Integrity Assessment. Category: Dates of. Web site: PIMS has giving the. to reduce its. a year. a vapor is. personnel to

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Estella Bruce
5 years ago
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Title of Innovation: Remote Casing Gas Monitoring System Nominee(s) Mark Morgan President Mike Foreman VP Joe Windau VP Ken

2011] to [June, 2012) Design Complete and tested Web site: www.pimsllc.

PIMS has developed a cost effective road crossing monitor that greatly increases public safety while giving the energy provider a

This is done by using a newly developed gas sensor that is rugged enough to survive the outdoors, accurate enough to detect the

The monitor can easily be installed by using hand tools and turning on the switch.

Vapor sampling will occur every two hours and if a vapor is detected there will be an alarm instantly sent to alert operationall

1 Title of Innovation: Remote Casing Gas Monitoring System Nominee(s) Mark Morgan President Mike Foreman VP Joe Windau VP Ken Salmen VP Pipeline Integrity Management Systems LLC Category: Integrity Assessment Dates of Innovation Development: (from [April 2011] to [June, 2012) Design Complete and tested Web site: Summary Description: Cost effective vapor leak detection for pipeline road crossings and other applications. PIMS has developed a cost effective road crossing monitor that greatly increases public safety while giving the energy provider a method to reduce its operating cost while increasing its ability to respond to potential hazards. This is done by using a newly developed gas sensor that is rugged enough to survive the outdoors, accurate enough to detect the smallest leaks, and small enough to run on a battery for over a year. The monitor can easily be installed by using hand tools and turning on the switch. The monitor will report its health and any detection of vapor on a periodic basis. Vapor sampling will occur every two hours and if a vapor is detected there will be an alarm instantly sent to alert operationall personnel. The Monitor will communicate back to energy providers existing SCADA system or it can be sent to our web data hosting center for automated reporting and alarming. Reduced Operating Cost Currently operating companies send personnel to manually sniff for the presence of vapor inside of pipeline casing using portable equipment. The amount of labor is determined on the distance traveled and 1

2 the period the sample is required. The Class locations of the pipeline coupled with the corporate policies determine the sampling period. Since this remote data will be automatically collected, then reports and callouts will also be automated thus eliminating local recording and tracking. Increased Public Safety Public safety is greatly increased by increasing the sampling rate and decreasing the response time that appropriate personnel are alerted. Pipeline Integrity Management Systems, LLC 2

Full Description: How does the innovation work?

(fig 1) Each product that is transported in our pipelines can exist in

As corrosion occurs the vapor from a very tiny leak can be sensed some

PIMS has successfully designedd a system that applies a sensor

This sensor itself is part of a total system that forms the leak

The system consists of a sensor that taps into the casingg vent piping

RTU containing special software, a battery and solar panel, and a

The monitor can easily be installed by using hand tools and turning on

The monitor will report its health and any detection of vapor on a

3 Full Description: How does the innovation work? The road crossing casing monitor is designedd to detect a pipeline leak within the casing. This is done through sensing the atmosphere in the vent for vapor. (fig 1) Each product that is transported in our pipelines can exist in vapor form. As corrosion occurs the vapor from a very tiny leak can be sensed some time before a pipeline willl rupture (fig 2). PIMS has successfully designedd a system that applies a sensor technology thatt can sense vapor down to the parts per million range. This sensor itself is part of a total system that forms the leak detection monitor. The system consists of a sensor that taps into the casingg vent piping (fig 3), an amplifier/computer that is part of an industry standard RTU containing special software, a battery and solar panel, and a communication device (fig 4 and fig 5). The monitor can easily be installed by using hand tools and turning on the switch. The monitor will report its health and any detection of vapor on a periodic basis. Vapor sampling will occur every two hours or at a selected interval and if a vapor is detected there will be an alarm instantly sent to alert operational personnel. The monitor will communicate back to energy providers existing SCADA system or it can be sent to our web dataa hosting center for automated reporting and alarming. Figure 1 Typical pipelinee casing showing vent piping. 3

4 Figure 2 Photo showing the results of f a pipeline rupture at an interstate. 4

5 Figure 3 Showing the sensor mounted onto a pipe. The vapor within the pipe is monitored. 5

6 Figure 4 Pictured is the amplifier/computer that is part of an industry standard RTU containing special software. Notice solar panel, local display and satellitee antenna. 6

7 Fig 5 Inside view of Amplifier / RTU showing amplifier board, battery, computer, and satellite radio. When and how was the innovation developed? The pipeline gas monitoring system was conceived several years ago. However, the technology for such a system was not yet available. This is one of those stories that you read about that literally started on the back of a napkin over lunch. Around May of 2012 Mark asked me if I knew how we could develop a product to detect leaks inn the casing of a pipeline. So we began to brainstorm, search the internet and trade shows, andd investigatee several emerging technologies. It didn t take long to realize we needed some real experts in sensor technology. 7

