Contribution of Konica Minolta GMP02 quantification to

emissions estimation

Recent technology advances in the Optical Gas Imaging (OGI) arena have demonstrated the ability to
quantify or calculate emissions observed during routine leak detection and repair (LDAR) inspections. In
particular, Konica Minolta OGI camera GMP02 has been tested by a third party and deemed as meeting
the requirements of NSPS OOOOa and was certified as an Approved Instrument Monitoring Method
(AIMM) by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). As a technology solutions
provider, our objective is to support the oil and gas industry in the US in its own goals of methane and
GHG emissions.

Description of the technology

Our quantification is a technology that displays the result as shown in Figure 1, by specifying the gas
area to be estimated with 4 points, and inputting the gas type, shooting distance and temperature as
shown in Figure 2. Quantifiable distance range is from 4 ft to 328 ft. The estimated result is the average
over a 5 second period of recorded material and updates every 5 seconds. Minimum video length for
quantification is 7 seconds.

Figure 1. Result display screen Figure 2. Information input screen

The technology consists of two estimation techniques: a) gas concentration length and b) gas flow
velocity. By calculating the amount of gas from a) gas concentration length, and the passage time of gas
from b) gas flow velocity, a gas flow rate per unit time is estimated. A schematic diagram is shown in
Figure 3. Wind measurement is unnecessary as the gas flow velocity is estimated by tracking the gas
movement from the images. A patent has been applied for this technique.1

4.58 seconds of flow

(passed in 4.58 seconds)
Figure 3. Gas flow rate estimation

Gas concentration length can be theoretically calculated by the gas temperature, the background
temperature in the presence of gas and the background temperature without gas. The gas temperature
is assumed to be the ambient temperature input by the user. Furthermore, the background temperature
in the presence of gas and without gas are estimated from time-series changes in the infrared images
taken as shown in Figure 4. Please see the patent for more details.2

Figure 4. Estimation method of gas concentration length

1
“US20220034742 - GAS FLOW RATE ESTIMATION DEVICE, GAS FLOW RATE ESTIMATION METHOD, AND GAS
FLOW RATE ESTIMATION PROGRAM”
https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=US349429229&_fid=WO2020110411
2
“US20180364185 - GAS CONCENTRATION-THICKNESS PRODUCT MEASUREMENT DEVICE, GAS CONCENTRATION-
THICKNESS PRODUCT MEASUREMENT METHOD, AND COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM HAVING GAS
CONCENTRATION-THICKNESS PRODUCT MEASUREMENT PROGRAM RECORDED THEREON”
https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/ja/detail.jsf?docId=US235210241&_fid=WO2017104607
Gas concentration length can be displayed in 5 types of volumetric flow rates (sl/min, scc/min, scc/sec,
scf/min and scf/hr) and 4 types of mass flow rates (g/min, g/hr, mg/sec, lb/hr). The volume flow rate is
prefixed with “s” (standard). This indicates that the standard conditions (70°F, 1atm) defined by CGA

(Compressed Gas Association) are used as the standard conditions required for conversion of volumetric
flow rates and mass flow rates.

Applicable conditions

1) Sensitivity (temperature difference between gas and background)

The larger temperature difference between the gas and the background, the larger temperature
change on the infrared image by the gas. And it increases the image sensitivity and accuracy of
quantification. Conversely, when the temperature difference between the gas and the background
is small, the quantification accuracy is degraded. Therefore, the system does not perform
quantification when it determines that the temperature difference is less than 3°C (5.4 °F). In such a
case, it is desirable to increase the temperature difference, such as by setting the background in a
place exposed to sunlight or in the background of equipment in operation.

2) Gas type
At present, the technology supports 100% pure methane, propane or ethylene. Even in the case of
gases other than the above three types or mixed gases, it is possible to grasp the relative magnitude
of gas amount by measuring with the measurable gas types as long as the gas composition is the
same.

