C O2 E mis s ions from C C S – M eas urement Technolog ies and Va lidationA la n B r e w in (To m G a r d in e r, J a n e B u r s t o n )

2 0 th A u g u s t 2 0 1 2

What is NPL?• UK’s National Measurement Institute

• NIST, PTB, CNRC

• World-leading science and technology laboratory (top 3 NMI)

• Government owned but commercially operated

• 650 staff

• Working with and for business, academia and government

• Science with impact

C onfidenc e in M eas urement

Other NMIsNIST, PTB

Demonstrating equivalence – coordinated by BIPM

Calibrated instrumentation, agreed procedure, trained practitioner,

(verification/accreditation)

• Science• Technolog

y• Data• Facilities

• Documentarystandards

• Training• Knowledge

transfer

Other orgs(e.g. BSI, ISO)

Academia& RTOs

CalibrationLabs

CalibrationLabs

CalibrationLabs

Ensuring traceability

UK NMIs(NPL, NEL, LGC)

B us ines s , G overnment, S oc iety

“T h e C e n t r e fo r C a r b o n M e a s u r e m e n t a t N P L brings together academic and bus iness

partners with government a n d is d e s ig n e d to e n s u r e th a t w e c a n h a v e confidence in the

measurements w e n e e d to im p r o v e o u r u n d e r s t a n d in g o f th e g lo b a l c l im a te , d e l iv e r p o l ic ie s fo r m it ig a t in g c l im a te c h a n g e , a n d a c c e le r a t e th e d e v e lo p m e n t o f lo w c a r b o n

te c h n o lo g ie s .”

D a v id W i l le t t s ,

U K M in is t e r o f S ta t e fo r U n iv e r s i t ie s a n d S c ie n c e

C limate data

P r o v id e c o n f id e n c e a n d r e d u c e u n c e r t a in t ie s in c l im a te d a ta u s e d fo r m o n i t o r in g a n d m o d e l l in g

C arbon markets & ac c ounting

S u p p o r t t a x , t r a d e a n d r e g u la t o r y in s t r u m e n t s fo r c a r b o n p r ic in g a n d r e p o r t in gLow c arbon technolog ies

A c c e le r a t e d e v e lo p m e n t a n d a s s e s s p e r f o rm a n c e o f lo w c a r b o n te c h n o lo g ie s

Environmental Measurements Group

• 25 year history of environmental measurements.

• 30 people, of whom half work in the field.• Comprehensive range of environmental

services :• Research and instrument development• Measurement services• Calibration and validation• Consultancy, protocol development etc

• Client sectors :• Industry• Regulators (UK & European)• Central and local Government

• Underpinning research into measurements and standards, supported by the National Measurement System

CO2 Emissions from Carbon Capture and Storage• Capture efficiency, and losses

from transport and storage need to be quantified

• Direct measurement is the best way of doing this.

• Online monitoring also important for safety and public reassurance.

• Provision of validated measurement techniques key to meeting this requirement.

• Optical and acoustic technologies can address different measurement requirements.

Optical Measurements of CO2• CO2 absorbs light in

various bands across the infrared (IR) spectrum.

• It is this absorption that makes it a greenhouse gas.

• We can use the absorption to make specific and sensitive CO2 measurements.

• Different optical techniques and configurations can be used for different applications.

Atmospheric CO2 (380 ppm) Transmission over 100 m

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1.00

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20Wavelength (microns)

Optical measurement configurations :

• In-situ sensing

• Open-path sensing

• Passive remote sensing

• Active remote sensing

In-situ Sensing

• In situ sensors generally used for continuous, long-term monitoring of process streams.

• Continuous Emission Monitors (CEMs) used extensively for regulatory monitoring of controlled emission sources (e.g. stacks).

• NPL supporting the development of CEM-type instruments for the CCS process through validation and test facilities.

• Researching analytical methods suitable for purity analysis in the CO2 streams.

Open-path sensing – laser absorption spectroscopy

• Open-path sensors can be used for high sensitivity measurements of CO2 levels over 100s of m.

• Tunable Diode Laser Spectroscopy (TDLS) technique uses telecom-type semiconductor diode lasers as high coherence sources.

• Technique suited to fence-line monitoring, bracketing sensitive areas and in safety applications.

• Only measure over defined, fixed paths.

