World’s first FTIR multi-component emission monitoring system turns 30

ABB’s ACF5000 was unveiled in 1994 as the first multi-component emission monitoring system based on FTIR (Fourier Transformed InfraRed) technology and is still enabling industrial companies to comply with stringent air monitoring legislation.

The fourth generation ACF5000 is still a world leading device for measuring the lowest of gas concentrations from combustion processes. It can measure as many as 15 components of exhaust gases from industrial stacks at some of the most demanding of locations such as chemical plants, waste incinerators and cement kilns with the highest levels of precision and reliability.

Since its launch 30 years ago, ABB’s ACF5000 system has undergone constant performance improvements and upgrades thereby ensuring it still complies with the more demanding environmental regulations of today.

The first version of the ACF5000 was called CEMAS FTIR (Continuous Emission Monitoring Analyser System). Two years later, in 1996, ABB launched their second generation Advance Cemas FTIR now improved with the addition of a heated pump.

In 2002, the ACF5000 became a fully heated system, thanks to the introduction of a highly sophisticated air injector. ABB’s unique air injector pump eradicated any necessity for moving parts, improved the instrument’s durability, reduced maintenance requirements significantly and increased system availability. The new, highly advanced model received global acclaim from ABB’s clientele.

The fourth and latest generation was introduced in 2014. ABB added an integrated validation wheel for enhanced FTIR performance and to demonstrate compliance to local regulatory bodies without the use of test gases.

Ben Goossens, ABB Measurement and Analytics’ Global Product Line Market Manager commented, “Lower concentrations of an increasing number of pollutants must be measured from combustion processes. Industrial plants are heavily monitored to ensure compliance with the most stringent requirements, making the ACF5000 the perfect fit.”