Industrial Methane Measurement Conference - Abstract

Abstract Information :

GASTRAQ GAS TRacing And Quantification is a system of measurement than can be used to quantify methane emissions using drones, and also to measure CO2:CH4 ratios and to map methane emissions.rnrnBased on Lagrangian mass-balance techniques, point concentration measurements are taken upwind and downwind or solely downwind of a source - i.e. outside of the fence-line, minimising disruption and interpolated along with windspeed to produce an accurate result in kgh or m3h. All efforts are made to fully quantify and minimise instrumental and measurement uncertainty; by far the largest source of uncertainty in all similar kinds of measurements is windspeed, so considerable efforts are made to measure this as accurately as possible.rnrnMethane concentrations are measured using a high precision cavity ring-down spectrometer MGGA; Los Gatos along with carbon dioxide allowing interpretation of concentration ratios to take place. This can be used to measure destruction and removal or combustion efficiencies of flares, turbines and exhausts and to differentiate these signals from pipe leaks.rnrnIn addition, this sensor can be used for terrain-following overflights to generate a map of methane concentrations and also for ground inspections, or can be swapped for an open-path laser to map path-integrated concentrations.rnrnThese methods have been commercially tested across Europe for clients in oil and gas production and distribution and in waste industries, and also in blind verification using controlled releases and comparing with other methods.