CEM - Abstract

Abstract Information :

The European Commission recently adopted a series of legislative proposals setting out how it intends to achieve climate neutrality in the EU by 2050, including the intermediate target of a 55% net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. In this context industrial installations covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (EU/ETS) are required to have an approved monitoring plan for monitoring and reporting annual emissions. This plan is also part of the permit to operate required for industrial installations. The EU/ETS is proven to be an effective tool to drive greenhouse gas emissions reductions – historical data show a reduction by 35% from 2005 to 2019 – provided that the annual emissions monitoring and reporting system in place is robust, transparent, consistent and accurate. This paper presents a comparison between the different methods available (i.e. calculation vs measurement) to monitor greenhouse gas emissions. In particular it focuses on how using ISO 10723 Natural gas – Performance evaluation for analytical systems for process gas chromatographs installed in natural gas plants, represents the most accurate approach to calorific value (CV) and carbon emission factor (CEF) determination. CV and CEF are necessary to calculate the carbon dioxide emissions. Applying the ISO 10723 standard gives a quantitative measure of the instrument’s performance which can be compared with a contractual specification or benchmark which has been set previously. Performance evaluations for analytical equipment are, in general, an industry-wide recommendation, and in some cases legally or contractually required, to ensure that gas measurements, which the instruments make, are traceable and accurate and with defined uncertainty to demonstrate compliance with legal or contractual requirements.