Researchers from Princeton University have developed a new approach for detecting greenhouse gas leaks — both big and small — from gas drilling and sewer system activities.

According to its developers, the laser-based sensing method accurately detects and quantifies both large greenhouse gas leaks and 25 times smaller gas leaks than those usually detected at natural gas facilities via other methods. This approach reportedly localizes emissions sources to within a meter.

Source: Princeton UniversitySource: Princeton University

To accomplish this, the team outfitted a small drone with a retroreflector, which is a type of mirror that reflects incoming light directly back to its source, and a corresponding base station featuring gas sensing equipment that can track the drone during flight.

By bouncing a laser beam off the drone mid-flight, points are set around a suspected leak source, enabling the drone to locate the source while simultaneously measuring the intensity of the leaks.

"Current approaches for detecting leaks often rely on handheld infrared cameras that are labor-intensive to operate and insensitive to small leaks, or they use methods that require setting up extensive measurement infrastructure ahead of time," the researchers explained. "But with a drone, you are completely free in how you are able to set up your sensing area."

Further, by locating the gas sensing components on the base station instead of on the drone itself, the design avoids the common challenges of overburdening drones with sensors.

The team also suggests that the approach could potentially allow for simultaneous measurements of multiple gases such as carbon dioxide and ammonia alongside methane by simply adding other lasers of different wavelengths to the base system.

The approach is detailed in the article “Stationary and drone-assisted methane plume localization with dispersion spectroscopy,” which appears in the journal Remote Sensing of Environment.

To contact the author of this article, email mdonlon@globalspec.com