Technology from Scotland might offer a better way to see gas
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ew technology that could offer the gas industry a cheaper way to visualize methane gas is one step closer to becoming commercially available, says the University of Glasgow in Scotland.
While gas imaging technology is nothing new, current systems are expensive, bulky and power-hungry. Now, researchers from the University of Glasgow’s School of Physics and Astronomy and Scottish photonics company M Squared Lasers have used a technique called single-pixel imaging to create real-time video images of methane gas in a typical atmospheric setting.
The imaging uses just one light-sensitive pixel to build digital images instead of using conventional multipixel sensor arrays, which can be prohibitively expensive for infrared imaging. This allows the researchers to build a much smaller, cheaper gas detection system, according to a university news release.
“Our detector allows us to produce images that refresh 25 times a second, equivalent to the standard frame rate of video, which provides a highly accurate real-time picture of the scene in front of the detector,” said Dr. Graham Gibson, one of the researchers. “The advanced laser system allows the researchers to effectively ‘tune in’ to the wavelength of methane gas and opens up the possibility of using the system to detect other types of gases in the future.”
The research team’s paper, titled Real-Time Imaging of Methane Gas Leaks Using a Single-Pixel Camera, is published in the journal Optics Express.