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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLSU researchers have developed a fiber-optic sensor system that can distinguish methane, CO\u2082, nitrogen, air flow and humidity, potentially improving pipeline leak detection and corrosion monitoring.
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(P&GJ) – Researchers at Louisiana State University (LSU) have developed a fiber-optic sensor system designed to identify gases escaping from pipelines while also measuring humidity, potentially giving operators additional information for assessing leaks and corrosion risks.<\/p>\n
Unlike monitoring systems that detect a leak without necessarily identifying the escaping gas, the LSU technology uses specialized sensor coatings to distinguish between carbon dioxide (CO\u2082), methane, nitrogen and ordinary air flow. It can also measure humidity.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe gas identity tells you what danger you face. Humidity tells you how the danger will behave and how fast the pipeline may deteriorate,\u201d said FNU Jyoti, a postdoctoral research associate in LSU’s Department of Petroleum Engineering.<\/p>\n
The ability to measure CO\u2082 and moisture together could be particularly useful for pipeline integrity monitoring. In the presence of moisture, CO\u2082 can form carbonic acid, accelerating corrosion of steel pipelines.<\/p>\n
The researchers coated optical fibers with metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), porous materials that can be tailored to capture specific molecules. Different MOF coatings allow the sensors to distinguish among individual gases.<\/p>\n
The technology builds on previous LSU research using fiber-optic sensors to detect physical changes within pipelines, including temperature, pressure and stress. Those measurements can be affected by external conditions such as temperature changes and traffic vibration, according to the university.<\/p>\n
Researchers have tested the new system in the laboratory under varying humidity conditions to evaluate how moisture affects its CO\u2082 sensing capabilities.<\/p>\n
The team also developed a numerical model that LSU said can predict MOF performance with more than 95% accuracy, allowing researchers to screen potential sensor materials digitally before conducting laboratory tests.<\/p>\n
Following the laboratory work, the researchers plan larger-scale experiments in a 5,000-ft wellbore to evaluate the technology under conditions closer to field operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal is to show there is a clear path from our research prototype to a real-world solution,\u201d Jyoti said.<\/p>\n
LSU is seeking industry partners or funding to further develop and potentially commercialize the pipeline monitoring technology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" LSU researchers have developed a fiber-optic sensor system that can distinguish methane, CO\u2082, nitrogen, air flow…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":633736,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[61,60,82],"class_list":["post-633735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=633735"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633735\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/633736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=633735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=633735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=633735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}