8 Luckily we had relationships with PhD s and other industry experts who gladly lent a hand to help us evaluate technologies we should consider. You have to realize this company started with three guys and no money. We also need to note that just because you find a good technology it doesn t mean that it is a quick win. We found some companies that used a promising technology were not in financial position to work with us to develop their sensor for this application and other companies were just stuck with older solutions and wanted us to force their product without any real development to meet our needs. So for us the solution was 50% technology and 50% business. In an effort to quickly bring the product to the market we chose to work with an RTU manufacturer that had a number of devices in the field. We met with the principals and engineering staff of Eagle Research and they liked the idea. Their RTUs have been proven for low power applications in the gas and oil industry. The RTU manufacturer also has several CP applications and expressed an interest in new developments. The model we chose is both small and economical. We had them do the interface engineering between the gas sensor and their RTU. This gave us instant proven telecommunications capability for satellite, cell phone, radio, land line, as well as local network solutions such as Ethernet. This allowed us to have a prototype system for testing in late How or why is the innovation unique? The pipeline gas monitoring system is unique because of the range of product vapors that it detects and because it is the first gas sensor for remote locations that can telemeter data via the internet or to a host location. The system can interface to existing control rooms or it can be served by a number of web servers so a small company can view product health, trends, and vapor content either in percent LEL or PPM with very little investment. What type of corrosion problem does the innovation address? The pipeline casing monitoring system falls into the category of Integrity Assessment. The device monitors the casing vents where vapor would migrate during a leak condition. The unit can be programmed to monitor for a wide range of products that would be transported in a pipeline such as methane, xylene, crude oil, gasoline and diesel. Once a leak is detected the unit will send an alarm to the operating company s control room. What is the need that sparked the development of the innovation? The need that sparked this development is twofold. First is the unfortunate history of road casing leaks and failures we have experienced in America. Some of these cases resulted in loss of life. Next was recent legislation introduced in Congress that would drastically change the testing requirements and the frequency of tests for road casings. This would put an enormous burden on pipeline operating companies, increasing their O&M labor requirements. While these bills are still in committee and may not surface intact, it shows that there is a public outcry for increased safety. 8

9 Are there technological challenges or limitations that the innovation overcomes? The standard industrial gas sensing technology in the past would not lend itself well for a remote and rugged environment. Sensors were subject to poisoning, temperature drift, slow response, and high current draw. Newer technologies that have just become available were evaluated. For this application we had to overcome the problem of dew and frost on the sensor. In the pipeline casing vent warm moist air naturally rises and is sensed before escaping into the air. When the ambient air temperature is low the moisture will condense on the vent walls and sensor. To keep the power usage at a minimum the unit has special software that will ramp up the sensor, warm up the surface, and test itself to ensure the sensor is operating at rated accuracy. This allows the frost or dew to dissipate before the official reading is taken. What are the potential applications of the innovation? While this product was built for pipeline casing monitoring it has many other potential applications. This unit is ideal for cased crossings, low lying areas where gas can accumulate, in meter buildings, remote compressor stations, and even well head monitoring. Basically anywhere vapor levels need to be monitored especially in remote, rugged, low power applications. How does the innovation provide an improvement over existing methods, techniques, and technologies? This device will automate the current manual method of sampling the atmosphere in the pipeline casing. Sampling is currently required by DOT 49 CFR 192 and 49 CFR 195. The goal is to allow an operating company to greatly increase its sampling frequency and yet reduce cost. The cost reduction enters in with the automation of sampling, recording values, cataloging, and trending data. One advantage of using an existing RTU platform to carry this information is an RTU can also provide other CP solutions that are currently available. What type of impact does the innovation have on the industry/industries it serves? We believe this product will enhance the safety of our pipelines through enhanced leak detection and reporting. The system is designed to automatically sample and report leaks in the pipeline casing in a low cost package. By automating the sampling of the atmosphere in question and remotely recording the information the system will reduce man hours required to physically travel to each location, record values, enter them into a maintenance program, and report to various authorities. It will also reduce human error that could be introduced into the reporting system. The sample rate can be greatly increased over the current method of having a person travel to each location. 9

10 Does the innovation fill a technology gap? If so, please explain the technological need and how it was addressed prior to the development of the innovation. Industrial vapor monitoring has historically employed only certain technologies that have been proven effective. Once a technology is adopted it is used until a newer technology can prove itself significantly superior; and the industry is slow to change. By looking at developing technologies we are able to adapt a technology to fit the need for this application as well as any use where remote vapor monitoring would be desirable. The technology needed included a single sensor that could accurately sense the %LEL of a whole range of vapors, be hardened enough to survive the elements in an outdoor application, be low power, field programmable, and fit into a platform that can record measurements, manage sampling, and telemeter the responses to either a web server or a large corporate SCADA infrastructure using all the telemetering methods required for business today. Prior to this development sampling was done manually on a periodic basis. The instrument that was carried to the site was not required to continually operate outdoors, be low power or record information and telemeter it. The local personnel would simply turn on the device, calibrate or re zero it before using it. He would insert the sensor into the casing vent and read the instrument to see if there was the presence of a vapor. He would then record his findings and drive to the next site. After readings were taken the data was re recorded back at a field location. Eventually these readings would be sent to the central database. This new innovation will automate this whole process thus reducing many man hours. Has the innovation been tested in the laboratory or in the field? If so, please describe any tests or field demonstrations and the results that support the capability and feasibility of the innovation. First we only looked for a vapor sensor that was already lab tested by a reputable lab and had available test data. We had that reviewed by leading gas detection industry experts. For the next step we have begun testing the sensor connected to the RTU as a system. This test is conducted inside an environmental chamber and cycled through the ranges for hardened applications. We are currently on the second phase of this test. Lastly we plan to put the system in a field location for real world testing. Is the innovation commercially available? If yes, how long has it been utilized? If not, what is the next step in making the innovation commercially available? The system is just now becoming commercially available. We can sell directly, but are also considering some distribution opportunities. 10

11 Are you aware of other organizations that have introduced similar innovations? If so, how is this innovation different? We were unable to find any device that could be used in this application. Our sensor is state of the art and only available through us. Are there any patents related to this work? If yes, please provide the patent title, number, and inventor. Steps are currently being taken to secure a patent. 11

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