3) Gas flow
Since this technology estimates the flow rate from the transit time of the gas, good accuracy can be
obtained when the gas flows in one direction, as shown in Figure. 5-a. When the gas scatters as
shown in Figure. 5-b, it is desirable to take a longer video and utilize the results of the timing of gas
flow in one direction.

Figure 5-a. Good gas flow Figure 5-b. Difficult gas flow

4) Temperature
Since the inputted temperature is regarded as the gas temperature, it is desirable to input the
ambient temperature as accurately as possible. When using the camera, avoid placing it on the
ground as this could pick up geothermal heat, or being exposed to continuous direct sunlight. The
reason for this is the location of the camera thermometer being underneath the camera body.
5) Area designation
As shown in Figure 6-a, the area is set so as to enclose the width direction along the direction of gas
movement. It doesn't matter if the leak source is included or not. Better accuracy can be obtained
by enclosing the area as large as possible without noise. If the width direction is not completely
enclosed as shown in Figure 6-b, the result may be miscalculated.

Width
direction

Figure 6-a. Good area designation Figure 6-b. Bad area designation

In addition, as shown in Figure. 7-a and 7-b, pixels appearing white in gas-enhanced (black and
white) images other than gas itself are noise. It is desirable to specify an area that contains as little
noise as possible by adjusting the shooting position. If the system determines that it is noisy, no
quantification is performed.

Figure 7-a. Noise example - gas shadow Figure 7-b. Noise example - moving object
6) Distance
Accurate input is desirable because the error in the distance affects the square of the error (as an
area) when calculating the gas amount from gas concentration length.
7) Shooting condition
To avoid vibration noise, make sure the camera is in a stable environment. A tripod is preferred.
The magnitude of vibration noise can be confirmed on the gas-enhanced image. As shown in
Figure 8-b, when the gas cannot be seen due to white noise caused by vibration, accurate
estimation is difficult. In that case, stabilize the camera so that it appears as shown in Figure 8-a.
 Figure 8-a. Good example Figure 8-b. Bad example

8) Calibration
This technology does not require calibration.

Validation testing

We created an in-house experimental environment to conduct the evaluation as shown in Figure 9.

Multiple quantifications were performed while changing the amount of methane released and the
distance to the source. The amount of release was controlled with a mass flow meter. As shown in
Figure 10, the average values of each experiment, after eliminating abnormal values due to wind and
noise, were within the variation of 0 to 60% of the actual flow rate.

Figure 9. Built experimental environment

 Figure 10. In-house experimental result

Furthermore, we quantified leaks detected at an actual producing facility with the GMP02 and
compared the result with a high-flow sampler being used by the host operator’s. The results are shown
in Figure 11. We have plans on conducting more field validations with additional O&G operators.

(uni:scf/h)
High-Flow Konica Minolta
Sampler Quantification* Gap
Leak #1 0.05 0.031 61%
Leak #2 0.03 0.016 53%
Leak #3 0.07 0.069 99%
*Konica Minolta Quantification is average value
after removing outliers from multiple output results

Figure 11. In-house experimental result

Applicable area

As long as the previously mentioned applicable limitations are kept in mind, this technology is widely
suitable for a number of scenarios. The video captured by the OGI camera is easily quantifiable, after
wirelessly connecting the camera to any tablet or mobile phone. Since the method of quantification is
image-based and embedded within the camera, it is possible to estimate emission amounts in high
places, inaccessible hazardous areas, and even indoor emissions.

Conclusion

The aforementioned is the description, application conditions, test results, and applicability of the
quantification technique we developed. We’ve also confirmed through several site evaluations that the
quantified emissions differ for the same components such as valves and flanges. We believe that this
indicates the need to take more effective actions by determining priorities according to the actual
situation and thermal conditions.

Contact us:
Website: https://www.konicaminolta.com/us-en/gas/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/konica-minolta-ogi/

Email: [email protected]