TECH BUZZ

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING i MAY2015 I P.12

DRONES AGAINST
METHANE LEAKS
significant issue with the hydrau
lic-fracturing process in oil shale
reservoirs is the release of meth
ane, which migrates upward through the

sions is a daunting and costly problem to

tackle. The key is devising an industry
wide method for surveying, identifying, and
correcting methane leaks in drilling and

drill hole to the surface, where it escapes

into the atmosphere. Other locations in
the oil and gas production infrastructure
where methane can escape include loose
pipe flanges, inefficient compressors, and

processing operations.
Some organizations, such as TransCanada Corp. (which wants to build the
Keystone XL pipeline), utilize helicop

outdated equipment.
Methane release is increasingly rec
ognized as a pollution problem. About 9
percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in
the U.S. consist of methane. The gas traps
up to 30 times more heat than carbon di
oxide, and may accelerate climate change.
Flaring is a waste of a valuable byproduct,
which burns more cleanly than coal.
As a result, there is growing interest in
identifying and controlling methane leaks.
In 20U, Colorado became the first state in
the U.S. to limit methane emissions from
oil and gas operations. Other states, such
as California, are in the process of revis
ing their regulations, which could include
restrictions or penalties on the release
methane and other gases.
With nearly 500,000 hydraulically frac
tured gas wells across the U.S. and a vast
network of connecting pipelines and other
infrastructure, reducing methane emis

ters equipped with laser spectroscopic

systems that identify methane concentra
tions in the atmosphere. The central unit
emits an infrared laser signal: when the
laser beam strikes methane gas, some
of the light in the beam is deflected, creat
ing a distinctive signature. The difference
between the emitted laser and received
laser is directly proportional to the
amount of methane encountered. Infrared
camerasin aircraft as well as satel
liteshave also been effective in identify
ing methane leaks over large areas.
A faster and more cost-effective ap
proach is the use of "methane-sniffing"
drones. Robert Jackson, an environmental
scientist at Duke University, has been test
ing drones as a way to detect the release
of methane over hydraulic fracturing
operations. A key limitation, he notes, is
the weight of the payload. "Carrying a big
camera or methane sensor, a drone might
be able to stay in the air for 30 minutes,"
Jackson said. "It's difficult to
screen a shale play with that
kind of time."
In Australia, Draco Scientific
is developing small drones
to carry optical sensors for
detecting and measuring
greenhouse gases in three
dimensions. The highly sensi

A Draco Scientific drone with optical sensors that monitor the

atmosphere for methane and nitrogen oxides.
Image: Draco Scientific

tive optical sensors can help

monitor gas emissions over
critical areas such as drill sites,
gas pipelines, landfills, and
municipal operations.
Researchers are developing
continued on p. 14

RUSSIAN NUCLEAR
PLANT FORJORDAN
Rosatom, Russia's state-run nuclear
corporation, has moved a step closer to
building a nuclear power plant in Jordan.
According to Russia's Tass news service,
the chief of Rosatom, Sergey Kiriyenko,
and the chairman of the Jordan Atomic
Energy Commission, Khaled Toukan, have
signed an intergovernmental agreement on
cooperation in the construction of the plan.
Representatives of Russia and Jordan
previously signed a pre-investment
agreement. Overall investments in
construction of a nuclear plant in Jordan
are estimated at $10 billion, Tass said.
The plan is to form a joint venture for
the project, in which Jordan will hold 51
percent and Rosatom the remainder.
The plan calls for a plant with two units
rated at 1,000 megawatts each. The first
unit is to be commissioned in 2024, and
the second in 2026.

BEIJING POWERS DOWN

SOME COAL FIRES
Electricity providers in China's capital are
shutting down coal-fired power plants in
order to reduce some of the city's smog,
according to the Xinhua news agency.
The most recent plant to close was
operated in downtown Beijing by the
state-owned Guohua Electric Power Co.
and had a generating capacity rated at
400 megawatts. Guoha is replacing it with
a gas-fired plant. A 93-year-old thermal
power plant run by Beijing Energy Invest
ment Group in western Beijing closed a day
before that, Xinhua said.
The last coal-burning plant in the city is
scheduled to close next year.
According to Xinhua, officials estimate
that closing the plants and switching to
natural gas will help cut emissions by
10.000 metric tons of sulfur dioxide and
19.000 tons of nitrogen oxide per year.

