receives the transmitted signals, samples the signals and collates the sampled signals into groups. Further, the collated samples are used by a pattern building means 110c to access a first repository 102 and extract rules governing the parameters to build benchmark patterns and current patterns for the groups of signals. Said groups are also stored in a central repository 103 as records. The current patterns are then compared with the benchmark patterns stored in a third repository llOd. Using comparator means HOe, the matched patterns are extracted. The third repository llOd stores the benchmark patterns of groups of sampled signals corresponding to green house gas related parameters, the third repository 1 lOd is populated by domain experts using the rules stored in the first repository and used at a later stage in order to match the current patterns of the signals. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the domain experts build the patterns for selected equipment capable of generating green house gas or for the entire entity. The benchmark patterns are verified from time to time.

The extracted patterns are parsed by parsing means 11 Of which parses the matched patterns to predict short term and long term impact on green house gas emission of the entity, based on the matched patterns. The parsing means also provides solutions based on the matched patterns. The parsing can be done using mathematical analysis, statistical analysis or computer aided analysis of the matched patterns.

Further, a notification generation means HOg is provided to generate notifications based on short term and long term impact of the entity. The said notifications include qualitative flags, for instance, a negative short term or long term impact can be represented by a "Negative" flag and vice versa can be represented by "Positive" flag.

The generated notifications and the solutions are transmitted to users using a second transmission means HOh to transmit the notifications and suggestions to users over a second communication network. The said second communication network, in a preferable embodiment, is an internet or a GPRS network. Alternatively, the network is a mobile network, a GSM network, a CDMA network, VPN, an OFDM network, LAN, MAN, WAN, a 3G network, a satellite communication network and combinations thereof. Also, the second transmission means 11 Oh transmits the signals after embedding the signals with messages which are typically in the form of an email, SMS, MMS, packets, and combinations thereof. Users' feedback on the notifications and the suggested solutions are received using receiving means llOi and the third repository HOd is updated accordingly.

In order to generate reports for analyzing the emission credits, the reporting subsystem 115 is used. The reporting subsystem 115 includes sequestration data collection means 115a to communicate with dedicated sequestration equipment (not shown) in order to collect sequestration data. A data acquiring means 115b is provided which acquires the groups stored in the central repository and the collected sequestration data and sends it to a computation means 115c for computing emission data including project emission, leakage emission, and baseline emission and further accesses the acquired sequestration data. A report generation means 115d then accesses the computed emission data and the sequestration data, performs inventorying and generates reports.

In order to ensure zero percent data loss, the central repository 103 is coupled with a requesting means 120 which requests the sensing subsystem 105 to retransmit the signals corresponding to green house gas related parameters which are missing in the central repository, stored in the second repository 105c. Consequently, the sensing subsystem 105 is provided with a facilitation means 105d to extract the signals stored in the second repository, and trigger the transmission means to transmit the extracted signals.

The system, in accordance with the present invention, further includes remote vigilance means 125 coupled to said sensing subsystem 105 which captures real time audio, video data of the entity and transmit it to the users using second transmission means HOh. The system also includes first editing means (not shown in figure) to edit the rules governing these parameters stored in the first repository and a second editing means to edit the benchmark patterns of groups of sampled signals stored in the third repository. The edition of benchmark patterns is typically a function carried out by domain experts related to the corresponding equipment or entity in the event that the current pattern obtained includes parameters not forming a part of the benchmark patterns.

The system, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, further includes map generation means to generate green house gas element maps for a specified region using the reports pertaining to the equipment of the specified region.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the benchmark patterns of the group of signals relating to parameters of an entity stored in the third repository are used for a different entity in order to interrelate and perform diagnosis and prognosis.

In accordance with the present invention, a method for monitoring green house gas related data of an entity comprising movable and non-movable equipment is provided, as shown in figure 2, the method comprising the following steps:

^■ providing a first repository for storing green house gas related parameters and rules governing the parameters, 201;

^■ coupling a plurality of sensors to the equipment, 203;

