Austria’s Netz NÖ tests Bludigit’s Picarro gas detection tech
Jochen Hagemann, Head of Network Engineering, and Thomas Wagner, Project Manager, Netz NÖ.
Lower Austria network operator Netz NÖ is piloting Bludigit’s Picarro technology for vehicle-assisted gas detection.
Picarro, which was developed by Bludigit, Italgas’s digital subsidiary, is based on California-headquartered Picarro’s gas concentration analysis technology for detection of a range of gases.
Bludigit’s approach is to undertake a drive-by survey in a sensor equipped vehicle at night-time, when there are fewer external disturbances.
Each road section is driven several times in order to improve the accuracy of the data, with the gas concentration, wind direction and the location of suspected leak sites recorded.
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The data is then subject to analysis with machine learning algorithms in order to identify ‘leak indication search areas’, which are subsequently inspected by technicians on foot with a Picarro backpack to determine the exact locations and to undertake actions prioritised by the algorithms.
In the tests, the Netz NÖ gas detection squad is working in parallel to detect gas leaks in the conventional way on foot, for comparison of the test results.
“To ensure that safety can be guaranteed at all times, we are now carrying out increased controls of the gas network in addition to the ongoing inspections,” explains Netz NÖ project manager, Thomas Wagner.
Noting the importance of checking for gas leaks, especially after the period of heavy rainfall experienced, he adds of the Picarro technology: “We would like to use it to test in pilot regions such as Baden and Straßhof whether this method is suitable for us in the future.”
Netz NÖ has a modern pipeline network with a total length of around 13,820km, with inspections due under the legal regulations and depending on the material on periods of one to nine years.
Italgas, a minority shareholder in Picarro, works to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, including methane emissions – one of the gases detected by the technology.
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