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Chen L, Pang X, Wu Z, Huang R, Hu J, Liu Y, Zhou L, Zhou J, Wang Z. Unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with sensor packages to study spatiotemporal variations of air pollutants in industry parks. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. SERIES A, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES 2024; 382:20230314. [PMID: 39246079 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2023.0314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2024] [Revised: 04/15/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 09/10/2024]
Abstract
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with a miniaturized sensor package were developed for aerial observations, which realizes aerial observations affordable to scientists in atmospheric science and achieves aerial measurements in high spatial resolution. UAVs are deployed to a variety of aerial detecting tasks in different scientific scenarios including chemical industry parks (CIPs) with hazardous gases emissions, and some places difficult for humans to reach. In this study, UAV sensing technology was deployed to detect air pollutants in a suburb, a CIP and a natural gas plant, respectively. The effects of atmospheric conditions such as the atmospheric boundary layer height, long-distance transport and atmospheric stability on the spatiotemporal variations of the air pollutants vertical profiles were investigated by the UAV. The UAV with the sensor package was deployed to capture the methane (CH4) leakages in a natural gas plant. The spatiotemporal variations of CH4 in both vertical and horizontal directions studied by UAV were employed to calculate accurate CH4 emissions, which is crucial to reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases. The low-cost UAV sensing technology for air pollutants was developed by Dr. Xiaobing Pang, who was funded by the Newton Fellowship in 2009 and worked in the University of York. This article is part of the theme issue 'Celebrating the 15th anniversary of the Royal Society Newton International Fellowship'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lang Chen
- College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology , Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310014, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaobing Pang
- College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology , Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310014, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhentao Wu
- College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology , Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310014, People's Republic of China
| | - Riyang Huang
- College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology , Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310014, People's Republic of China
| | - Junyu Hu
- College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology , Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310014, People's Republic of China
| | - Yi Liu
- Safety, Environment and Technology Supervision Research Institute of PetroChina Southwest Oil and Gas Field Company , Chengdu 610041, People's Republic of China
| | - Lei Zhou
- College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology , Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310014, People's Republic of China
| | - Jue Zhou
- College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology , Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310014, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhiwen Wang
- College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology , Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310014, People's Republic of China
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Ilonze C, Emerson E, Duggan A, Zimmerle D. Assessing the Progress of the Performance of Continuous Monitoring Solutions under a Single-Blind Controlled Testing Protocol. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:10941-10955. [PMID: 38865299 PMCID: PMC11210203 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c08511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 05/22/2024] [Accepted: 05/31/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024]
Abstract
The recent regulatory spotlight on continuous monitoring (CM) solutions and the rapid development of CM solutions have demanded the characterization of solution performance through regular, rigorous testing using consensus test protocols. This study is the second known implementation of such a protocol involving single-blind controlled testing of 9 CM solutions. Controlled releases of rates (6-7100 g) CH4/h over durations (0.4-10.2 h) under a wind speed range of (0.7-9.9 m/s) were conducted for 11 weeks. Results showed that 4 solutions achieved method detection limits (DL90s) within the tested emission rate range, with all 4 solutions having both the lowest DL90s (3.9 [3.0, 5.5] kg CH4/h to 6.2 [3.7, 16.7] kg CH4/h) and false positive rates (6.9-13.2%), indicating efforts at balancing low sensitivity with a low false positive rate. These results are likely best-case scenario estimates since the test center represents a near-ideal upstream field natural gas operation condition. Quantification results showed wide individual estimate uncertainties, with emissions underestimation and overestimation by factors up to >14 and 42, respectively. Three solutions had >80% of their estimates within a quantification factor of 3 for controlled releases in the ranges of [0.1-1] kg CH4/h and > 1 kg CH4/h. Relative to the study by Bell et al., current solutions performance, as a group, generally improved, primarily due to solutions from the study by Bell et al. that were retested. This result highlights the importance of regular quality testing to the advancement of CM solutions for effective emissions mitigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiemezie Ilonze
- Department
of Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State
University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
| | - Ethan Emerson
- Energy
Institute, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80524, United States
| | - Aidan Duggan
- Energy
Institute, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80524, United States
| | - Daniel Zimmerle
- Energy
Institute, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80524, United States
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Schissel C, Allen D, Dieter H. Methods for Spatial Extrapolation of Methane Measurements in Constructing Regional Estimates from Sample Populations. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:2739-2749. [PMID: 38303409 PMCID: PMC10867821 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c08185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
