Fugitive emissions refer to the release of gases and vapors from pressurized equipment like pipes, valves, mechanical seals, and other industrial hardware. This type of release is usually unintentional and occurs through leaks that can happen at various points in the supply chain, from well sites to evaporative sources such as wastewater treatment ponds and storage tanks. Because these releases often go undetected, fugitive emissions can be quite difficult to quantify and track. The regulation of such emissions is crucial, and recent updates like those detailed in Bill C-59 are aimed at enhancing oversight and improving the monitoring of fugitive emissions in the Alberta oil and gas industry. For more information click here this link https://internalinsider.com/how-bill-c-59-affects-the-alberta-oil-and-gas-industry.
These emissions are a major threat to public health and the environment. They can be composed of toxic gasses like methane and VOCs, or harmful chemicals such as sulfur dioxide or hydrogen sulfide. The resulting effects can range from breathing problems and health issues for workers, to habitat degradation, ground-level ozone formation, and climate change. Globally, there are increasing efforts to curb these emissions by implementing stricter regulations for the oil and gas industry.
One of the most effective ways to manage fugitive emissions is to monitor the air around these sites with advanced sensor technology. These technologies are enabling the development of real-time mobile and stationary air measurement systems that can provide comprehensive fugitive emissions monitoring for facilities, supply chains, and well sites.
Traditionally, fugitive emissions monitoring is carried out with gas sniffers or other devices that can detect the presence of certain gases and measure their severity in terms of parts per million (PPM). These devices are useful for alerting organizations of the existence of leaks but do not solve the problem.
A solution to this problem is the use of passive acoustic sensors, which can detect leaks by listening for the distinctive sound of the leak. These sensors are capable of detecting leaking fugitive emissions from a wide variety of industrial equipment and can be used in conjunction with other sensors to determine the location of the leak.
In addition to the cost savings of reduced product loss, fugitive emissions monitoring can help reduce the overall environmental footprint of the supply chain. Ultimately, reducing these unanticipated releases will lead to cleaner communities and the environment.
While emissions from smokestacks and other point sources of pollution have been studied extensively, fugitive emissions are less well understood, especially because they can be difficult to track. This has resulted in a higher degree of uncertainty in both emissions and impacts than is present for point sources that have undergone detailed emissions tests and developed inventory management plans.
For this reason, Project Canary is developing a self-sustaining continuous environmental monitoring system that can continuously and automatically detect fugitive emissions at low cost, allowing oil and gas companies to identify leaks in real time, fix them and monitor their impact, all while improving their overall operational efficiency. This system will make it possible to reduce the amount of methane escaping into the atmosphere and to support a more sustainable energy economy. To learn more about this innovative system, click here.