DS-JAN23-PG26+27_Layout 1 06/01/2023 10:49 Page 2
OPTICAL FILTERS
have relied on bottom-up or ‘engineering-based’ estimates, which factor in the number of components in the field. But recent technological advances have led to a more advanced approach. This is where you measure concentrations of greenhouse gasses in the air and then invert for emissions. Many companies are still using the bottom-up approach but are trying to figure out the best technologies to supplement that. Other technologies work better in different
areas. Ground-based networks of sensors, and mobile sensors on vehicles or drones can carry different instruments around a site, and using infrared detectors is industry standard and for a good reason. The most important area to focus on is
identifying easily solvable high emission events. This means it is essential to have sub-monitoring for upset conditions that are not planned. People are deploying different technologies to help with this process, and start- ups are experimenting with different methods. The largest and most cost-effective
opportunities are in the oil and gas sector. This is because fixing leaks can be as simple as tightening a valve, replacing a gasket or tuning an engine. The challenge is not fixing but finding the leaks. Thankfully, the ability to detect methane has rapidly advanced in recent years. There are handheld instruments as well as sensors on aircraft and drones, and now some satellites orbiting to specifically detect methane. With these tools, the International Energy
Agency has found that we could cut global methane emissions from oil and gas operations by 75% with existing technologies.
Monitoring, reporting and verification
Time is running out to make the changes we need to our industrial, energy, and transport systems, as well as in our daily lives. Methane emitters face significant challenges
in abating emissions – originating from a range of regulatory, financial, and structural factors. Awareness is low compared with
CO2, and methane emissions are tough to measure and track.
Umicore Coating Services is
a leading supplier of infrared precision optical filters and coatings. With over 35 years of experience in thin film design and manufacture, we develop custom solutions for low-volume prototyping to full production scale-up of the most demanding optical coating applications. We work closely with our
customers through a consultative approach to develop custom IR designs that balance performance reliability with production efficiency. In doing so we can offer a range of bandpass optical filters ideally suited to environmental/gas detection and analysis applications, with a centre wavelength anywhere on the NIR to FIR spectrum with steep-edge and deep blocking capability. Optical laser technologies are
at the heart of many modern gas monitors. In such devices, a laser beam is passed through the gas sample of interest onto a detector or sensor that converts the incoming laser light into electrical signals. Laser-based sensing technologies have become widely adopted for gas detection and analysis due to their quick response times, high sensitivity and reliability. Laser sensors work by
monitoring the changes between the incident laser beam and the light ultimately detected by the sensor. One approach to doing this is to compare the laser beam that passes through the sample to a reference beam that is not passed through any gas. These changes are caused by the absorption of light by the gas sample. Each gas has a unique absorption profile, which means it will absorb different wavelengths of light in different amounts, which provides the chemical fingerprint that means that laser sensors can be used for chemical identification. While laser sensors can be designed for
any region of the electromagnetic spectrum, many gas analysis devices operate in the infrared. This is because many small gaseous species, like methane, carbon dioxide, and other hydrocarbons, absorb infrared light very strongly, so it is easy to design devices with a sensitivity that extends to parts per billion. The other advantage is that many different spectral lines characterise the absorption profile of these gases in the infrared. This means many features in the spectra can be used to identify chemical species with greater accuracy, and the wealth of information that can be provided with laser sensors makes gas analysis a powerful tool in industrial processing. The challenges associated with action on the
required scale are daunting. But they are not insurmountable. The acceleration of climate change and rising public awareness create a powerful impetus for change. The priority, therefore, is for action where it is practical. Across the board, there is a need for more
monitoring, reporting, and verification – and it’s not sufficient to focus on carbon dioxide emissions alone to limit global warming. A simultaneous focus on methane emissions is needed, given methane's much more potent capacity to warm the planet in the short term. Many measures can be taken at no net cost.
That means that the revenues from the methane captured are sufficient to pay for reducing the methane emissions. And many of these opportunities are in the fossil fuel sector.
Umicore Coating Services
https://eom.umicore.com/en/
DECEMBER/JANUARY 2023 DESIGN SOLUTIONS 27
FEATURE
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
