Webinar: Detecting Landfill Methane Emissions with Drones
On September 28, 2023, LMOP hosted a webinar with presentations from two LMOP Partners about drone-based technologies that can be used to monitor landfill gas (LFG) emissions and detect leaks.
The presentations were followed by a question-and-answer session. The presentation slides are provided below in a PDF file as well as a recording of the webinar.
Sniffer Robotics presented on the application of its SnifferDRONE™ technology for surface emission monitoring (SEM) at municipal solid waste landfills, approved in 2022 by EPA’s Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards as Other Test Method 51 (OTM-51). The SnifferDRONE™ is an automation tool for detecting and locating fugitive methane emissions; it removes a significant portion of the manual effort from quarterly compliance while performing the job in a very precise and accurate manner. The tool’s resultant emissions data, in combination with the company’s experience and analytics, is more broadly used to optimize well fields, tackle odor issues and quantify emissions for renewable natural gas projects.
ABB Measurement & Analytics presented an overview of its advanced leak detection systems, including HoverGuard™, a drone-based solution for detecting, mapping and quantifying methane and natural gas leaks. These ABB solutions, which leverage and build on more than two decades of experience providing the highest performance methane analyzers available, produce comprehensive digital reports and maps that summarize the results after each survey. This proven laser-based measurement technology can now be applied to landfills to localize methane leaks and quantify their size.
LMOP does not endorse or promote any one Partner over another, but rather shares information about technologies and innovations that are of interest to the LFG energy industry. Furthermore, EPA does not accept any responsibility for the opinions, ideas, data or products presented by non-EPA parties, or guarantee the validity of the information provided.
Speakers
David Barron | Chief Technology Officer | Sniffer Robotics – In this capacity, David invented and commercially debuted the SnifferDRONE™ for surface emission monitoring in the municipal solid waste industry. The SnifferDRONE™ is an award-winning technology that is now the subject of an approved EPA test method. Throughout his career, David has served in leadership roles at several high-tech startups, has been issued more than 20 patents, and is passionate about developing and deploying technology to the world’s biggest problems. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
Mitchell Scott | Field Service Technician | ABB – Mitchell serves as a field service technician for ABB’s Natural Gas Leak Detection Solutions as well as services ABB’s LFG chromatography solutions. He has been with ABB for four years, has been piloting ABB’s drone-based leak detection solution platform for three years, and has been a Part 107 small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) pilot since 2017.
Dane Silva | Senior Technical Service Specialist | ABB – Dane serves as a technical service expert for ABB’s Off-Axis Integrated Cavity Output Spectroscopy (OA-ICOS) technology, supporting the product line globally. For the last six years, he has assisted in the research, development and deployment of ABB’s Natural Gas Leak Detection Solutions. Dane received a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of California, Santa Cruz and joined ABB (formerly Los Gatos Research) in 2012.
View video on YouTube: LMOP Webinar: Detecting Landfill Methane Emissions with Drones