GasSight

Chemicals are added to the natural gas supply so that we, as consumers, can detect the smell from gas leaks. Unfortunately no such additive exists to allow us to see where the leak is coming from. The ability to directly image gas emissions has an immediate application for gas leak detection, both in the urban environment and in industrial processing plants. In this project we will address this gap in the market by developing GasSight, a low cost illumination and camera system that can visualise methane gas as it mixes with the air. GasSight will replace the large pixel array in a conventional camera with a low cost single photo-diode and a pattern projector (like those used in a digital data projector). The selectivity of the target gas is set by the wavelength of the illumination source. We will develop an active laser illumination system which has been tuned to an absorption band of methane in the short-wave infra-red spectrum. Conventional detector arrays that are sensitive to this short-wave infra-red are prohibitively expensive and hence, replacing them with a single photo-diode leads to very low cost systems.

This project builds upon a long-standing collaboration between the Optics Group at the University of Glasgow and M-Squared Lasers. The Optics group is internationally recognised for their expertise in the design of low-cost camera systems capable of seeing in the short-wave infra-red. M-Squared has expertise in transforming complicated laser systems, which require expert operation, into turn-key systems that need no user intervention. Their laser systems are well known for maintaining alignment for many years even in hostile environments.

The project will produce a prototype gas imaging system suitable for end user evaluation under realistic operational conditions.

This project will create impacts for a range of stakeholders including business and industry, academia and the general public.

BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY
The main impacts will be economic and will be felt initially by M2Lasers who will jointly develop and commercialise the GasSight system. The first exploitation route will be via channels that M2 has developed in the oil and gas industry as well as defence primes and various customers that have previously engaged in the field of environmental monitoring. This could be expected to lead to initial sales of £8.2m (60 units) in the first five years alone.

The project will support the establishment of an entirely new industry over the next 10-15 years with major economic benefits up- and down-stream. M2 itself fully expects new positions for 7 scientists, 2 engineers and 1 technician within 5 years of project end. Other spin-off benefits can be found in a myriad of sectors, e.g. improved extraction and prospecting in the Oil & Gas industry and securing the long term EEA GDP associated with navigation.

ACADEMIC IMPACTS
Any developments in computational imaging within this project could have an impact in the area of ghost imaging as improvements to the algorithms can be translated into the other field.

SOCIETAL BENFITS
There are a number of societal benefits associated with this project:

1) Security - In the detection of explosives and IEDs the benefits to innocent populations are obvious. If this can be accomplished with standoff detection systems then there will be less disruption to general life while still providing protection. Moreover, standoff explosive detection would be invaluable to reduce congestion in airports, where considerable staff time and equipment are required for screening of luggage.

2) Environmental - Benefits are foreseen in the oil and gas industry where leakages of methane in the atmosphere can have a catastrophic effect on the environment. GasSight can be deployed for gas sensing during exploration, transportation and refining as well as in other large chemical plants. In Alaska BP has over 200,000 miles of pipeline. A 1 inch leak in a 16 mile section cost the company $100m in lost production and fines. This is despite a $200m annual maintenance plan incorporating multiple technologies (EnerMc Ltd). Similarly in the US alone there are 350 billion cubic feet of fugitive emissions of the greenhouse gas methane. Methane, is 80 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Reducing leaks from gas fields and pipelines, petroleum wells that produce methane as a by product and cities distribution systems is a crucial step in the fight against global warming.