A Low-Cost Field-Deployable Mini-CEMS for Real-Time Diagnosis of Activated Carbon VOC Control Systems in Industrial Facilities

A Low-Cost Field-Deployable Mini-CEMS for Real-Time Diagnosis of Activated Carbon VOC Control Systems in Industrial Facilities | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Method Article A Low-Cost Field-Deployable Mini-CEMS for Real-Time Diagnosis of Activated Carbon VOC Control Systems in Industrial Facilities CHIH WEI CHIANG, TIEN YING CHUNG, CHUN YEN CHUNG, PEN CHI CHIANG, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8868634/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract A low-cost and field-deployable monitoring approach for evaluating the performance of activated carbon (AC) adsorption systems in industrial volatile organic compound (VOC) control is proposed. A customized Miniature Continuous Emission Monitoring System (Mini-CEMS) was developed to simultaneously measure inlet and outlet VOC concentrations, temperature, humidity, and gas flow rate in real time. The system integrates a metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) gas sensor, a dilution sampling unit, wireless data transmission, and a cloud-based database to enable continuous long-term operation in industrial environments. Field deployment was conducted at four manufacturing facilities with different VOC emission characteristics, including electronics production, semiconductor equipment cleaning, and industrial component processing. Monitoring results over 2–4 week periods revealed that the Mini-CEMS could effectively capture dynamic variations in adsorption performance and identify breakthrough behavior of activated carbon beds. The measured adsorption efficiency was strongly influenced by environmental parameters: high relative humidity significantly reduced removal efficiency, while temperatures exceeding approximately 40 °C caused partial desorption of previously adsorbed VOCs. In contrast, moderate temperatures and higher inlet VOC loading stabilized adsorption performance. The system also enabled practical operational diagnosis, such as determining optimal carbon replacement intervals and detecting abnormal performance caused by overheating or moisture interference. Compared with conventional regulatory monitoring instruments, the proposed Mini-CEMS provides a low-cost and continuous diagnostic tool for evaluating air pollution control equipment under real industrial operating conditions. This methodology offers a practical approach for manufacturers and regulators to optimize VOC mitigation strategies and improve environmental management. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) Mini continuous emission monitoring systems (Mini-CEMS) Adsorption Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files GA3.jpg Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8868634","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Method Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":604870244,"identity":"84aed36c-8368-47c5-a6ed-b3cf95f42934","order_by":0,"name":"CHIH WEI 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A customized Miniature Continuous Emission Monitoring System (Mini-CEMS) was developed to simultaneously measure inlet and outlet VOC concentrations, temperature, humidity, and gas flow rate in real time. The system integrates a metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) gas sensor, a dilution sampling unit, wireless data transmission, and a cloud-based database to enable continuous long-term operation in industrial environments. Field deployment was conducted at four manufacturing facilities with different VOC emission characteristics, including electronics production, semiconductor equipment cleaning, and industrial component processing. Monitoring results over 2–4 week periods revealed that the Mini-CEMS could effectively capture dynamic variations in adsorption performance and identify breakthrough behavior of activated carbon beds. The measured adsorption efficiency was strongly influenced by environmental parameters: high relative humidity significantly reduced removal efficiency, while temperatures exceeding approximately 40 °C caused partial desorption of previously adsorbed VOCs. In contrast, moderate temperatures and higher inlet VOC loading stabilized adsorption performance. The system also enabled practical operational diagnosis, such as determining optimal carbon replacement intervals and detecting abnormal performance caused by overheating or moisture interference. Compared with conventional regulatory monitoring instruments, the proposed Mini-CEMS provides a low-cost and continuous diagnostic tool for evaluating air pollution control equipment under real industrial operating conditions. 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