^■ registering the sensors with a green house gas prognostic and diagnostic subsystem and a report generation subsystem, 205; continuous sensing by a sensing subsystem of at least one of the parameters and generating signals corresponding to the sensed parameters, 207;

providing a second repository for storing signals corresponding to the parameters as records, 209;

transmitting the signals corresponding to the parameters over a first communication network, 211;

receiving the transmitted signals, 213;

sampling at least one of the transmitted signals and collating the sampled signals into groups, 215;

storing the groups as records into a central repository, 217;

accessing the first repository and extracting the rules for building benchmark patterns and current patterns for the groups, 219;

comparing the current patterns with the benchmark patterns stored in a third repository to extract matched patterns, 221;

parsing the matched patterns to predict short term and long term impact on green house gas emission of the entity based on the matched patterns and their solutions thereof, 223;

generating notifications based on the predictions, 225;

collecting sequestration data from dedicated sequestration equipment, 227;

acquiring the groups stored in the central repository and the collected sequestration data, 229;

computing emission data from the acquired groups wherein the emission data is selected from the group consisting of project emission, leakage emission, and baseline emission, 231; ■ accessing said sequestration data and computed emission data and, 233; and

■ generating reports by performing inventorying of the sequestration data and the computed emission data, 234.

The method described herein above further comprises the step of generating green house gas element maps for a specified region using the reports pertaining to the movable and immovable equipment of the specified region, 235.

Additionally, the method further comprises the step of capturing real time audio, video data and transmitting it to users using second transmission means, 237.

The method described herein above further comprises the following steps:

■ transmitting the notifications and solutions to users over a second communication network, 239; and

■ receiving feedback and updating the third repository, 241.

The method described herein above still further comprises the following steps:

■ requesting the sensing subsystem to retransmit signals stored in the second repository, 243

■ extracting the signals stored in the second repository, 245; and

■ triggering transmission means to transmit the extracted signals, 247.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, project emissions include C0₂ emissions from on-site fossil fuel and electricity consumption that is attributable to the project activity (PE_Co2,FF,_y and PE_Co2,EC,_y)> C0₂ emissions from off-site transportation of biomass residues, that are combusted in heat generation equipment, to the project site (PE_Co2,TR,y)_> and, if included in the project boundary, C¾ emissions from combustion of biomass residues for heat generation (PEcH4,BF,_y):

PE_y— PEc₀₂,FF_,y ⁺ PEc₀₂,EC_,y ⁺ PE_{co2 TR y} + GWP_cff · PE_QH^ _{Bp y}

Where:

PEy Project emissions during the year y (tCO₂/yr)

PEco_2,FF_,Y CO₂ emissions from on-site fossil f el combustion

attributable to the project activity (tCO₂/yr)

PE_Co_2,Ec_,y CO₂ emissions from on-site electricity consumption

attributable to the project activity (tCO₂/yr)

PE_Co_2,TR,y CO₂ emissions from off-site transportation of biomass

residues to the project site (tCO₂/yr)

GWPCH4 Global Warming Potential of methane valid for the

commitment period (tCO₂e/tCH₄)

PE_CH4_,BF_,y C¾ emissions from combustion of biomass residues in

the heat generation equipment (tCFLJyr)

In accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, baseline emissions include CO₂ emissions from fossil fuel combustion in heat generation equipment in the absence of the project activity and, if included in the project boundary, CH4 emissions from the treatment of biomass residues in the absence of the project activity:

BE_y = BE_{HG y} + BE_{BF y}

Where:

Baseline emissions during the year y (tC0₂e/yr)

Baseline emissions from fossil fuel combustion for heat generation in the heat generation equipment in year y (tC0₂/yr)

Baseline emissions due to uncontrolled burning or decay of the biomass residues in year y (tC0₂e/yr)

instance, the base line emissions include BE _thermai, _{co2; y =} (EG _therrnai, / ή _BL, thermal) *

where

BE thermal, co2, y ⁼ the baseline emissions from steam/heat displaced by the Project activity during the year^ (tC02)

EG thermal, _{y =} the net quantity of steam/heat supplied by the Project activity during the year _ (TJ)

ή _BL, thermal ₌ the efficiency of the plant using fossil fuel that would have been used in the absence of the project activity.

EF_FF, co2 = The C02 emission factor of the fossil fuel that would have been used in the Baseline plant; tC02 / TJ, obtained from reliable local or national data if available, Otherwise, IPCC default emission factors are used. For example, the base line emission for a boiler is computed as follows

EG thermal ⁼ Q steam * ( Hs - Hw) * 4.186 * 10 ^ where

EG thermal =Net quantity of heat supplied by the Project activity

Q steam ₌ Quantity of steam supplied in Tons

Hs ₌ Specific enthalpy of steam at corresponding absolute pressure and temperature at the outlet (Kcal/kg)

Hw ₌ Specific Enthalpy of feed water at corresponding temperature at the Boiler inlet (Kcal/kg)

As an example, the base line emission for a heater is computed as follows

EG thermal ⁼ Q Flow * Cp_out * 5_{0ut ( Tout} _ _Tm) * 4.186 * 10 ⁶

where

Q Flow ₌ Flow of heat transfer fluid at the heater outlet (m3).

