Deployable Electrochemical Methane Sensors for Pipeline Monitoring and Greenhouse Gas Mitigation

甲烷是一种强效的温室气体，其对环境的危害是二氧化碳的数倍。加拿大各地的工业部门，特别是自然资源领域的工业部门，是甲烷的高排放者，因此公共和私营部门都增加了直接解决这些排放源的任务。具有讽刺意味的是，大多数甲烷排放是由于现有压力和管道系统的泄漏，而不是故意直接向环境排放的结果。作为工程工业产品的制造商，pro -法兰致力于开发一种能够检测此类泄漏的产品，从而在不严重污染环境的情况下解决和修复这些泄漏。pro -法兰和滑铁卢大学之间的合作旨在开发“智能法兰”，该法兰内置可更换的廉价甲烷传感器，可以检测天然气管道内和周围发生的任何逸散性排放或泄漏。原则上，这些智能法兰将形成一个传感器网络，发出信号，通知气体分配器泄漏及其在基础设施中的位置。由于天然气分销网络遍布全国广大地区，目前无法进行常规的人工监测，因此许多泄漏未被发现，也无法解释。拟议的工作将解决这一问题，并可能导致加拿大和世界温室气体排放的显著减少。

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas many times more damaging to the environment than CO2. Industrial sectors across Canada - especially in the natural resource arena - are high emitters of methane, resulting in increased mandates from both the public and private sectors to directly address the source of these emissions. Ironically, most methane emissions are due to leaks in existing pressure and piping systems, and not as a result of intentional direct environmental venting. As a manufacturer of engineered industrial products used in systems where methane emissions are present, Pro-Flange has a direct interest in developing a product that can detect such leaks in order to address and repair without significant contamination of the environment.The proposed collaboration between Pro-Flange and the University of Waterloo, aims to develop 'smart flanges' which have built-in, replaceable, inexpensive methane sensors which can detect any fugitive emissions or leaks occurring in and around the natural gas pipeline. In principle, these smart flanges will form a sensor network that emits a signal to inform the gas distributor of a leak and its location in the infrastructure. Since the gas distribution networks span huge areas across the country, it is not currently feasible for routine manual monitoring and so many leaks go undetected and unaccounted for. The proposed work will solve this problem and may lead to significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for Canada and the world.