Development of a low cost, field portable, Imaging Fourier Transform Interferometer for gas leak detection in the Petrochemical industry

开发用于石化行业气体泄漏检测的低成本、现场便携式成像傅里叶变换干涉仪

• 批准号: ST/K006614/1
• 负责人: Graham Ferrier
• 金额: $ 11.38万
• 依托单位: University of Hull
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2013 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ST%2FK006614%2F1
• 关键词: Development; low; cost; field; portable

The Petrochemical Industry is very important to the United Kingdom both as a major employer and exporter. Petrochemicalfacilities extend over very large areas and have extensive, complex infrastructure to transport and store chemicals and gasesunder high temperatures and pressures. The health and saftey of the workers and of nearby residents is of paramountimportance and companies such as BP extend considerable effort and spend very large sums of money to ensure that theirpetrochemical facilities are as safe as possible. The current health & safety and pollution monitoring approaches at Petrochemical facilities involves the deployment of a large number of gas detectors as key locations around the petrochemical facility. These gas detectors while being extremely accurate are limited in the extent of the area that they can detect gas emissions coming from. Apart from missing gas leaks point-based detectors do not have the capability of identification patternson infrastructure indicative of stress or weakening of restraining material.Currently available imaging based gas monitoring instruments are not capable of meeting the essential requirements of thePetrochemical industry. Both Thermal cameras with filters and filter-based snapshot systems can detect the presence of high concentrations of a number of gas species but have very poor sensitivity, they cannot differentiate different species from a complex gas and are severely affected by the presence of water vapour in the atmosphere. Imaging Fourier Transform Interferometers (FTIRs) have the potential to overcome the sensitivity and accuracy limitations of these other technologies but current systems are very expensive, very heavy and have a very high power supply requirement with consequent severe effects on the portability and deployment in environments with hazardous leaking gas. There is therefore an urgent need for the development of a low-cost, highly portable imaging FTIR system that can differentiate and quantify gas species at the sensitivity required by the Petrochemical industry. The proposed instrument will be a development of a mid-infrared Fourier Transform Spectrometer, based on a novel static optical configuration, that has been developed at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL). This instrument, known as the micro Fourier Transform Spectrometer (microFTS), employs a simple optical arrangement to split and then recombine light to form a complex modulated interference pattern (known as an interferogram). The instrument is compact (50 mm by 50 mm by 30 mm), lightweight (~0.9 kg) and has a very high data acquisition time rate (~1 x 10-4 s-1). An important, additional component of theproject will be the development of an easy-to-use gas identification and analysis software package which will enable the microFTS data to be processed into images showing both the presence and the concentration of the gas species of most importance to the Petrochemical industry.This project will involve collaboratoration with the National Physical Laboratory (NPL). The project will utilise new, state-of-the-art analytical facilities at NPL which will enable a comprehensive evaluation of the sensitivity of the new microFTS instrument in detecting the gas species of most importance to the Petrochemical industry (e.g. methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, ammonia, acetic acid), at a range of temperatures (both gas and background), concentrations and mixtures.The project will also involve extensive collaboration with BP. A series of extensive field-based evaluation campaigns of the microFTS instrument will be carried out at the BP facilities at Saltend, near Hull. The opportunity to evaluate the design and capabilities of the instrument in real situations under normal atmospheric conditions will be enbale to ensure that the instrument produced at the end ofproject is an instrument that industry would wish to uti

石化工业对英国来说非常重要，既是主要的雇主，也是出口商。石化设施占地面积很大，有广泛的、复杂的基础设施，在高温高压下运输和储存化学品和气体。工人和附近居民的健康和安全至关重要，BP等公司付出了相当大的努力并花费了大量资金来确保其石化设施尽可能安全。石化设施的当前健康与安全和污染监测方法涉及在石化设施周围部署大量气体检测器作为关键位置。这些气体检测器虽然非常准确，但它们可以检测来自的气体排放的区域范围有限。除了遗漏气体泄漏之外，基于点的检测器不具有指示约束材料的应力或弱化的基础设施上的识别模式的能力。目前可用的基于成像的气体监测仪器不能够满足石化工业的基本要求。带滤光片的热像仪和基于滤光片的快照系统都可以检测到高浓度的多种气体物质的存在，但灵敏度非常差，它们无法区分复杂气体中的不同物质，并且受到大气中水蒸气存在的严重影响。成像傅里叶变换干涉仪（FTIR）具有克服这些其他技术的灵敏度和准确度限制的潜力，但是当前的系统非常昂贵、非常重并且具有非常高的电源要求，从而严重影响便携性和在具有危险泄漏气体的环境中的部署。因此，迫切需要开发一种低成本、高度便携的成像FTIR系统，该系统可以以石化工业所需的灵敏度区分和量化气体种类。拟议的仪器将是一个中红外傅里叶变换光谱仪的发展，基于一种新的静态光学配置，已在卢瑟福阿普尔顿实验室（RAL）开发。这种仪器被称为微型傅里叶变换光谱仪（microFTS），采用简单的光学装置来分离，然后重新组合光线，形成复杂的调制干涉图案（称为干涉图）。该仪器结构紧凑（50 mm × 50 mm × 30 mm），重量轻（~0.9 kg），数据采集时间速率非常高（~1 x 10-4 s-1）。该项目的一个重要的附加组成部分是开发一个易于使用的气体识别和分析软件包，该软件包将使microFTS数据能够被处理成图像，显示对石化工业最重要的气体种类的存在和浓度。该项目将利用NPL最先进的新分析设施，全面评估新型microFTS仪器在检测石化行业最重要的气体种类方面的灵敏度（例如甲烷、一氧化碳、二氧化碳、氨、乙酸），在一定温度范围内（气体和背景），浓度和混合物。该项目还将涉及与英国石油公司的广泛合作。将在英国石油公司位于船体附近Saltend的设施对microFTS仪器进行一系列广泛的实地评估活动。在正常大气条件下的真实的情况下评估仪器的设计和能力的机会将被赋予，以确保在项目结束时生产的仪器是工业界希望使用的仪器。