Cp_out=the specific heat of heat transfer fluid at Tout temperature (kCal/kg. °C). 5out ₌ density of heat transfer fluid at Tout temperature of the heater (kg/m3).at the outlet of the heater (kg/m3).

Tout =Temperature of the heat transfer fluid at the outlet of the heater (°C).

Tin ₌ Temperature of the heat transfer fluid at the inlet of the heater (°C). In accordance with yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, leakage emissions is calculated as follows.

In cases where the biomass residues are not generated directly at the project site, project participants can determine C02 emissions resulting from transportation of biomass residues to the project plant. In many cases transportation is undertaken by vehicles.

These project participants can alternatively choose between two different approaches to determine emissions: an approach based on distance and vehicle type (Option 1) or on fuel consumption (Option 2).

Option 1:

Emissions are calculated on the basis of distance and the number of trips (o average truck load):

PEco_{2 R},y ⁼ N_y · A VD_y ^■ EF_{km C02}

or

∑^BFPJ,k,y

PE_r C_m02,_TTR_D,y„= ~ -^ _jr_T A VD y„^■ EF k_tm,C02,y

Where:

Option 2:

Emissions are calculated based on the actual quantity of fossil fuels consumed for transportation.

PE_com =∑PC_1XJ NCV EF_c C02,FF,i

Where:

PE_Co₂,TR,y CO₂ emissions from off-site transportation of

biomass residues to the project site (tC0₂/yr)

FCi_R,i_,y Fuel consumption of fuel type i in trucks for

transportation of biomass residues during the year y

(mass or volume unit)

NCVj Net calorific value of the fossil fuel type * (GJ/mass

or volume unit)

EF_Co₂,FF,i C0₂ emission factor for fossil fuel type / (tC0₂/GJ)

(d) CH₄ emissions from combustion of biomass residues

heat generation equipment (PE_CH4,BF,_y)

PEco2,TR,y C0₂ emissions from off-site transportation of biomass residues to the project site (tC0₂/yr)

N_y Number of truck trips during the year y

AVD_y Average round trip distance (from and to) between the biomass fuel supply sites and the site of the project plant during the year

.y (km)

EF_km,co₂,y Average C0₂ emission factor for the trucks measured during the year > (tC0₂/km)

Quantity of biomass residue type k used for heat generation as a result of the project activity during the year y (tons of dry matter or liter)

TL_y Average truck load of the trucks used (tons or liter) If this source has been included in the project boundary, emissions are calculated as follows:

BFpj_,k,y ' NCV_k

Where:

PEcH4,BF,_Y CH4 emissions from combustion of biomass

residues in the heat generation equipment (tCHVyr)

EFCH4,BF CH4 emission factor for the combustion of the

biomass residues in the heat generation equipment (tCH GJ)

BFpj_,k,y Quantity of biomass residue type k used for heat

generation as a result of the project activity during the year y (tons of dry matter or liter)

NCV_k Net calorific value of the biomass residue type k

(GJ/ton of dry matter or GJ/liter)

Further, to determine the emission factor of CH4, measurements are conducted at the plant site or pre-defined IPCC values are used. The uncertainty of the CH4 emission factor is generally high (relatively). In order to reflect this and for the purpose of providing conservative estimates of emission reductions, a conservativeness factor is applied to the CH4 emission factor. The level of the conservativeness factor depends on the uncertainty range of the estimate for the CH4 emission factor. Appropriate conservativeness factor is chosen to multiply with the estimate for the CH4 emission factor.

In accordance with still another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the sequestration data taken from dedicated equipment is based on either natural sequestration procedures or remote sensing. Natural Sequestration:

For instance, considering the standards given by United states Department of Energy, sequestration procedure is performed as follows:

Considering a gallon of gasoline emits 8.9 kilograms of C02, which corresponds to roughly 2.4 kilograms of carbon which in turn corresponds to the carbon sequestered in converting 1.8x10-5 of a hectare of land into mature forest. Thereby planting a hectare of riparian forest, over the next one hundred years, one can expect to offset the carbon emissions caused by about 54,000 gallons of gasoline.

