Beaming in on methane gas leaks

Technology that uses a tunable laser to detect small quantities of methane gas will allow gas leaks to be identified more quickly and accurately, according to its developers.

The Vogue project, which includes researchers from Siemens and the University of Glasgow, has built a portable imaging system that uses the spectral absorption of gas to detect leaks from a distance of up to 30m.

A laser is directed at a surface from where a leak is suspected, such as a wall or road. The surface scatters a small proportion of the light back towards the instrument, where it is collected using a lens. Analysis of the optical absorption spectrum of the returned light allows calculation of the level of gas in the intervening space.

A reference cell containing a sample of the gas to be detected is integrated into the laser module. By calibrating the laser’s signal beam with the gas in the cell, users can tell when gas of the same absorption rate is present.