Questor marks global first for clean technology verification
Questor Technology Inc. has achieved a global milestone in verifying the 99.99% performance of its Clean Combustion Thermal Oxidizers. Questor’s clean product line is the first environmental technology to be verified by an ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) accredited verifier to the ISO 14034:2016 Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) standard.
Questor’s units are capable of cleanly combusting a wide variety of waste gas streams at 99.99% efficiency from many sources, such as landfills, waste water treatment, oil and gas, and ensuring no harmful pollutants and methane are emitted. This combustion occurs in stacks referred to as incinerators, thermal oxidizers and combustors, and enables the use of clean exit gases for such purposes as heat, power and waste water purification.
Verification to this international standard, developed under the leadership of Canada, confirms Questor’s 99.99% combustion efficiency and supports efforts toward achieving further greenhouse gas reduction, particularly by incorporating precise quantification and determination into regulation.
This verification will provide certified emission reduction solutions to Questor clients to participate in the recently established Government of Canada $750 million Emission Reduction Fund. This fund is strategically focused on jumpstarting the deployment of methane emission reduction technology to meet the Canadian Federal Regulations Respecting Reduction in the Release of Methane and Certain Volatile Organic Compounds (effective April 26, 2018), and Alberta’s Methane Emission Reduction Regulation (effective January 1, 2020). These regulations set targets for reducing methane emissions by approximately 20 megatonnes by 2030, and by 45% (relative to 2014 levels) by 2025. The company is evaluating opportunities to offer its products and services to support these initiatives and is excited to potentially play a role which will showcase its abilities.
Globally, every industry has a responsibility to improve their environmental impact and we are excited to have completed this verification as part of our continued commitment to engineering excellence and environmental stewardship,” said Audrey Mascarenhas, President and CEO, Questor. “We are pleased to offer a newly verified and efficient alternative to industries that are currently venting or using flares to deal with waste gases that cannot be gathered or used. Current and future users of our products can be confident in the efficiency and performance of their investment in our technology.”
Models that were verified are the Q50, Q100, Q250, Q500, Q1000, Q3000, and the Q5000 and range in methane equivalent flowrates from 20mcf/d to 5MMscf/d of methane equivalent. The ISO 14034 verification means that these models have been independently reviewed and verified to perform as stated for combustion efficiency, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) conversion efficiency, and greenhouse gas emission reduction with waste gases from a variety of typical oil and gas industry field operation and process plants.
Questor worked closely with Standards Council of Canada (SCC) to determine the best strategy for environmental technology verification to support customer needs and the advancement of global greenhouse gas reductions.
Increasingly, Canadian companies need to demonstrate the environmental performance and competitive advantages of their technologies in global markets,” said Chantal Guay, CEO of SCC. By leveraging internationally recognized environmental technology verification, Questor is now able to make clear, verifiable claims about the emissions reduction potential of their technology and impact of their operations.”
The verification was completed by 350Solutions, a clean technology evaluation and engineering consulting firm and the only company in North America accredited by ANAB under the ISO/IEC 17020:2012 standard to complete ISO 14034 verifications.
Independently verifying an innovative technology’s performance and environmental impacts under a global standard, such as ISO 14034, allows for the sharing of credible information and knowledge, and the reduction of risk for any investor or end user,” said Tim Hansen, Founder and CEO of 350Solutions. “It’s critical that products with a potential environmental impact, regardless of industry, are thoroughly evaluated and verified to provide a clear picture of their effects and long-term value, and especially for new innovations, where extensive track records and product certifications are not available.”
Questor recognizes that the need for verifiable independent data is paramount for emissions reduction and meeting regulatory requirements. In addition to ETV, Questor is developing a PEMS system (Predictive Emissions Monitoring System). This system will track emissions in real time and transmit the data to its emission excellence center in Calgary to be analyzed and provided to clients for monitoring and compliance use.
Questor currently has a rental pool of incinerators available for clients across USA and Canada. In addition, Questor offers custom-built units sized to individual customer’s needs that can combine as waste heat cogeneration systems or standalone clean combustion solutions. For more information, visit questortech.com.