A trip of 1000 miles in a car that gets 20 miles to the hectares of forest that need to be planted, that is a forest patch of about 10 square meters or roughly 3.5 x 3.5 meters. The resulting formula is gallon; you consume 50 gallons of gas, which corresponds to 50* 1.8x 10-5-10-3

Square meters of forest planted =0.18x(distance traveled)miles/gallon

Forest Guardians plants approximately 150 cottonwood trees per square acre or 370 trees per hectare. One hectare is 10,000 square meters. Thus, planting 0.037 trees per square meter, i.e. planting one tree for every 1/0.037 = 27 square meters. As a general rule, the number of trees that need to be planted equals the number of square meters divided by 27. This is the figure for the number of trees to be planted and estimating that 1 in 10 trees will survive from planting to full maturity (approximately 100 years). Therefore, multiplying the calculation by a factor of 10 to reach the formula:

Trees planted = 0.0667 x ((distance traveled)/(miles per gallon)). This is the formula used for individual travel. In order to offset all the carbon produced in a year, enough trees need to be planted to sequester 5 metric tons of carbon over the next 100 years. Based on the above estimates, the land area needed is 5/130 = 0.04 hectares = 0.016 acres, which translates into 2.4 mature trees. Multiplying this by ten for loss of trees, to offset all your carbon emissions for this year, trees needed to be planted are 24.

Remote sensing

Remote sensing is the acquisition of data from sensors on board an aircraft or space-based platforms. Remote sensing is useful in forest carbon accounting for measurement of total forest area, forest types, canopy cover and height, and branch surface to volume ratios. There are two categories of sensors, passive and active: the first measures the reflectance of naturally occurring solar radiation (as in photography, for example) and the second measures radiation that is transmitted and reflected from the earth's surface (radar, for example). Aircraft sensors principally involve aerial photos linked to a geographical reference system, or Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) imagery giving image resolutions of up to lm or less. Satellite-based sensors acquire mosaics of images covering large geographical areas and have variable resolution: 'ultrafine' has less than 5m resolution while 'coarse' is defined as being greater than 250m, and a range of image resolutions lie in between these extremes. Besides differing in spatial resolution, remotely sensed images differ in other characteristics, such as frequency and availability of historical imagery at a single location.

There are various types of data used for accounting forest carbon stocks. They can be classified and used into the offsetting (sequestration). For instance, this data can be Above-ground biomass (AGB), Below-ground biomass (BGB, Dead organic matter (wood), Soil organic matter (SOM)

Accordingly, values for every equipment/community/region/country are calculated which are used for benchmarking for deciding an offsetting value. To compute the effective emission for equipment/community/region/country, we need to have the Baseline emission on the standard parameters, the natural sequestration data collected for the equipment/community/region/country from the standard methodologies or certified online web services & Project emissions. We can formulate this as follows:

In accordance with one more exemplary embodiment of the present invention, Effective Emission is calculated as follows:

ER_y =(BE_y) - (PE_y + LE_y)

Or

ER_p =(BE_p) - (PE_P + LE_p)

ER= Emission Reduction

BE= Baseline Emission

PE= Project Emission

LE= Leakage Emission (due to biomass transportation)

Over a year

p= Over any defined period TEST RESULTS

Further, in accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the invention, there is provided an operating example of parameters being compared with a stored benchmark pattern of the same entity.

Referring to figure 3, there is shown a benchmark pattern formed by a domain expert, containing values obtained from signals corresponding

to certain green house gas parameters of an entity based on predefined rules. These parameters are Steam Generation per hour (In Tons), Energy Meter Reading (In KW), Energy Consumed (In KW), and Delta Energy Consumption.

The patterns built using a system provided with the same entity are compared with the pre-stored benchmark patterns for the same entity. The sensors' signals are read continuously on an hourly basis and the patterns are formed as shown in figure 3.

For ease of understanding, only the parameters related to a Boiler have been shown where the operating conditions (which also form a part of rules) are

■ Capacity of Boiler: 4TPH

■ Energy consuming Equipments: Feed Water Pump, I.D. Fan, F.D. Fan

■ Feed Water Temperature: (typically) 28 deg. C to 75 deg. C

The figure also shows that in addition to pattern matching a statistical analysis is done in order to effectively perform prognosis. As shown, mean difference from mean, standard deviation of the current reading and the bench mark reading are calculated. Using the diagnostic and prognostic subsystem, following diagnosis is done and the notifications are generated

Energy consumption for the same output of steam differs and is higher than that of the benchmarked pattern.

The prognosis based on this diagnosis is as follows:

Higher vibration might occur in rotary equipment;

Discrepancies in Lubrication, hence, system needs over-oiling; and

Bearing malfunctioning.