TECH BUZZ

continued from page 12

DRONES AGAINST METHANE

m ore sensitive m ethane se n so rs fo r teak detection th a t utilize
cavity rin g -d o w n spectroscopy. For exam ple, C olorado State
U n ive rsity V en tu re s has crea te d an advanced system th a t can
be in s ta lle d on d ro n e s to provide re a l-tim e m e a s u re m e n t of
m e th a n e e m issio n s. The s e n s o r can d isce rn betw een o ila n d -g a s -re la te d m e th a n e e m issio n s and th o se fro m biogenic
sources, such as ca ttle .
"A p rin c ip a l advantage of th e s e n so r is its sim p te design,
w h ic h alto w s fo r a lig h te r w e ig h t and less expensive, less c o m
p lica te d system ," said J e re m y N elson, d ire c to r of lice n sin g and
business d e ve lo pm e n t fo r C olorado State U n ive rsity V entures.
These fe a tu re s, he said, m ake th e s e n s o r su ita b le fo r la rg e -

BRACING FOR
THE CHANGE
AS GLACIERS SHRINK AND OCEANS RISE,
FARMERS AND SHORE-DWELLERS FIND
WAYS TO COPE.

e n e ra tio n s of fa rm e rs in th e high d e se rt of Ladakh, a

region of the In d ia n -a d m in iste re d state of Ja m m u and
K ashm ir, have planted in the sp ring w hen g la cia t m e lt

w a te r begins to flo w fro m th e Him alayan fo o th ills above th e m . In

scale d e p lo y m e n t in both s ta tio n a ry syste m s and unm a n n e d

recent years, however, th e w e a th e r has g ra d u a lly w a rm e d and

a e ria l ve h icle and drone a p p lica tio n s. A 1 Hz sa m p lin g rate

the g la cie rs are sh rin kin g , leaving th e s o il dry.

ena bles a p p lic a tio n s in h ig h -sp e e d m oving ve h icle s such

"S h rin k in g g la c ie rs are a kn o w n p h e no m e n o n here," said

as UAVs and la n d -b a se d ve h icle s so th a t la rge areas can be

S onam W a ngchuk, a m e c h a n ic a l e n g in e e r and in s tru c to r at

q u ic k ly m o n ito re d by a sin g le s e n s o r in s tru m e n t, saving tim e

SECMOL, a s ch o o l in Phey, Ladakh. "In th e pe o ple's life tim e

and red u cin g survey costs.

th e y have s h ru n k by up to a k ilo m e te r. So a decrease in m e lt

w a te r is only n a tu ra l. T here are so m e v illa g e s th a t are being

MARKCRAWFORD.ASME.ORG

abandoned, even."
Engineers had trie d to a rtific ia lly b uild up th e g la cie rs above
th e fa rm in g villa g e s. They diverted w a te rw a ys to create higha ttitu d e ice fie ld s on n o rth -fa c in g slopes in th e shade of peaks.

Design As Fast As You Think

B ut th e w o rk w as stre n u o u s and req u ire d steep c lim b s to

m a in ta in th e w a te r d iversions. W angchuk had a s im p le r plan. He
piped w a te r th ro u g h a g ra vity-fe d tube fro m w in te r s tre a m s to a

patch of land rig h t in a fa rm in g villa g e . The w a te r froze in an icy

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cone th a t g re w to contain 150,000 tite rs. Its shape rese m b le d a

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"stupa," a re lig io u s s h rin e m ade of stacked rock and th a t is w h a t

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W angchuk ca lls it, an "ice stupa." The co n ica l shape le ft little

area exposed to th e sun, so it m elte d slow ly d u rin g the s p rin g to
irrig a te th e s u rro u n d in g fields.
A fte r th a t success, W angchuk launched an Indiegogo c a m
paign to fund the co n stru ctio n of m ore ice stupas. He raised
$125,000 by the tim e the cam paign closed in D e ce m b e r 2 0 U .
W angchuk parlayed an a stu te ly m anaged on lin e fu n d ra isin g
e ffo rt and a lo w -co st a rtific ia l w a te r-s to ra g e te ch niqu e into a
life lin e fo r Ladakhi fa rm e rs . Ice stu p as are an exam ple of the
inventive ways th a t developing co m m u n itie s w o rld w id e are
adapting to clim a te change.

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