Employing Space-Based Hyperspectral Imagery for Pipeline Leak Prevention, Detection and Compliance

Author(s):  
R. Peter Weaver ◽  
Dan Katz ◽  
Tushar Prabahakar ◽  
Katie A. Corcoran

Abstract We are now living in what has been described as the Experience Era, where lines between the digital and physical are increasingly blurred. As such, we are just beginning to see how customized access to space will improve asset stewardship in ways that are still evolving, as customization of on-orbit technology pushes the bounds of how we receive and process information. Specific to oil and gas operators, one technology being launched by microsatellite, hyperspectral imagery (HSI), is poised to enable unparalleled daily global pipeline leak prevention, detection and speciation, intrusion and change detection capabilities. This will replace conventional DOT pipeline patrol for compliance while contributing to our understanding of vapor emissions as regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency. This paper discusses both the evolving space marketplace and the state of the art for HSI, including current examples of hyperspectral findings regarding pipeline and terminal leaks. Successful deployment of HSI will drive a decrease in the number and magnitude of pipeline leaks using persistent, global, high-resolution data collection, rapid and reliable analysis, and immediate reporting of actionable information. For decades, satellite HSI technology has offered a promise of remote hydrocarbon detection and other features of interest. It is only now becoming scalable, accessible to, and cost-effective for the pipeline industry, and thus a reality for cost-effective pipeline stewardship.

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (11) ◽  
pp. 3175
Author(s):  
Ravindra Prajapati ◽  
Kirtika Kohli ◽  
Samir K. Maity ◽  
Brajendra K. Sharma

Plastic is referred to as a “material of every application”. From the packaging and automotive industries to the medical apparatus and computer electronics sectors, plastic materials are fulfilling demands efficiently. These plastics usually end up in landfills and incinerators, creating plastic waste pollution. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in 2015, 9.1% of the plastic materials generated in the U.S. municipal solid waste stream was recycled, 15.5% was combusted for energy, and 75.4% was sent to landfills. If we can produce high-value chemicals from plastic wastes, a range of various product portfolios can be created. This will help to transform chemical industries, especially the petrochemical and plastic sectors. In turn, we can manage plastic waste pollution, reduce the consumption of virgin petroleum, and protect human health and the environment. This review provides a description of chemicals that can be produced from different plastic wastes and the research challenges involved in plastic waste to chemical production. This review also provides a brief overview of the state-of-the-art processes to help future system designers in the plastic waste to chemicals area.


1990 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 239-247
Author(s):  
Philip Wolstenholme

To prepare dried municipal sludge material for use by the fertilizer industry, Ocean County Utilities Authority, New Jersey needed a process to increase the size of their sludge particles to between 1 and 3 millimetres. Several processes were evaluated during the planning and design phases of the project. The most cost-effective and reliable process was pressure agglomeration by compaction with a roll press, followed by granulation and screening of the compacted material. This process was tested with a sample of the Authority's digested sludge, which had been dried in a laboratory-scale evaporator. Fullscale compaction and granulation test equipment was used at a laboratory in West Germany to confirm the feasibility of the process and to develop data for the design of the project. As a result of its “innovative” approach to sludge processing, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) qualified this $60 million project for special funding. The project is nearing construction completion and due to be commissioned in spring of 1990.


1992 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 670-672 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Don Wauchope ◽  
Michael J. Duffy

At the 1990 meeting of the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) in Montreal a Symposium titled “Pesticide Transport to Groundwater: Perspectives and Field Methodology” was Chaired by Thanh H. Dao. That symposium made it clear that simulation modeling is being used more and more to integrate the field test data generated by pesticide companies as part of the environmental impact assessment required for pesticide registration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). At the Soil Aspects Section Business Meeting it was decided that a Symposium on the state of the art of this technology would be timely and the authors agreed to organize it.