Still further, in accordance with an additional exemplary embodiment of the invention, there is provided another operating example of parameters being matched with the stored benchmark patterns of a different entity.

Referring to figure 4 there is shown a benchmark pattern formed by a domain expert containing the values obtained from signals corresponding to certain green house gas parameters of an entity as per the rules. These parameters are Fuel Usage per day (F) containing Biomass Briquette (In Tons) and fossils (In Tons); Steam Generation per day (S) (In Tons); and ratio of S / F.

The patterns built using the system for a different entity are compared with the pre-stored benchmark patterns for a different entity. The sensors' signals are read continuously on an hourly basis and the patterns are formed as shown in figure 4.

■ Capacity of Boiler: 4TPH ^■ Energy consuming Equipments: Feed Water Pump, I.D. Fan, F.D. Fan

^■ Feed Water Temperature: (typically) 28 deg. C to 75 deg. C

^■ Fossil Fuel: Coal is used as fossil fuel

Using the diagnostic and prognostic subsystem following diagnosis is done and notifications are generated

Low efficiency of boiler, low calorific values of fuel.

The prognosis based on this diagnosis is as follows:

Flow-meter malfunctioning, calibration required;

Higher moisture content in fuel; and

Check for other boiler efficiency impacting parameter.

Based on the fact that electricity is mainly obtained from thermal power plants, specifically coal plants, it can be concluded from the above exemplary working examples that there is a direct relationship between the energy consumed and the amount of green house gas emitted.

TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS

The technical advancements of the present invention include in

■ providing a system for monitoring green house gas related parameters;

■ providing intelligence through diagnosis & prognosis of an entity's GHG related information and alert the defined user for the actions to be taken on occurrence of certain events; providing reliability through standard process of data acquisition, use of encryption algorithm, and secured network system; providing authenticity in monitoring of greenhouse gas related parameters through audiovisual aid to check the equipment/ site/ premises anytime;

^■ ensuring zero percent loss, during data acquisition;

^■ effectively monitoring equipment in different scenarios;

^■ computerized calculation of green house gas emission and prediction of reduction;

^■ providing an emission credit management system for effectively utilizing, computing and managing emission credits;

^■ rapidly and precisely calculating the reduction in green house gases; and

^■ providing a time efficient, cost efficient and space efficient system for monitoring green house gas related parameters.

The numerical values given for various physical parameters, dimensions and quantities are only approximate values and it is envisaged that the values higher or lower than the numerical value assigned to the physical parameters, dimensions and quantities fall within the scope of the invention and the claims unless there is a statement in the specification to the contrary.

While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the components and component parts of the preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that many embodiments can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the invention. These and other changes in the preferred embodiment as well as other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the invention and not as a limitation.

Claims

Claims:

1. A computer aided system for monitoring green house gas (GHG) related data of an entity comprising movable and non-movable equipment, said equipment adapted to emit or sequester green house gas, said system comprising

^■ a first repository adapted to store green house gas related parameters and rules governing said parameters;

^■ a sensing subsystem comprising

^■ a plurality of sensors adapted to be coupled to each of the equipment at appropriate locations, said plurality of sensors further adapted to continuously sense at least one of said parameters and generate corresponding signals;

^■ first transmission means adapted to transmit said signals corresponding to said parameters over a first communication network;

^■ a second repository adapted to store said signals as records;

^■ a green house gas prognostic and diagnostic subsystem comprising:

^■ registering means adapted to register said plurality of sensors with said green house gas prognostic and diagnostic subsystem and a report generation subsystem;

^■ sampling and collation means adapted to receive said transmitted signals and sample at least one of said transmitted signals and further adapted to collate the sampled signals into groups; pattern building means adapted to access said first repository and extract said rules to build benchmark patterns and current patterns for said groups;

a third repository adapted to store said benchmark patterns of groups of sampled signals corresponding to said parameters, wherein said third repository is populated by domain experts; comparator means adapted to match said current patterns with said benchmark patterns stored in said third repository to extract matched patterns;

parsing means adapted to parse said matched patterns to predict short term and long term impact on green house gas emission of the entity and solutions thereof, based on said matched patterns;

notification generation means adapted to generate notifications based on the prediction; and central repository adapted to store said groups as records; reporting subsystem comprising: sequestration data collection means adapted to communicate with dedicated sequestration equipment in order to collect sequestration data;

data acquiring means coupled to said central repository and said sequestration data collection means and adapted to acquire said groups and said sequestration data;

computation means adapted access the acquired groups to compute emission data selected from the group consisting of project emission, leakage emission, and baseline emission; and

■ report generation means adapted to access the computed emission data and said sequestration data, perform inventorying and generate reports.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said system further comprises:

^■ requesting means coupled with said central repository, said requesting means being adapted to request said sensing subsystem to retransmit said signals stored in said second repository, said signals corresponding to said parameters; and

■ facilitation means adapted to extract said signals stored in said second repository, and trigger said first transmission means to transmit the extracted signals.

