Fenceline Monitoring of Benzene in Refineries Using OMNI-2100 - Case Study

Background: According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)1, undetected leaks (aka fugitive emissions) are a significant source of pollution and can emanate from industry, refineries, energy production, and natural gas pipelines. Fixing these leaks can protect workers and nearby communities, reduce operating costs for companies, and assist regulators with implementing source emissions control and air quality standards under the Clean Air Act.

The most common method of leak detection currently employed are “Passive Sampling Tubes” (PST), which are small tubes with carbon sorbent material inside to trap benzene. PSTs are hung around the perimeter (aka fenceline) of the facility and uncapped to expose them to air. After two weeks of sample collection, the tubes are recapped and shipped to a laboratory for analysis. In a week`s time, users get the results back and can “map” the time-averaged benzene levels that were present at the fenceline, and attempt to elucidate the elevated emissions’ sources. However, PSTs have a serious limitation: they do not provide real-time granular and actionable insight to address the leak sources in a time-sensitive manner.