Page 242 - Wastewater Solids Incineration Systems

204 Wastewater Solids Incineration Systems

For an individual piece of equipment (motor), control is provided by field ele-
ments and sensors, often wired to the unit’s local control panel or the motor control
center (MCC) starter cubicle (bucket.) At this level, fundamental safety and inter-
locking is managed. The typical means of interconnection is by actual physical wiring
to the MCC or control panel.
More and more, however, devices that were considered solely mechanical or elec-
trical are provided with integral microprocessor control packages, blurring their
prior distinct operation. Presently, control, communications, life-cycle assessment,
and speed of response to a control communication may all be implemented or moni-
tored in one device package.
An incineration instrument and control system is, as noted, an extremely com-
plex amalgamation of many factors. Table 9.1 is a compilation of seven “control loop”
categories necessary for the operation, monitoring, and control of incineration sys-
tems. These loops are feed, combustion, pressure, temperature, emission, air pollu-
tion, and utility controls. Presented in grid format, it provides easy reference to four
“management area” categories:

• Process control,
• Safety and personnel protection,
• Regulatory compliance, and

• Business categories.
It highlights where such control loops relate functionally to the overall business
of incineration and emphasizes the interconnectedness of the various process control,
business needs, and regulatory compliance. Design and review of instrumentation
systems cannot be effectively undertaken and managed without such an under-
standing and overview of their interplay.
Continuous emission monitoring systems (CEMs) and continuous opacity moni-
toring systems (COMs) are requirements of various federal, state, and local regula-
tions, most notably the Clean Air Act Part 60 and Clean Water Act Part 503 regula-
tions. The 40 CFR 60 spells out requirements for opacity monitoring and oxygen
analyzers, and 40 CFR 503 provides requirements for a total hydrocarbon (THC)
CEMS system. Although they are not technically instrument and control systems
themselves, they provide needed information to control bioenergy processes, thus
must be deeply integrated to control, monitoring, data acquisition, reporting, and
recordkeeping functions. This chapter provides an overview but cannot fully discuss
the complete and particular requirements of these systems. Table 9.2 provides