METHOD FOR DETECTING AND MONITORING EMISSIONS
First Claim
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1. A method of characterizing a source of an emitted material, said method comprising the steps of:
- measuring concentrations of the emitted material from at least two or more locations;
measuring changes in representative wind velocity over time;
generating a first dimensionless plume and a second dimensionless plume in space based on said measured wind velocity changes and said measured concentrations at said first and said second locations, respectively;
determining a first trajectory based on said measured wind velocity changes and said measured concentrations for said first location;
determining a second trajectory based on said measured wind velocity changes and said measured concentrations for said second location;
determining a first emission source candidate at a first location along said first trajectory, and said first emission source having one or more characteristics;
determining a second emission source candidate at a second location along said second trajectory, and said second emission source having one or more characteristics;
converting said first dimensionless plume into a dimensioned plume at said first location and determining a size characteristic based on said dimensioned plume, wherein said size characteristic comprises one of the characteristics associated with said first emission source candidate;
converting said second dimensionless plume into a dimensioned plume at said second location and determining a size characteristic associated with said second source candidate based on the dimensioned plume, wherein said size characteristic comprises one of the characteristics associated with said second emission source candidate; and
determining the source of the emitted material based on substantial agreement between the location and the characteristics of said first and second emission source candidates.
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Abstract
A method and system for detecting, quantifying or characterizing emitting sources. According to an embodiment, an emission source is located by monitoring an area with one or more sensors, determining a plume, generating one or more candidates for the emission source, and using the plume to derive one or more characteristics associated with the emission source, and then locating the emission source based on agreement or convergence of the one or more characteristics.
54 Citations
11 Claims
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1. A method of characterizing a source of an emitted material, said method comprising the steps of:
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measuring concentrations of the emitted material from at least two or more locations; measuring changes in representative wind velocity over time; generating a first dimensionless plume and a second dimensionless plume in space based on said measured wind velocity changes and said measured concentrations at said first and said second locations, respectively; determining a first trajectory based on said measured wind velocity changes and said measured concentrations for said first location; determining a second trajectory based on said measured wind velocity changes and said measured concentrations for said second location; determining a first emission source candidate at a first location along said first trajectory, and said first emission source having one or more characteristics; determining a second emission source candidate at a second location along said second trajectory, and said second emission source having one or more characteristics; converting said first dimensionless plume into a dimensioned plume at said first location and determining a size characteristic based on said dimensioned plume, wherein said size characteristic comprises one of the characteristics associated with said first emission source candidate; converting said second dimensionless plume into a dimensioned plume at said second location and determining a size characteristic associated with said second source candidate based on the dimensioned plume, wherein said size characteristic comprises one of the characteristics associated with said second emission source candidate; and determining the source of the emitted material based on substantial agreement between the location and the characteristics of said first and second emission source candidates. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11)
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7. A method of monitoring a emission source in a defined area, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating an emission profile for the defined area; periodically measuring for emissions in the defined; comparing said emission measurements to said background emission level; determining a deviation between said emission measurements and said emission profile; and recording any deviations exceeding a pre-defined threshold. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9)
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10. A method of characterizing a source of an emitted material, said method comprising the steps of:
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measuring concentrations of the emitted material from at least one location; measuring changes in wind velocity over time; generating a dimensionless plume in space based on said measured concentrations and said measured wind velocity changes; determining a trajectory for said dimensionless plume; determining one or more characteristics associated with said dimensionless plume; determining one or more emission source candidates at locations along said trajectory, wherein each of said candidates includes one or more characteristics; converting said dimensionless plume into a dimensioned plume at the location of each of said candidates, and determining a characteristic associated with each of said emission source candidates based on the corresponding dimensioned plume; obtaining a characteristic associated with the source of the emission; and determining the source of the emitted material based on substantial agreement between the location of one of said emission source candidates and the characteristic of the emission source.
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Specification