Methane emission estimates for oil and gas facilities are typically based on estimates at a subpopulation of facilities, and these emission estimates are then extrapolated to a larger region or basin. Basin-level emission estimates are then frequently compared with basin-level observations. Methane emissions from oil and gas systems are inherently variable and intermittent, which make it difficult to determine whether a sample population is sufficiently large to be representative of a larger region. This work develops a framework for extrapolation of emission estimates using the case study of an operator in the Green River Basin. This work also identifies a new metric, the capture ratio, which quantifies the extent to which sources are represented in the sample population, based on the skewness of emissions for each source. There is a strong correlation between the capture ratio and extrapolation error, which suggests that understanding source-level emissions distributions can mitigate error when sample populations are selected and extrapolating measurements. The framework and results from this work can inform the selection and extrapolation of site measurements when developing methane emission inventories and establishing uncertainty bounds to assess whether inventory estimates are consistent with independent large spatial-scale observations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colette Schissel
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas
at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
- Center
for Energy and Environmental Resources, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78758, United States
- Energy
Emissions Modeling and Data Lab, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
| | - David Allen
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas
at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
- Center
for Energy and Environmental Resources, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78758, United States
- Energy
Emissions Modeling and Data Lab, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
| | - Howard Dieter
- Jonah
Energy LLC, Denver, Colorado 80202, United States
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Wang JL, Barlow B, Funk W, Robinson C, Brandt A, Ravikumar AP. Large-Scale Controlled Experiment Demonstrates Effectiveness of Methane Leak Detection and Repair Programs at Oil and Gas Facilities. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024. [PMID: 38314689 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c09147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
Most jurisdictions around the globe use leak detection and repair (LDAR) programs to find and fix methane leaks from oil and gas operations. In this work, we empirically evaluate the efficacy of LDAR programs using a large-scale, bottom-up, randomized controlled field experiment across ∼200 oil and gas sites in Red Deer, Canada. We find that tanks are the single largest source of emissions, contributing to nearly 60% of the total emissions. The average number of leaks at treatment sites that underwent repair reduced by ∼50% compared to the control sites. Although control sites did not see a reduction in the number of leaks, emissions reduced by approximately 36%, suggesting potential impact of routine maintenance activities to find and fix large leaks. By tracking tags on leaking equipment over time, we find a high degree of persistence; leaks that are repaired remain fixed in follow-up surveys, while non-repaired leaks remain emitting at a similar rate, suggesting that any increase in observed leak emissions following LDAR surveys are likely from new leaks. Our results show that a focus on equipment and sites that are prone to high emissions, such as tanks and oil sites, is key to cost-effective mitigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiayang Lyra Wang
- Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
- Department of Data Science, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17101, United States
| | | | - Wes Funk
- DXD Consulting, Incorporated, Calgary, Alberta T2P 0S5, Canada
| | | | - Adam Brandt
- Department of Energy Resources Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
| | - Arvind P Ravikumar
- Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
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Xia H, Strayer A, Ravikumar AP. The Role of Emission Size Distribution on the Efficacy of New Technologies to Reduce Methane Emissions from the Oil and Gas Sector. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:1088-1096. [PMID: 38165830 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c05245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2024]
Abstract
Methane emissions from oil and gas operations exhibit skewed distributions. New technologies such as aerial-based leak detection surveys promise cost-effective detection of large emitters (greater than 10 kg/h). Recent policies such as the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) methane rule that allow the use of new technologies as part of leak detection and repair (LDAR) programs require a demonstration of equivalence with existing optical gas imaging (OGI) based LDAR programs. In this work, we illustrate the impact of emission size distribution on the equivalency condition between the OGI and site-wide survey technologies. Emission size distributions compiled from aerial measurements include significantly more emitters between 1 and 10 kg/h and lower average emission rates for large emitters compared to the emission distribution in the EPA rule. As a result, we find that equivalence may be achieved at lower site-wide survey frequencies when using technologies with detection thresholds below 10 kg/h, compared to the EPA rule. However, equivalence cannot be achieved with a detection threshold of 30 kg/h at any survey frequency, because most emitters across most US basins exhibit emission rates below 30 kg/h. We find that equivalence is a complex tradeoff among technology choice, design of LDAR programs, and survey frequency that can have more than one unique solution set.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haojun Xia
- Energy Emissions Modelling and Data Lab (EEMDL), The University of Texas at Austin, Austin Texas 78712-1139, United States
- Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin Texas 78712-1139, United States
| | - Alan Strayer
- Energy Emissions Modelling and Data Lab (EEMDL), The University of Texas at Austin, Austin Texas 78712-1139, United States
- Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin Texas 78712-1139, United States
| | - Arvind P Ravikumar
- Energy Emissions Modelling and Data Lab (EEMDL), The University of Texas at Austin, Austin Texas 78712-1139, United States
- Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin Texas 78712-1139, United States
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Brown J, Harrison MR, Rufael T, Roman-White SA, Ross GB, George FC, Zimmerle D. Informing Methane Emissions Inventories Using Facility Aerial Measurements at Midstream Natural Gas Facilities. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:14539-14547. [PMID: 37729112 PMCID: PMC10552540 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c01321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Revised: 08/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/22/2023]
Abstract
