Microchip can detect methane leakage in oil and gas wells in real time

Methane's warming "potential" is 25 times that of carbon dioxide, and oil and gas drilling leakage has become the main source of methane emissions IBM, together with researchers from Harvard University and Princeton University, has designed a 5mm square micro sensor chip to detect methane emissions in real time and sustainably, according to the official website of Scientific American At present, the oil and gas industry uses hand-held infrared camera to detect methane leakage, which is expensive and inefficient East Jordan, director of the southwest energy company's enterprise environmental program, said that if gas leakage detection is carried out throughout the plant, special personnel are required to operate the manual scanning equipment for a whole day Generally speaking, the company conducts an overall test every quarter, so some leaks may not be found until several months later In addition, although this kind of infrared camera is sensitive to large leakage sources, it is easy to "ignore" small leakage points The microchip developed by IBM, which is mounted on a small silicon chip, contains laser and glass cable channels The laser is emitted from the optical cable into the air When the methane molecule floats over the sensor, it will absorb the light of a specific wavelength and produce a unique feature The chip will convert it into an electrical signal, and then calculate the methane leakage by drawing the optical absorption spectrum Oil and gas companies embed these sensors around the well wall or compressor station Very small changes in light absorption data can be automatically sent to IBM's cloud computer Combined with complex dynamic models such as wind, turbulence, moderation, temperature, etc., methane leakage source can be determined Once confirmed, the company can immediately send someone to repair Norma Sosa, IBM's manager of cognitive Internet of things systems and technology, said the chip's advantages are that it can provide real-time alerts and mark information such as time and location "Most importantly, all chips are wireless connections." In the market, methane detection sensors are very expensive, large-scale and need electricity, while IBM's chip, which does not need solar power, has a low design cost of only $200 per chip.