2007 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 656-663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zia Bukhari ◽  
David M. Holt ◽  
Michael W. Ware ◽  
Frank W. Schaefer

An optimized cell culture immunofluorescence (IFA) procedure, using the HCT-8 cell line, was evaluated in blind trials to determine the sensitivity and reproducibility of measuring the infectivity of flow-cytometry-prepared inocula of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts. In separate trials, suspensions consisting of between 0% and 100% viable oocysts were prepared at the US Environmental Protection Agency, shipped to the American Water Laboratory, and analyzed blindly by cell culture IFA. Data indicated the control (100% live) oocyst suspensions yielded statistically similar results to cell culture dose–response curve data developed previously at the American Water Laboratory. For test samples containing oocyst suspensions of unknown infectivity, cell culture IFA analyses indicated a high degree of correlation (r2= 0.89; n = 26) with the values expected by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Cell culture infectivity correlates well with neonatal mouse infectivity assays, and these blind validation trials provide credibility for the cell culture IFA procedure as a cost-effective and expedient alternative to mouse infectivity assays for determining in vitro infectivity of C. parvum oocysts.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Horn ◽  
Joshua D. Beard

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (“EGLE”), formerly the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, is in the process of seeking primary enforcement responsibility from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) for its Underground Injection Control (“UIC”) program for Class II wells pursuant to Part C of the Safe Drinking Water Act (“SDWA”).


2001 ◽  
Vol 2001 (2) ◽  
pp. 1313-1316
Author(s):  
Jane Nakad

ABSTRACT The Problem Oil Pit (POP) multiagency effort in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region VIII and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region VI has resulted in success at remediating and cleaning up hundreds of oil covered pits in oil production fields in six western states. The installation of exclusionary devises at many of these pits will ensure the safety of birds and wildlife for years to come. A heightened awareness of environmental protection standards and regulations by the oil and gas exploration and production industry will increase compliance and enhance management of facilities in an environmentally protective manner toward public health and resources for future generations. In this effort, the federal, state, and tribal partners used their own regulatory tools on the problems and compliance issues encountered. This poster presentation will highlight the achievements of the POP effort by showing photographically and statistically the results of the POP effort: sites cleaned up, abatement of threats to birds and wildlife by exclusionary devices installed, and achievement of compliance with federal, state, and tribal environmental regulations.


Author(s):  
Patrick J. Finley

During oil and gas extraction in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), water and pollutants are produced from wells. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has mandated a permit system to help control the discharge of these waters into the GOM. The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) contains both requirements and standards for discharge in offshore Texas and Louisiana federal waters. This review summarizes permit (GMG290000) requirements, effluent limitations, standard conditions, and monitoring requirements for NPDES general permits in EPA Region 6.


1981 ◽  
Vol 1981 (1) ◽  
pp. 495-500
Author(s):  
R. H. Schulze

ABSTRACT Although large sums of money are spent on responding to oil spills, it is often difficult to assess the effectiveness of the spill response effort. This paper summarizes a portion of an analysis performed for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that evaluates the response effort in terms of the change of spill impact and the cost of producing this change. Using this method of analysis, this paper shows that in a typical inland spill situation the minimum acceptable level of response may be the most cost effective and that an intensive effort to recover the last traces of oil may have an adverse impact on the environment. This method of analysis has the potential for showing the level of response effort that can be used most effectively in typical spill situations and identifying procedures that are likely to have a low level of effectiveness or may even have an adverse effect on the environment.


Author(s):  
J. R. Millette ◽  
R. S. Brown

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has labeled as “friable” those building materials that are likely to readily release fibers. Friable materials when dry, can easily be crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder using hand pressure. Other asbestos containing building materials (ACBM) where the asbestos fibers are in a matrix of cement or bituminous or resinous binders are considered non-friable. However, when subjected to sanding, grinding, cutting or other forms of abrasion, these non-friable materials are to be treated as friable asbestos material. There has been a hypothesis that all raw asbestos fibers are encapsulated in solvents and binders and are not released as individual fibers if the material is cut or abraded. Examination of a number of different types of non-friable materials under the SEM show that after cutting or abrasion, tuffs or bundles of fibers are evident on the surfaces of the materials. When these tuffs or bundles are examined, they are shown to contain asbestos fibers which are free from binder material. These free fibers may be released into the air upon further cutting or abrasion.


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