Increased interest in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including recent legislative action and voluntary programs, has increased attention on quantifying and ultimately reducing methane emissions from the natural gas supply chain. While inventories used for public or corporate GHG policies have traditionally utilized bottom-up (BU) methods to estimate emissions, the validity of such inventories has been questioned. Therefore, there is attention on utilizing full-facility measurements using airborne, satellite, or drone (top-down (TD)) techniques to inform, improve, or validate inventories. This study utilized full-facility estimates from two independent TD methods at 15 midstream natural gas facilities in the U.S.A., which were compared with a contemporaneous daily inventory assembled by the facility operator, employing comprehensive inventory methods. Estimates from the two TD methods statistically agreed in 2 of 28 paired measurements. Operator inventories, which included extensions to capture sources beyond regular inventory requirements and integration of local measurements, estimated significantly lower emissions than the TD estimates for 40 of 43 paired comparisons. Significant disagreement was observed at most facilities, both between the two TD methods and between the TD estimates and operator inventory. These findings have two implications. First, improving inventory estimates will require additional on-site or ground-based diagnostic screening and measurement of all sources. Second, the TD full-facility measurement methods need to undergo further testing, characterization, and potential improvement specifically tailored for complex midstream facilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenna
A. Brown
- Department
of Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State
University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80524, United States
| | | | - Tecle Rufael
- SLR
International Corp., Houston, Texas 77036, United States
| | | | | | - Fiji C. George
- Cheniere
Energy Inc., Houston, Texas 77002, United States
| | - Daniel Zimmerle
- Energy
Institute, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80524, United States
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Daniels WS, Wang JL, Ravikumar AP, Harrison M, Roman-White SA, George FC, Hammerling DM. Toward Multiscale Measurement-Informed Methane Inventories: Reconciling Bottom-Up Site-Level Inventories with Top-Down Measurements Using Continuous Monitoring Systems. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:11823-11833. [PMID: 37506319 PMCID: PMC10433519 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c01121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Revised: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
Government policies and corporate strategies aimed at reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas sector increasingly rely on measurement-informed, site-level emission inventories, as conventional bottom-up inventories poorly capture temporal variability and the heavy-tailed nature of methane emissions. This work is based on an 11-month methane measurement campaign at oil and gas production sites. We find that operator-level top-down methane measurements are lower during the end-of-project phase than during the baseline phase. However, gaps persist between end-of-project top-down measurements and bottom-up site-level inventories, which we reconcile with high-frequency data from continuous monitoring systems (CMS). Specifically, we use CMS to (i) validate specific snapshot measurements and determine how they relate to the temporal emission profile of a given site and (ii) create a measurement-informed, site-level inventory that can be validated with top-down measurements to update conventional bottom-up inventories. This work presents a real-world demonstration of how to reconcile CMS rate estimates and top-down snapshot measurements jointly with bottom-up inventories at the site level. More broadly, it demonstrates the importance of multiscale measurements when creating measurement-informed, site-level emission inventories, which is a critical aspect of recent regulatory requirements in the Inflation Reduction Act, voluntary methane initiatives such as the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0, and corporate strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- William S. Daniels
- Department
of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Colorado
School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Jiayang Lyra Wang
- Department
of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
- Energy
Emissions Modeling and Data Lab, The University
of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
| | - Arvind P. Ravikumar
- Department
of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
- Energy
Emissions Modeling and Data Lab, The University
of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
| | | | | | - Fiji C. George
- Cheniere
Energy Inc., Houston, Texas 77002, United States
| | - Dorit M. Hammerling
- Department
of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Colorado
School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
- Energy
Emissions Modeling and Data Lab, The University
of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
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Singh U, Algren M, Schoeneberger C, Lavallais C, O’Connell MG, Oke D, Liang C, Das S, Salas SD, Dunn JB. Technological avenues and market mechanisms to accelerate methane and nitrous oxide emissions reductions. iScience 2022; 25:105661. [PMID: 36567716 PMCID: PMC9772851 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Strategies targeting methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions are critical to meeting global climate targets. Existing literature estimates the emissions of these gases from specific sectors, but this knowledge must be synthesized to prioritize and incentivize CH4 and N2O mitigation. Accordingly, we review emissions sources and mitigation strategies in all key sectors (fuel extraction and combustion, landfilling, agriculture, wastewater treatment, and chemical industry) and the role of carbon markets in reducing emissions. The most accessible reduction opportunities are in the hydrocarbon extraction and waste sectors, where half (>3 Gt-CO2e/year) of the emissions in these sectors could be mitigated at no net cost. In total, 60% of CH4 emissions can be mitigated at less than $50/t-CO2. Expanding the scope of carbon markets to include these emissions could provide cost-effective decarbonization through 2050. We provide recommendations for carbon markets to improve emissions reductions and set prices to appropriately incentivize mitigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Udayan Singh
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Mikaela Algren
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Carrie Schoeneberger
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Chayse Lavallais
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Margaret G. O’Connell
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Doris Oke
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Chao Liang
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Sabyasachi Das
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Santiago D. Salas
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Jennifer B. Dunn
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA,Corresponding author
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