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Development and testing of the SENSIT FMD methane sensor and progress towards collaborative NGEM methods
Citation:
Gu, J., J. Melby, W. Champion, M. MacDonald, AND E. Thoma. Development and testing of the SENSIT FMD methane sensor and progress towards collaborative NGEM methods. Air & Waste Management Association¿s Air Quality Measurement Methods and Technology Conference, Durham, NC, November 14 - 16, 2023.
Impact/Purpose:
This is an abstract and associated presentation titled “Development and testing of the SENSIT FMD methane sensor and progress towards collaborative NGEM methods” submitted to the Air & Waste Management Association’s Air Quality Measurement Methods and Technology conference to be held November 14–16, 2023 on Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The methods development presentation reports on collaborative work between SENSIT Technologies and ORD/CEMM/AMCD to investigate aspect of SENISIT’s recent validation studies performed by CSU METEC. The presentation includes description of collaborative progress towards development of simplified open-source leak detection processing algorithms and fenceline sensor hardware QA approaches, including adaptations of the EPA SENTINEL app for methane measurements.
Description:
Emerging next generation emission measurements (NGEM) approaches are enabling improved detection, assessment, and rapid mitigation of unnecessary air pollutant emissions from industrials sources such fugitive leaks and process/control malfunctions. While differing in both hardware and computational form, sensor networks located inside of process units, on the surface of landfills, and at fencelines of facilities promise new levels of emissions understanding and source management capability. A growing number of commercial firms offer proprietary approaches, but there remains a need for development of “open-source” quality assurance frameworks to support global method development objectives. Validation at facilities like Colorado State University’s Methane Emissions Technology Evaluation Center (METEC) plays a critical role in full realization of NGEM capability. This presentation describes development and testing of SENSIT’s FMD sensor system for remote monitoring of methane for oil and gas and future landfill applications. The FMD features a closed path, multi-pass tunable diode laser spectroscopy technology to measure methane concentrations down to 100 parts per billion by volume over ambient levels. The FMD builds upon previous technologies, such as the SENSIT SPOD volatile organic compound VOC sensor (modeled after the open-source EPA SPod fenceline sensor design) to continuously collect methane and meteorological data and transmit via a cellular network. The FMD includes transparent hardware performance tracking and leak detection algorithmic approaches that allow detection and analysis of very low methane emission levels. Six SENSIT FMD sensor nodes were deployed at METEC for 12 weeks in a single-blind study to explore the device’s efficacy in identification of leaks from five simulated natural gas asset groups spaced across the 7600 m2 site. Using simple pollution rose visualization methods, the FMD could detect 66% of all controlled releases, and had a probability of detection of 90% for leaks greater than 4.2 kg/hr. Of the positive detections, the units could identify the equipment group location from which the leaks originated 84% of the time. In addition to network deployments, collocated precision, controlled release studies were performed to support quality assurance method development objectives. As with the SPod development program, SENSIT and EPA ORD CEMM are collaborating on aspects of open-source method development useful to a range of stakeholders. In addition to the METEC FMD results, this presentation will summarize current progress with focus on the FMD’s use in simplified computational approaches applicable to both oil and gas and landfill applications.