PR-015-14214-R01 Liquid Leak Detection Technology Review for Aboveground Facilities

Liquid pipeline companies operate a number of different facilities, such as pump stations, that are part of the transport stream of hazardous liquids. Many of these facilities are typically unmanned and have a number of sources (e.g., flanges, valves, tanks, etc.) that can leak. The consequences of such a leak are heightened as the amount of time passes until the leak is detected. There is a need for a technology (or group of technologies) to be deployed at such sites to autonomously detect and raise an alarm in the event of a leak. A project was conducted to identify and evaluate (on paper) potential solutions for deployable technologies. The work on this project focused on leaks that originate at aboveground facilities in which the product either pools on the ground (e.g., crude oil, jet fuel, etc.) or changes phase above the ground upon exposure to atmospheric pressure (e.g., propane, liquefied natural gas, etc.). This work differs from prior PRCI research on continuous monitoring for buried assets in that continuous, subsurface detection is not required.