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Title: Point Sensor Networks Struggle to Detect and Quantify Short Controlled Releases at Oil and Gas Sites

Journal Article · · Sensors
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/s24082419 · OSTI ID:2335929

This study evaluated multiple commercially available continuous monitoring (CM) point sensor network (PSN) solutions under single-blind controlled release testing conducted at operational upstream and midstream oil and natural gas (O&G) sites. During releases, PSNs reported site-level emission rate estimates of 0 kg/h between 38 and 86% of the time. When non-zero site-level emission rate estimates were provided, no linear correlation between the release rate and the reported emission rate estimate was observed. The average, aggregated across all PSN solutions during releases, shows 5% of the mixing ratio readings at downwind sensors were greater than the site’s baseline plus two standard deviations. Four of seven total PSN solutions tested during this field campaign provided site-level emission rate estimates with the site average relative error ranging from −100% to 24% for solution D, −100% to −43% for solution E, −25% for solution F (solution F was only at one site), and −99% to 430% for solution G, with an overall average of −29% across all sites and solutions. Of all the individual site-level emission rate estimates, only 11% were within ±2.5 kg/h of the study team’s best estimate of site-level emissions at the time of the releases.

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
FE0031873
OSTI ID:
2335929
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 2473181
Journal Information:
Sensors, Journal Name: Sensors Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 24; ISSN SENSC9; ISSN 1424-8220
Publisher:
MDPI AGCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
Switzerland
Language:
English

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