Educational biogas installation monitoring using virtual instrumentation concepts

This paper presents the implementation of a Virtual Instrumentation (VI) based system which is used for remote monitoring of biogas production activities. The proposed measurement approach was designed and is used by students during Measurement and Instrumentation lectures. It combines hardware and software knowledge while allowing the users to interact with a domain of great interest - biogas production. The software component was developed using National Instruments´ Lab VIEW while dedicated gas sensors have been employed for gas concentration monitoring. The application can be used via mobile devices since it includes a Data Dashboard (DD) interface. This feature has been considered since the proliferation of remote monitoring, with the help of mobile tools, has earned a great interest in the last years. Of course, by using a computer with Internet connectivity, the students are able to connect to the measurement front panel and operate the proposed experiments. Testing of experimental results has been performed with dedicated stand alone instruments. Consequently, the students have the possibility of discussing important VI aspects compared against classic methodologies impacting the test and measurement of biogas production emissions.