Biofuel plants urged to monitor discharge levels to avoid fines

Instrumentation company Quantitech is urging biodiesel producers in the UK to take necessary environmental monitoring precautions to avoid fines resulting from inadvertent discharges into streams and waterways.

The warning comes following a clampdown by the US Environmental Protection Agency which saw many biofuel plants come under close scrutiny and in some instances fined for monitoring lapses.

In order to improve monitoring, biofuel producers are being urged to monitor their waste by-products more closely prior to discharging and to measure oil and grease concentration levels to ensure compliance.

The InfraCal TOG/TPH (Total Oil and Grease/Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons) from Quantitech offers on-site results in 10-15 minutes, is easy-to-use, lightweight and is ideal for monitoring fuel, oil and grease discharge levels both before and after treatment.

Quantitech’s Keith Golding believes that portable instrumentation is ideal for regular effluent checks to ensure that UK biofuel producers meet the necessary monitoring requirements. He said: “One of the main advantages of the InfraCal TOG/TPH is that it provides users with virtually instant readings and removes the inconvenience of having to wait for off-site lab results.

“By undertaking routine portable monitoring, biofuel producers in the UK should be able to avoid the pitfalls experienced by their counterparts in the USA.”