Beyond-the-Meter: Unaccounted Sources of Methane Emissions in the Natural Gas Distribution Sector

Saint-Vincent, Patricia M. B.; Pekney, Natalie J.

doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b04657

Cited by 28 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…If the top-down emissions from these cities are representative of emissions across the country, we estimate that NG losses from distribution and end use amount to 20 to 36% of all losses from the US NG supply chain (including all end uses, not only urban; based on supply chain losses from ref. 2 ) and 6 to 11% of all anthropogenic methane emissions (including agriculture) ( SI Appendix , section S8 ). These top-down studies thus indicate that the climate footprint of NG is larger than generally supposed, implying the need to identify and mitigate urban sources.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These top-down studies thus indicate that the climate footprint of NG is larger than generally supposed, implying the need to identify and mitigate urban sources. Because methane has 86 to 125 times the global warming potential of CO 2 over 20 y and 25 to 36 times over 100 y, if 3 to 6% of consumed NG is lost directly to the atmosphere as CH 4 , the greenhouse impact of NG is equivalent to that of coal ( 2 ). We note, however, that reductions in criteria pollutants emissions continues to be a benefit of NG use compared to coal or oil.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…urban j methane j natural gas j greenhouse gas emissions A tmospheric methane (CH 4 ) is the second-most important greenhouse gas (GHG) after carbon dioxide (CO 2 ); the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that it was responsible for ∼20% of global anthropogenic direct radiative forcing from 2000 to 2010 (1). Oil and natural gas (NG) systems are estimated to account for 31% of US anthropogenic methane emissions (2). NG emissions have increased over the last decade, as it has become an increasingly important energy source in the United States due to advances in extraction technology, reduction in cost, and its promotion as having lower CO 2 -equivalent emissions relative to other fossil fuels.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Densely populated urban areas are well positioned to effect change in GHG emissions, as they have concentrated population, infrastructure, and emissions along with, in many cases, political will to implement emission reductions policies ( 3 ). Pipelines, transmission infrastructure, household and commercial appliances, meters, stationary combustion, and service leaks are thought to be the most significant source types for urban NG emissions ( 2 ). Bottom-up inventories estimate that distribution and end use contribute 6% of US emissions from the NG supply chain ( 2 ), but that estimate is highly uncertain.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pipelines, transmission infrastructure, household and commercial appliances, meters, stationary combustion, and service leaks are thought to be the most significant source types for urban NG emissions ( 2 ). Bottom-up inventories estimate that distribution and end use contribute 6% of US emissions from the NG supply chain ( 2 ), but that estimate is highly uncertain. Urban NG emissions have been reported for several cities including Boston, Indianapolis, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, New York City, and Philadelphia using top-down methods based on tower, aircraft, and remote sensing measurements (e.g., refs.…”

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confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Majority of US urban natural gas emissions unaccounted for in inventories

Sargent

Floerchinger

McKain

et al. 2021

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Across many cities, estimates of methane emissions from natural gas (NG) distribution and end use based on atmospheric measurements have generally been more than double bottom-up estimates. We present a top-down study of NG methane emissions from the Boston urban region spanning 8 y (2012 to 2020) to assess total emissions, their seasonality, and trends. We used methane and ethane observations from five sites in and around Boston, combined with a high-resolution transport model, to calculate methane emissions of 76 ± 18 Gg/yr, with 49 ± 9 Gg/yr attributed to NG losses. We found no significant trend in the NG loss rate over 8 y, despite efforts from the city and state to increase the rate of repairing NG pipeline leaks. We estimate that 2.5 ± 0.5% of the gas entering the urban region is lost, approximately three times higher than bottom-up estimates. We saw a strong correlation between top-down NG emissions and NG consumed on a seasonal basis. This suggests that consumption-driven losses, such as in transmission or end-use, may be a large component of emissions that is missing from inventories, and require future policy action. We also compared top-down NG emission estimates from six US cities, all of which indicate significant missing sources in bottom-up inventories. Across these cities, we estimate NG losses from distribution and end use amount to 20 to 36% of all losses from the US NG supply chain, with a total loss rate of 3.3 to 4.7% of NG from well pad to urban consumer, notably larger than the current Environmental Protection Agency estimate of 1.4% [R. A. Alvarez et al., Science 361, 186–188 (2018)].

