US-12626320-B2 - Air quality monitors minimization system and methods

US12626320B2US 12626320 B2US12626320 B2US 12626320B2US-12626320-B2

Abstract

In one illustrative configuration, a system and method of air quality monitor minimization/optimization is disclosed. The method may include providing at least a first air quality monitor on a site. The first air quality monitor may be configured to generate a first set of attached parameters. The method may further include providing a SCADA system, on the site, configured to generate a set of SCADA data. The SCADA data, the first set of attached parameters may be processed to determine a redundant/sub-optimized air quality monitor, which may be removed. In other illustrative configurations, the system and method may be utilized to locate and/or quantify emissions.

Inventors

William J. Foiles
Nathan C. Eichenlaub
Kieran J. Lynn
Ray K. Mistry

Assignees

PROJECT CANARY, PBC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20251017

Claims (20)

1 . A validating emission source location method for validating emission source identification using SCADA data, the validating emission source location method comprising: providing a first air quality monitor comprising: a first sensor responsive to a target substance and located at a first location on a site; sensing a first set of attached parameters at the first location; transmitting the first set of attached parameters to a first server; providing a supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCADA system) at the site; sensing a set of SCADA parameters with the SCADA system from a plurality of components at the site, the set of SCADA parameters comprising: a physical factor of each component; and an operational factor of each component; transmitting the set of SCADA parameters to the first server; identifying a potential emission source location based on the first set of attached parameters; analyzing the set of SCADA parameters corresponding to the potential emission source location; verifying the emission source location by confirming a correlation between detected emissions and changes in the set of SCADA parameters at the potential emission source location; and validating the emission source location when the set of SCADA parameters at the potential emission source location correlate with the detected emissions.
2 . The validating emission source location method of claim 1 , wherein sensing the set of SCADA parameters further comprises: the physical factor associated with each component comprising at least one of: an orientation of an access portal thereto; a position of a valve; and physical damage; and the operational factor associated with a fluid processed in each component comprising at least one of: pressure; temperature; flow rate; density; and volume.
3 . The validating emission source location method of claim 1 , wherein sensing the first set of attached parameters comprises: sensing a substance concentration of the target substance at the first location using the first air quality monitor; and sensing a set of atmospheric readings using the first air quality monitor.
4 . The validating emission source location method of claim 3 , wherein sensing the set of atmospheric readings comprises: sensing at least one atmospheric reading from a set of atmospheric readings comprising: a barometric pressure, an air temperature, and a humidity level.
5 . The validating emission source location method of claim 1 , further comprising: providing a second air quality monitor comprising: a second sensor responsive to the target substance and located at a second location on the site; sensing a second set of attached parameters at the second location; and transmitting the second set of attached parameters to the first server.
6 . The validating emission source location method of claim 1 , further comprising: training an emissions-location machine learning model with the first set of attached parameters and the set of SCADA parameters; generating a trained emissions-model parameter using the trained emissions-location machine learning model; and generating an emissions-simulation model of a plume of the target substance using the trained emissions-model parameter.
7 . The validating emission source location method of claim 6 , further comprising: monitoring the set of SCADA parameters and the first set of attached parameters using the emissions-simulation model over a predefined time period; refining iteratively the emissions-simulation model based on the monitoring to a refined emissions-simulation model; and locating the emission source of the target substance at the site with the refined emissions-simulation model, the set of SCADA parameters, and the trained emissions-model parameter.
8 . The validating emission source location method of claim 1 , further comprising: obtaining a location map of a plurality of emission sources at the site, wherein each of the emission sources comprises: a location of the emission source; and a range of the emission; wherein the verifying is bound by the location and the emissions range of each emission source.
9 . The validating emission source location method of claim 1 , further comprising: procuring a weather prediction model on a second server, the weather prediction model comprising a height of a pressure boundary layer (hPRBL); and utilizing the height of the pressure boundary layer acquired from the second server for verifying the emission source location.
10 . The validating emission source location method of claim 1 , further comprising: increasing a power of transmission for transmitting the first set of attached parameters to the first server.
11 . A validating emission source location system for validating emission source identification using SCADA data, the validating emission source location system comprising: a first air quality monitor comprising: a first sensor responsive to a target substance and located at a first location on a site; a supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCADA system) installed at the site; a first server; and a processing unit connected to the first server and configured to: receive a first set of attached parameters sensed by the first air quality monitor at the first location; receive a set of SCADA parameters sensed by the SCADA system from a plurality of components at the site, the set of SCADA parameters comprising: a physical factor of each component; and an operational factor of each component; identify a potential emission source location based on the first set of attached parameters; analyze the set of SCADA parameters corresponding to the potential emission source location; verify the emission source location by confirming a correlation between detected emissions and changes in the set of SCADA parameters at the potential emission source location; and validate the emission source location when the set of SCADA parameters at the potential emission source location correlate with the detected emissions.
12 . The validating emission source location system of claim 11 , wherein: the physical factor associated with each component comprises at least one of: an orientation of an access portal thereto; a position of a valve; and physical damage; and the operational factor associated with a fluid processed in each component comprises at least one of: pressure; temperature; flow rate; density; and volume.
13 . The validating emission source location system of claim 11 , wherein the first set of attached parameters comprises: a substance concentration of the target substance at the first location sensed by the first air quality monitor; and a set of atmospheric readings sensed by the first air quality monitor.