• Measurement is of average concentration over path so can't discriminate between broad low-concentration plume and narrow high-concentration plume.

Open-path Measurement Requirements

• Technical objective for the open path measurements is be able to detect a 1 ppm change of CO2 on the atmospheric background (of ~380 ppm) over a long pathlength (~ 1km).

• The level of precision required presents a significant measurement challenge.• Atmospheric density

variability can be addressed by measuring a stable atmospheric component, e.g. oxygen.

• Careful selection of the measurement wavelength allows simultaneous water vapour measurement, enabling a humidity correction.

Passive remote sensing – spectral imaging

• Passive imaging techniques present an attractive option for screening plant for unexpected emission sources (leaks).

• Usual method for IR absorbing gases is to use a thermal imaging camera and spectrally filter to target an absorption band of the target gas.

• Technique already used in the petrochemical industry for screening

tanks and process areas for fugitive VOC emissions.

• Good for quick qualitative assessment of sources (easy to deploy) but much harder to make quantitative emission measurements.

Passive remote sensing – spectral imaging

• Of the various sensor materials available, indium antimonide (InSb) operating between 2.5 and 5 μm (4000 cm-1 to 2000 cm-1) is the most suitable.

• Example requirement :camera to detect a 1 m wide plume containing ~1% CO2.

• Camera will view the scene passively from a stand-off distance, so need to consider the average CO2 concentration over the viewed path.

• If the plume viewed from a distance of 100 m away this would be equivalent to an average CO2 concentration change of 0.01% (100 ppm) over the path.

• Spectral filter must be cooled and thermally stabilised to achieve this.

• O p t ic a l R a d a r

• R a n g e -r e s o lv e d c o n c e n t r a t io n m a p s

• R a n g e u p to 1 k m w ith a s p a t ia l r e s o lu t io n ~1 0 m e t r e s

• U V a n d IR c a p a b i l i t y , a b le to m e a s u r e w id e r a n g e o f s p e c ie s w it h a m e a s u r e m e n t s e n s i t iv i t y t y p ic a l ly 5 0 p p b

• D ir e c t m e a s u r e m e n ts o f e m is s io n s f r o m h a z a r d o u s /in a c c e s s ib le a r e a s

• M a p p in g a n d q u a n t i f ic a t io n o f to ta l s i t e e m is s io n s in c lu d in g fu g i t iv e e m is s io n s (le a k s ).

Wind vector

Active Remote Sensing - Differential Absorption LIDAR (DIAL)

DIAL Measurement of GHG emissions

• Measurement of methane emissions from the Agricultural and Waste Management sectors

• Methane emissions measurements from landfill sites to verify abatement, for industry.

• VOC emissions for petrochemical industry• Current research investigating extending DIAL for CO2 measurement

performance

Validation of CCS emission monitoring equipment

• NPL have extensive experience of calibrating & validating emission monitoring equipment.

• A crucial aspect is assessment of external influence factors (temperature, humidity, cross-interference, etc.) under the field conditions likely to be experienced by the sensor.

• Capabilities being adapted / developed specifically for CCS and related applications including a user-configurable area source emission facility.

Te s t c e l ls fo r o p e n -p a th c a l ib r a t io n

Standard Gases

Multi-component Dynamic Blending

Calibration Gases

Calibration and Test Facilities for Optical Instruments

Summary

• NPL has a Centre for Carbon Measurement, which will• reduce uncertainties in climate data• provide the robust measurement for trading carbon emissions• help develop and accelerate the take up of low carbon technologies

• Robust measurements of emissions captured for CCS, as well as monitoring of potential leakage from all parts of the process, is clearly critical for the future of the technology

• Inclusion in emissions trading schemes• increase investment for CCS• Assuage public perceptions around safety

• There are a number of NPLs measurement capabilities that can be applied to CCS CO2 quantification including optical (and acoustic) methods, where traceability is at the heart of our capability

Tom Gardiner, Environmental Measurements Group

Tom.Gardiner@npl.co.uk Tel: +44 20 8943 7143

Jane Burston, Head of Centre for Carbon Measurement

Jane.Burston@npl.co.ukTel: +44 20 8943 6355

Alan Brewin, Division Head, Analytical Sciences

Alan.Brewin@npl.co.kuTel: +44 20 8943 6805

Contact details