The specifications that must be met and the procedures that must be followed for the installation, certification, and continued operation of a CEM system are summarized in Figure 1. This summary is intended to help the operator to plan and carry out the numerous tasks involved in installing and operating the CEM system and to continue to generate accurate long-term emissions data.
Figure 1 Summary of Specifications and Protocols for CEM Systems
Section 3 outlines the specifications for the overall CEM system and subsystems, along with associated procedures for measuring these parameters. This section will assist the operator during the initial design and/or purchase stages. Specific requirements are provided for the data acquisition system.
Specifications for installing the CEM system are provided in Section 4. Their use will ensure that a test location meets certain minimal requirements with respect to the representativeness of the gas flow and the accessibility of the equipment for maintenance purposes.
After installation, the CEM system must be certified as per the protocols summarized in Section 5. Certification of the system takes place only once, following the initial installation of the CEM system, unless recertification is required (see Section 6.6). The emissions data gathered from the CEM system are compared against data gathered from reference methods to ensure that the specifications have been met. When an installed CEM system has met or surpassed all these specifications, it is deemed to be certified and capable of generating quality-assured emissions data.
Section 6 describes the Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) procedures that are required on an ongoing basis to satisfy the operating criteria. The QA/QC procedures for each installed CEM system must be described in a QA/QC manual to be developed, maintained, kept on file and made available upon request as per Section 8.