The continuous monitoring of biofilters is one of the requests that the authorities address to companies operating in the management and production of compost.

In its Perugia plant, SECIT S.p.A. of the GESENU S.p.A. group has equipped its compost production plant with the LSI LASTEM monitoring system to meet the request made by ARPA Umbria for the concession of the plant integration.

The installed solution allows the continuous monitoring of two biofiltration tanks and of the air in the suction duct. Given the size of the system and of the two tanks, 4 sensors were necessary for the largest tank (385 m2) to measure the water content and temperature, while 3 sensors were installed in the smaller one (165 m2). Each tank was also equipped with a sensor for measuring the pH in the leachate. Two sensors have been installed in the suction ducts for measuring the temperature and humidity of the air and a differential pressure sensor – connected to a Pitot tube – for measuring the flow rate.

The system was completed by two Alpha-Log data loggers that send the collected data to the LSI LASTEM software on the proprietary server using the Ethernet port and, through the RS485 Modbus output, the same data reaches the company PLC which integrates them into the monitoring and safety system of the entire plant.

It is an integrated solution that allows the monitoring of the plant as required by the ARPA Umbria requests and guarantees environmental safety in real time and continuously.