Field Testing of a Mixed Potential IoT Sensor Platform for Methane Quantification

Abstract

Emissions of CH4 from natural gas infrastructure must be addressed to mitigate its effect on global climate. With hundreds of thousands of miles of pipeline in the US used to transport natural gas, current methods of surveying for leaks are inadequate. Mixed potential sensors are a low-cost, field-deployable technology for remote and continuous monitoring of natural gas infrastructure. We demonstrate for the first time a field trial of a mixed potential sensor device coupled with machine learning and Internet-of-Things (IoT) platform at Colorado State University’s Methane Emissions Technology Evaluation Center. Emissions were detected from a simulated buried underground pipeline source. Sensor data was acquired and transmitted from the field test site to a remote cloud server. Quantification of concentration as a function of vertical distance is consistent with previously reported transport modelling efforts and experimental surveys of methane emissions by more sophisticated CH4 analyzers.