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BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, in cooperation with the company MeGaSen UG carries out a research project to enhance and validate an innovative approach for distributed subsurface monitoring of gas storage areas. The concept combines different measurement technologies to one multifunctional sensor: membrane-based gas measurement technology for in-situ monitoring of gases in soil and fiber optical sensing of temperature and strain (as a measure for structural change). Key aspect of the research project is the first-time validation of the system in an application relevant dimension. For this purpose a 20 x 20 m2 test field is build. A comprehensive validation of the system is carried out by systematic variation of different parameters like position-dependent gasinjection, temperature and mechanical impact.
Comprehensive monitoring of pipelines over their full length is technically difficult and expensive. Considering a cost-benefit ratio it is reasonable to implement monitoring solutions in pipeline segments, which bear a high risk potential, like residential areas, construction sites, slopes, street or river crossings. Still such segments can measure up to several hundred meters in length, demanding for monitoring solutions that extend along such distances and enable fast response. Point wise sensing and periodical surveillance have clear drawbacks, particularly regarding early damage detection. Fibre optic sensors enable distributed sensing of temperature and strain, but they offer very limited possibilities for measuring gas concentrations. Linear membrane-based gas sensors enable the monitoring of gas concentrations alongside a pipeline. Such line-sensors are implemented in form of flexible tubes and can be arranged inside or outside the pipeline (also underwater or within the subsurface), corresponding to the technical requirements. The measuring method combines the gas specific diffusion rates through a membrane with Dalton’s law of partial pressures and enables the calculation of gas concentrations or the detection of a change of the gas composition. The objective is to detect gas leakages fast and with high reliability. Furthermore, the calibrated system enables to estimate the spatial extent of a leakage. So far the gas concentration measurement is tested for oxygen, carbon dioxide, methane; further gases should follow, e.g. hydrogen, carbon monoxide or mixtures like natural gas. The paper introduces in the different operating modes of line-sensors. A near real-time approach will be demonstrated to quantify the impact of a gas leak on the near environment. This approach is based on a critical length describing the expansion of the leaking gas.
This work presents first results from repetitive CO2 injection experiments performed on a recently built-up 400 m² soil test field with gas injection system. The test field contains 48 membrane-based linear gas sensors that were installed in several depths of the test field. Sensors for measuring meteorological parameters (e.g., wind / rain) and the parameters soil temperature, soil moisture, and groundwater level were installed additionally.
In preliminary work, gas sensors in linear form based on the measuring principle of gas selective permeability through a membrane were developed and introduced for the detection and quantification of gas concentrations. In this study, first experimental results are presented for adapting the technology for measuring methane (CH4). A material with suitable selective permeability was identified and utilized in a sensor setup containing the gas selective membrane and a reference membrane, both integrated in a measuring cell, to which a gas stream with defined CH4 concentrations was applied. The results prove the sensor's capability for measuring methane and indicate further application potential of the method, e.g., as a robust field monitoring technology, since CH4 is the major component of natural gas, town gas, and fracking gas.
Geogenic gases such as CH4 or CO2 from natural sources, gases (CCS-CO2, H2, Natural
gas, City gas …) from a geological repository, or a leaking gas pipeline can present serious
risks in industrial and urban areas where the density of infrastructural elements increases as
well as above and below ground. To extend the lead time for risk treatment in such critical
regions, reliable detection of gases within the shallow subsurface is required to observe
critical gas accumulations before degassing into the atmosphere.
A near real-time monitoring approach is introduced to determine the volumetric expansion of
such a gas escaping from a leak in the subsurface. Considering the pressure relaxation with
the ambient air pressure, the approach enables the forecasting of the final size of a
pressurized gas body in terms of characteristic lengths. According to theoretical basics, such
a characteristic length, which allows to perform a gas (safety) measurement based on a
purely geometrical measure, behaves independently of subsurface properties, i.e., it enables
a reliable quantification of the escaping gas, irrespective of its heterogeneous flow path
distribution. A field test for a 10 l/min pinhole leakage of CO2 injected in an unsaturated Chernozemic soil (agricultural test field Bad Lauchstädt)that was equipped with linear gas sensors demonstrates the lateral-vertical volumetric gas expansion along the environment of these gas sensors, and confirms the applicability of the new characteristic length approach.