3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said system further comprises first editing means adapted to edit said rules for building said benchmark patterns and said current patterns.

4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said system further comprises second editing means adapted to edit said benchmark patterns stored in said third repository.

5. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said sensing subsystem is a part of a SCADA system.

6. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said system further comprises map generation means adapted to generate green house gas element maps for a specified region using said reports pertaining to the equipment of said specified region.

7. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first transmission means is adapted to transmit said signals being embedded with messages, said messages are in a form selected from the group consisting of email, SMS, MMS, packets, and their combinations thereof.

8. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said diagnostic and prognostic subsystem further comprises:

■ second transmission means adapted to transmit said notifications and solutions to users over a second communication network; and

■ receiving means adapted to receive feedback from the users and update said third repository.

9. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said second transmission means is adapted to transmit said notifications and said solutions to users, said notifications and solutions being embedded with messages, said messages are in a form selected from the group consisting of emails, SMS, MMS, packets, and combinations thereof.

10. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first communication network is selected from the group consisting of internet, PSTN, mobile network, GSM network, CDMA network, VPN, OFDM network, LAN, MAN, WAN, 3G network, satellite communication network and combinations thereof.

11. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said second communication network is selected from the group consisting of internet, PSTN, mobile network, GSM network, CDMA network, VPN, OFDM network, LAN, MAN, WAN, 3G network, satellite communication network and combinations thereof.

12. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said system further comprises remote vigilance means adapted to capture real time audio, video data and transmit it to said users using said second transmission means.

13. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said parameters are selected from the group consisting of steam flow, steam temperature, steam pressure, feed water temperature, electrical energy consumption, fluid flow, inlet temperature of the heat transfer fluid at the inlet, temperature of the heat transfer fluid at the outlet of the heater, electrical energy consumption, calorific value of fuel, fuel usage, capacity of equipment, moisture content values, chemical reactions, operating pressure, ambient temperature, operating load, age of equipment, steam generation frequency, meter reading, delta energy consumption, and their combinations thereof.

14. A method for monitoring green house gas (GHG) related data of an entity comprising movable and non-movable equipment, said method comprising:

^■ providing a first repository for storing green house gas related parameters and rules governing said parameters;

^■ coupling a plurality of sensors to the equipment; registering said sensors with a green house gas prognostic and diagnostic subsystem and a report generation subsystem;

continuous sensing by a sensing subsystem of at least one of said parameters and generating signals corresponding to the sensed parameters;

providing a second repository for storing signals corresponding to said parameters as records;

transmitting the signals corresponding to said parameters over a first communication network;

receiving the transmitted signals;

sampling at least one of said transmitted signals and collating said sampled signals into groups;

storing said groups as records into a central repository;

accessing said first repository and extracting said rules for building benchmark patterns and current patterns for said groups;

comparing said current patterns with said benchmark patterns stored in a third repository to extract matched patterns;

parsing the matched patterns to predict short term and long term impact on green house gas emission of the entity based on the matched patterns and their solutions thereof;

generating notifications based on the predictions;

collecting sequestration data from dedicated sequestration equipment;

acquiring said groups stored in said central repository and the collected sequestration data; ■ computing emission data from the acquired groups wherein said emission data is selected from the group consisting of project emission, leakage emission, and baseline emission;

■ accessing said sequestration data and computed emission data; and

■ generating reports by performing inventorying of said sequestration data and said computed emission data.

15. The method as claimed in claim 14, further comprising the step of generating green house gas element maps for a specified region using said reports pertaining to the equipment of said specified region.

16. The method as claimed in claim 14, further comprising the step of capturing real time audio, video data and transmitting it to users using second transmission means.

17. The method as claimed in claim 14, further comprising the following steps:

^■ transmitting said notifications and solutions to users over a second communication network; and

■ receiving feedback and updating said third repository.

18. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the method further comprises the following steps:

^■ requesting said sensing subsystem to retransmit said signals stored in said second repository;

■ extracting said signals stored in said second repository; and triggering said first transmission means for transmitting the extracted signals.