I-Corps: Unmanned Emissions Monitoring

Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, College Station TX

Investigators

Abstract

Air pollution remains a major health hazard in the United States despite significant improvement in air quality since the passage of the Clean Air Act and formation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970. Globally, air pollution is the largest environmental risk to human health. Major causes of air pollution include mobile sources such as transportation, and stationary sources such as landfill gas, livestock, stationary power, and flare gas emissions. When stationary sources are distributed over large areas or have nearly inaccessible exhaust streams (i.e. power plant smoke stacks), it can be very difficult to identify the locations or severity of those sources. We have developed a unique method for measuring gases directly and in place. The proposed technology uses an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly referred to as a drone, to measure gasses and gaseous emissions. Location-specific gas concentration measurements are accomplished by integrating gas sensors into the drone, which is flown over the area of interest, and using the onboard GPS to determine the exact position of the measurement. This I-Corps team believes the most useful application of this technology is in the Oil & Gas and Stationary Power industries. In addition, this has applications in Railroad, Large Bore Ships, and Agriculture. This I-Corps team has developed a unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to measure gases and gaseous emissions. The proposed innovation enables accurate and precise measurements of gas emissions in situ. The product's competitive advantage is the ability to access locations with ease regardless of any ground obstructions present and size of the survey area. Specific technical advancements include improved gas and emissions monitoring capabilities. The overarching goal of this project has clear environmental, societal, and economic benefits. The scope of possible applications has been significantly expanded to consider fuel cell manufacturers, large stationary power plants, mining, oil refineries, waste processing, large scale film processing industries, federal and state regulatory monitors and the list will most likely expand. The customer need that will be met by this technology is the ability to identify and quantify emissions sources ? whether for regulatory purposes or because these emissions represent product loss. Currently, the developmental status of the technology is at proof of principle. The UAV with sensor has been designed and a prototype was built that is undergoing validation testing. The team looks forward to learning a lot from the customer discovery sessions and further developing the technology into a minimum viable product. To demonstrate the technology, a data set will be developed using known standards for ease of comparison. The team can use this to benchmark the technology against competing technologies and for validation.