Monitoring Fugitive Methane Emissions Utilizing Advanced Small Unmanned Aerial Sensor Technology

Abstract

Methane, the primary component of natural gas, is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) when vented to the atmosphere. Unburned emissions of natural gas from infrastructure can undermine the environmental benefits of using this low carbon fuel for power generation. Detecting and quantifying these emissions where and when they occur is essential for mitigating them. To provide an affordable sensing system enabling more effective methane mitigation programs, we have adapted the backscatter-TDLAS technology embedded in the Remote Methane Leak Detector (RMLD) for mounting on PSI’s two-foot-wide quadrotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) featuring highly advanced autonomy.