First measurements of a carbon dioxide plume from an industrial source using a ground based mobile differential absorption lidar

Abstract

The emission of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from industrial sources is one of the main anthropogenic contributors to the greenhouse effect. Direct remote sensing of CO₂ emissions using optical methods offers the potential for the identification and quantification of CO₂ emissions. We report the development and demonstration of a ground based mobile differential absorption lidar (DIAL) able to measure the mass emission rate of CO₂ in the plume from a power station. To our knowledge DIAL has not previously been successfully applied to the measurement of emission plumes of CO₂ from industrial sources. A significant challenge in observing industrial CO₂ emission plumes is the ability to discriminate and observe localised concentrations of CO₂ above the locally observed background level. The objectives of the study were to modify our existing mobile infrared DIAL system to enable CO₂ measurements and to demonstrate the system at a power plant to assess the feasibility of the technique for the identification and quantification of CO₂ emissions. The results of this preliminary study showed very good agreement with the expected emissions calculated by the site. The detection limit obtained from the measurements, however, requires further improvement to provide quantification of smaller emitters of CO₂, for example for the detection of fugitive emissions. This study has shown that in principle, remote optical sensing technology will have the potential to provide useful direct data on CO₂ mass emission rates.