Mapping of methane spatial distribution around biogas plant with an open-path tunable diode absorption spectroscopy scanning system

An open-path tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (OP-TDLAS) detector was applied to detect the methane emission from a biogas plant in a dairy farm. Two OP-TDLAS scanning systems were built according to maximum likelihood with expectation minimization (MLEM) and smooth basis function minimization (SBFM) algorithms to reconstruct the two-dimensional (2-D) distribution maps. Six reconstruction maps with the resolution of 30 x 80 were obtained by the MLEM algorithm with "grid translation method" and three reconstruction maps were obtained by the SBFM algorithm with 2-D Gaussian model. The maximum mixing ratio in the first result was between 0.85 and 1.30 ppm, while it was between 1.14 and 1.30 ppm in the second result. The average mixing ratio in the first result was between 0.54 and 0.49 ppm, and between 0.56 and 0.65 ppm in the second result. The reconstruction results validated that the two algorithms could effectively reflect the methane mixing ratio distribution within the target area. However, with the more simple optical rays and less equipment requirements, the OP-TDLAS scanning system based on SBFM algorithm provides a useful monitoring tool of methane emissions in agricultural production. (C) 2013 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) [DOI: 10.1117/1.OE.52.2.026203]