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Majority of US urban natural gas emissions unaccounted for in inventories

Sargent

Floerchinger

McKain

et al. 2021

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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3D Change Detection Method for Exterior Wall of LNG Storage Tank Supported by Multi‐Source Spatial Data

Gao,

Guo,

Wang

et al. 2024

Advcd Theory and Sims

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Change detection methods for measuring deformation of the LNG storage tank's exterior wall cannot meet the requirements for extensive and comprehensive deformation analysis. The method proposed in this paper uses multi‐source spatial data to detect the deformation of the LNG storage tank's exterior wall. Exterior wall data collected simultaneously by terrestrial and airborne laser scanners, as well as close‐range and oblique photogrammetry, are pre‐processed separately and then registered to the global point clouds. The deformation state of exterior wall is represented by a thorough assessment approach that takes into account four change indices. The results suggest that the registration precision of global point clouds is 6 mm. The global ovality of the LNG storage tank is 0.053%, with a tilt change of 2.58° and a deviation of 27 mm in the direction of the azimuth of 321.98°, an average value of 0.07 mm for depression and protrusion deformation, and a surface flatness of 21.3 mm. In this case, the flatness is greater than the variation threshold of the standard specification, indicating that the tank may have structural uneven settlement or other deformation problems. The attraction of the proposed method resides in its capacity to efficiently and accurately obtain spatial positioning and color information of the LNG storage tank's exterior wall, thereby providing a robust foundation for precise judgments regarding the deformation state.

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Natural gas odorants: A scoping review of health effects

Michanowicz¹,

Leventhal²,

Domen³

et al. 2023

Curr Envir Health Rpt

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Purpose of Review Organosulfur compounds are intentionally added to natural gas as malodorants with the intent of short-term nasal inhalation to aid in leak detection. Regulatory exposure limits have not been established for all commonly used natural gas odorants, and recent community-level exposure events and growing evidence of indoor natural gas leakage have raised concerns associated with natural gas odorant exposures. We conducted a scoping review of peer-reviewed scientific publications on human exposures and animal toxicological studies of natural gas odorants to assess toxicological profiles, exposure potential, health effects and regulatory guidelines associated with commonly used natural gas odorants. Recent Findings We identified only 22 studies which met inclusion criteria for full review. Overall, there is limited evidence of both transient nonspecific health symptoms and clinically diagnosed causative neurotoxic effects associated with prolonged odorant exposures. Across seven community-level exposure events and two occupational case reports, consistent symptom patterns included: headache, ocular irritation, nose and throat irritation, respiratory complaints such as shortness of breath and asthma attacks, and skin irritation and rash. Of these, respiratory inflammation and asthma exacerbations are the most debilitating, whereas the high prevalence of ocular and dermatologic symptoms suggest a non-inhalation route of exposure. Summary The limited evidence available raises the possibility that organosulfur odorants may pose health risks at exposures much lower than presently understood, though additional dose-response studies are needed to disentangle specific toxicologic effects from nonspecific responses to noxious organosulfur odors. Numerous recommendations are provided including more transparent and prescriptive natural gas odorant use practices.

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Beyond-the-Meter: Unaccounted Sources of Methane Emissions in the Natural Gas Distribution Sector

Cited by 28 publications

References 41 publications

Majority of US urban natural gas emissions unaccounted for in inventories

Majority of US urban natural gas emissions unaccounted for in inventories

3D Change Detection Method for Exterior Wall of LNG Storage Tank Supported by Multi‐Source Spatial Data

Natural gas odorants: A scoping review of health effects

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