14 . The validating emission source location system of claim 13 , wherein the set of atmospheric readings comprises at least one atmospheric reading from a set of atmospheric readings comprising: a barometric pressure, an air temperature, and a humidity level.
15 . The validating emission source location system of claim 11 , further comprising: a second air quality monitor comprising: a second sensor responsive to the target substance and located at a second location on the site; wherein the processing unit is further configured to: receive a second set of attached parameters sensed by the second air quality monitor at the second location.
16 . The validating emission source location system of claim 11 , wherein the processing unit is further configured to: train an emissions-location machine learning model with the first set of attached parameters and the set of SCADA parameters; generate a trained emissions-model parameter using the trained emissions-location machine learning model; and generate an emissions-simulation model of a plume of the target substance using the trained emissions-model parameter.
17 . The validating emission source location system of claim 16 , wherein the processing unit is further configured to: monitor the set of SCADA parameters and the first set of attached parameters using the emissions-simulation model over a predefined time period; refine iteratively the emissions-simulation model based on the monitoring to a refined emissions-simulation model; and locate the emission source of the target substance at the site with the refined emissions-simulation model, the set of SCADA parameters, and the trained emissions-model parameter.
18 . The validating emission source location system of claim 11 , wherein the processing unit is further configured to: obtain a location map of a plurality of emission sources at the site, wherein each of the emission sources comprises: a location of the emission source; and a range of the emission; wherein the verifying is bound by the location and the emissions range of each emission source.
19 . The validating emission source location system of claim 11 , wherein the processing unit is further configured to: procure a weather prediction model from a second server, the weather prediction model comprising a height of a pressure boundary layer (hPRBL); and utilize the height of the pressure boundary layer acquired from the second server for verifying the emission source location.
20 . The validating emission source location system of claim 11 , wherein the first air quality monitor is further configured to: increase a power of transmission for transmitting the first set of attached parameters to the first server.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/882,747, filed Sep. 12, 2024, entitled “AIR QUALITY MONITORS MINIMIZATION SYSTEM AND METHODS”, which is a Continuation of an issued U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/525,474, filed on Nov. 30, 2023, entitled “AIR QUALITY MONITORS MINIMIZATION SYSTEM AND METHODS”, (now U.S. Pat. No. 12,112,392, issued on Oct. 8, 2024), which is a Continuation of an issued U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/223,492, filed on Jul. 18, 2023, entitled “AIR QUALITY MONITORS MINIMIZATION SYSTEM AND METHODS”, (now U.S. Pat. No. 11,861,753, issued on Jan. 2, 2024), which is a Continuation-In-Part of issued U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/205,465 filed on Jun. 2, 2023, entitled “AIR QUALITY MONITORS MINIMIZATION SYSTEM AND METHODS,” (now U.S. Pat. No. 11,810,216, issued on Nov. 7, 2023) which is also a Continuation-in-Part of an issued patent application Ser. No. 18/205,461, filed on Jun. 2, 2023, entitled “AIR QUALITY MONITORS MINIMIZATION SYSTEM AND METHODS,” which is a continuation of issued U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/104,746, filed on Feb. 1, 2023 (now U.S. Pat. No. 11,727,519, issued on Oct. 18, 2023), entitled “AIR QUALITY MONITORS MINIMIZATION SYSTEM AND METHODS,” which is related to issued U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/813,585, filed on Jul. 19, 2022, entitled “EMISSIONS DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHODS,” (now U.S. Pat. No. 11,802,860, issued on Oct. 11, 2023), and a second issued U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/813,602, filed on Jul. 19, 2022, entitled “EMISSIONS DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHODS,” (now U.S. Pat. No. 11,774,426, issued on Sep. 13, 2023) and both of these issued applications claim the benefit of a U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/323,703, filed on Mar. 25, 2022, entitled “EMISSIONS DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHODS.” All of the above applications are hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes. A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright and/or mask work protection. The copyright and/or mask work owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright and/or mask work rights whatsoever. TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure pertains generally, but not by way of limitation, to systems and methods for monitoring and controlling of oil-producing facilities that often emit gases. BACKGROUND Air quality is important for the health of a population. Countries worldwide spend significant resources on monitoring air quality and controlling air pollution. One of the major problems is that instruments that can accurately monitor air quality are expensive and typically require expertise to operate properly. Currently, air quality monitoring is mainly performed by government agencies and dedicated organizations using specialized instrumentation. As a result, general air quality data often does not provide the fidelity necessary to pinpoint issues at a scale smaller than a regional level. Real-time air quality monitoring at a finer scale may be cost-prohibitive because air quality monitoring instruments can be expensive. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a validating emission source location method for validating emission source identification using SCADA data is provided. The validating emission source location method includes providing a first air quality monitor that includes a first sensor responsive to a target substance and located at a first location on a site. The method includes sensing a first set of attached parameters at the first location and transmitting the first set of attached parameters to a first server. The method includes providing a supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCADA system) at the site and sensing a set of SCADA parameters with the SCADA system from a plurality of components at the site, where the set of SCADA parameters includes a physical factor of each component and an operational factor of each component. The method includes transmitting the set of SCADA parameters to the first server, identifying a potential emission source location based on the first set of attached parameters, analyzing the set of SCADA parameters corresponding to the potential emission source location, verifying the emission source location by confirming a correlation between detected emissions and changes in the set of SCADA parameters at the potential emission source location, and validating the emission source location when the set of SCADA parameters at the potential emission source location correlate with the detected emissions. According to other aspects of the present disclosure, the validating emission source location method may include one or more of the following fe