Study of methane migration in the shallow subsurface from a gas pipe leak
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19569043 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Bo Gao (0000-0003-0962-383X, The University of Texas at Arlington), Melissa K Mitton, Melissa Mitton (Colorado School of Mines), Clay S Bell (0000-0001-5497-2073, Colorado State University), Clay Bell (0009-0008-6976-980X), Daniel Zimmerle (0000-0003-2832-048X, Colorado State University), T K K Chamindu Deepagoda (0000-0002-8818-8671, University of Peradeniya), A Hecobian (0000-0001-9511-4868, Colorado State University), Kathleen M Smits (0000-0002-8319-0940, Colorado School of Mines) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2021-07-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Elementa Science of the Anthropocene (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2325-1026 • E-ISSN: 2325-1026 |
| Publisher | University of California Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1525/elementa.2021.00008 |
| OpenAlex | W3184538198 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 31 |
With the increased use of natural gas, safety and environmental concerns from underground leaking natural gas pipelines are becoming more widespread. What is not well understood in leakage incidents is how the soil conditions affect gas migration behavior, making it difficult to estimate the gas distribution. To shed light on these concerns, an increased understanding of subsurface methane migration after gas release is required to support efficient leak response and effective use of available technologies. In this study, three field-scale experiments were performed at the Methane Emission Technology Evaluation Center in Colorado State University to investigate the effect of soil textural heterogeneity, soil moisture, and leak rate (0.5 and 0.85 kg/h) on methane migration caused by leaking pipelines. Subsurface methane concentrations, in addition to soil moisture and meteorological data, were collected over time. A previously validated numerical model was modified and used to understand the observed methane distribution behavior. Results of this study illustrate that the influence of soil texture, leak rate, and moisture on subsurface methane distribution is determined by the relative contribution of advection and diffusion and closely related to the distance to the leak source. Advection dominates gas transport within 1–1.5 m of the leak source, driving the migration of high concentration contours. Beyond this distance, diffusion dominates migration of lower concentration contours to the far-field. Although large leak rates initially result in faster and further gas migration, the leak rate has little influence on the diffusion dominated migration farther from the leak source. Soil moisture and texture complicate gas behavior with texture variations and elevated soil moisture conditions playing a dominant role in locally increasing methane concentrations. Scenarios highlight the importance of understanding the effects of soil moisture, texture, and leak rate on gas migration behavior in an attempt to unravel their contribution to the gas concentration within the soil environment
Advection · Diffusion · Geography · Geotechnical engineering · Leak · Meteorology · Methane · Methane gas · Moisture · Natural gas · Petroleum engineering · Soil gas · Soil water · Vadose zone · Waste management · Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics · Chemistry · CO2 Sequestration and Geologic Interactions · Engineering · Environmental Science · Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena · Environmental Engineering · Geology · Soil Science
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.5 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2022 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |