Ubiquitous Low-Cost Functionalized Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube Sensors for Distributed Methane Leak Detection

Journal Article · 16 June 2016 · IEEE Sensors Journal

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2016.2581832 · OSTI ID:1393950

Humayun, Md Tanim  ^[1]; Divan, Ralu ^[2]; Stan, Liliana ^[2]; Rosenmann, Daniel ^[2]; Gosztola, David ^[2]; Gundel, Lara ^[3]; Solomon, Paul A. ^[4]; Paprotny, Igor ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Illinois, Chicago, IL (United States)
2. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Lemont, IL (United States)
3. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
4. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Las Vegas, NV (United States)

This paper presents a highly sensitive, energy efficient and low-cost distributed methane (CH₄) sensor system (DMSS) for continuous monitoring, detection, and localization of CH₄ leaks in natural gas infrastructure, such as transmission and distribution pipelines, wells, and production pads. The CH₄ sensing element, a key component of the DMSS, consists of a metal oxide nanocrystal (MONC) functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) mesh which, in comparison to existing literature, shows stronger relative resistance change while interacting with lower parts per million (ppm) concentration of CH₄. A Gaussian plume triangulation algorithm has been developed for the DMSS. Given a geometric model of the surrounding environment the algorithm can precisely detect and localize a CH₄ leak as well as estimate its mass emission rate. A UV-based surface recovery technique making the sensor recover 10 times faster than the reported ones is presented for the DMSS. In conclusion, a control algorithm based on the UV-accelerated recovery is developed which facilitates faster leak detection.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); University of Illinois, Chicago; Aclima, Inc.
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357; AC02-05CH11231
• OSTI ID: 1393950
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1456962
• Journal Information: IEEE Sensors Journal, Vol. 16, Issue 24; ISSN 1530-437X
• Publisher: IEEECopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English