Keyes Tim, Ridge Gale, Klein Martha, Phillips Nathan, Ackley Robert, Yang Yufeng
Evergreen Business Analytics, LLC, U.S.A.
Steering Committee, 350 CT, U.S.A.
Heliyon. 2020 Oct 9;6(10):e04876. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04876. eCollection 2020 Oct.
Leaked methane from natural gas distribution pipelines is a significant human and environmental health problem in urban areas. To assess this risk, urban mobile methane leak surveys were conducted, using innovative methodology, on the streets of Hartford, Danbury, and New London, Connecticut, in March 2019. The Hartford survey was done to determine if results from a 2016 survey (Keyes et al., 2019) were persistent, and surveys in additional towns were done to determine if similar findings could be made using an identical approach. Results show that Hartford continues to be problematic, with approximately 3.4 leaks per road mile observed in 2016 and 4.3 leaks per mile estimated in 2019, similar to that previously found in Boston, Massachusetts (Phillips et al., 2013). A preliminary estimate of methane leaks in Hartford is 0.86 metric tonnes per day (or 313 metric tonnes per year), equivalent to 42,840 cubic feet per day of natural gas, and a daily gas consumption of approximately 214 U.S. households. Moreover, the surveys and analyses done for Danbury and New London also reveal problematic leaks, particularly for Danbury with an estimated 3.6 leaks per mile. Although road miles covered in New London were more limited, the survey revealed leak-prone areas, albeit with a range of methane readings lower than those in Hartford and Danbury. Data collection methods for all studies is first reported here and are readily transferable to similar urban settings. This work demonstrates the actionable value that can be gained from data-driven evaluations of urban pipeline performance, and if supplemented with a map of leak-prone pipe geo-location, and information on pipeline operating pressures, will provide a spatial database facilitating proactive repair and replacement of leak-prone urban pipes, a considerable improvement compared to reactive mitigation of human-reported leaks. While this work pertains to the selected urban towns in the Northeast, it exemplifies issues and opportunities nationwide in the United States.
天然气配送管道泄漏的甲烷是城市地区一个重大的人类健康和环境问题。为评估这一风险,2019年3月在康涅狄格州哈特福德、丹伯里和新伦敦的街道上采用创新方法开展了城市移动甲烷泄漏调查。哈特福德的调查旨在确定2016年调查(凯斯等人,2019年)的结果是否持续存在,在其他城镇开展调查则是为了确定使用相同方法是否能得出类似结果。结果表明,哈特福德仍然存在问题,2016年每道路英里观察到约3.4处泄漏,2019年估计每英里有4.3处泄漏,与此前在马萨诸塞州波士顿发现的情况类似(菲利普斯等人,2013年)。哈特福德甲烷泄漏的初步估计为每天0.86公吨(或每年313公吨),相当于每天42,840立方英尺天然气,约为214户美国家庭的日燃气消耗量。此外,对丹伯里和新伦敦进行的调查与分析也揭示了存在问题的泄漏情况,特别是丹伯里,估计每英里有3.6处泄漏。尽管新伦敦覆盖的道路英里数较少,但调查发现了易泄漏区域,不过甲烷读数范围低于哈特福德和丹伯里。所有研究的数据收集方法首次在此报告,并且可轻松转移到类似的城市环境中。这项工作证明了从数据驱动的城市管道性能评估中可以获得的可操作价值,如果辅以易泄漏管道地理位置图以及管道运行压力信息,将提供一个空间数据库,便于主动修复和更换易泄漏的城市管道,与被动缓解人工报告的泄漏相比有了显著改进。虽然这项工作涉及东北部选定的城市城镇,但它体现了美国全国范围内的问题和机遇。