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Development of cost effective fenceline monitoring methods to support advanced leak detection and repair strategies
Citation:
Squier, B., Bill Mitchell, E. Thoma, S. Amin, AND M. Modrak. Development of cost effective fenceline monitoring methods to support advanced leak detection and repair strategies. 105th Annual Conference of the Air and Waste Management Association, San Antonio, TX, June 19 - 22, 2012.
Impact/Purpose:
Annual Conference of the Air and Waste Management Association, June 19-22, 2012, in San Antonio, Texas: Extended abstract on new developments in low cost fenceline for Leak detection and Repair applications. This extended abstract is for a poster presentaion at the conference.
Description:
Improved mitigation of fugitive emissions of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is an important emerging topic in many industrial sectors. Efficacious leak detection and repair (LDAR) programs of the future yield easily recognized benefits such as enhanced protection of public health and worker safety as well as cost savings realized through reduced product loss. Numerous secondary benefits ranging from improved public relations and operational efficiencies to emissions verification in future trading strategies can also be envisioned. The key to future LDAR strategies that meet both environmental and business objectives lies in the development of cost-effective systems for monitoring and communicating air pollutant concentrations in and around industrial facilities. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development (ORD) is currently investigating several cost-effective fenceline and process monitoring approaches with the aim of improving understanding and facilitating broader access to these technologies. These efforts in the lower cost arena complement ongoing work with more expensive and more powerful technologies such as open-path Ultraviolet Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and automated Gas Chromatographs.1 Under the program, ORD investigates both time-resolved and time integrated measurement approaches. This extended abstract and poster presentation will describe three emerging lower cost technology areas: (1) time-integrated passive sampling, (2) time-resolved optical sensors, and (3) mobile leak inspection approaches.