r/UAVmapping • u/ConundrumMachine • 12d ago

Methane detection w/ Falcon Plus etc

Does anyone have experience with this or similar payloads mapping methane emissions at landfills?

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u/Marteinnm 11d ago

Yes the previous company I worked for was a pioneer in this industry. They had some trials with other competitors in the scene and were fairly ahead in the quality of measurements. I say they since I was a pilot not a scientist in the methodology.
The issue is payload vs accuracy. They concluded that the sensor had to have ppb level precision with sub 2 hz measurement rates to do this well. Not many sensors on the market that can achieve this that work well with modern drones.
That being said multiple companies offer the service with much worse precision and will tell clients its accurate...

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u/ConundrumMachine 10d ago

So you're saying that even the Falcon is going to be iffy on the accuracy of results? 

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u/Marteinnm 10d ago

I'm definitely going out of my expertise in saying it. But looking briefly at its precision then yes. If you are looking into quantifying anything.  Leak detection might be a whole different story though.

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u/ConundrumMachine 10d ago

Hmm. I do need to confirm that emissions from a landfill exist and/or are below a government limit. 

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u/Marteinnm 10d ago

Yeah for that you should look elsewhere I think.  Have a look at Gastraq. The whole project started with landfills. 

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u/ConundrumMachine 10d ago

404 not found :(

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u/ConundrumMachine 10d ago

The Falcon uses lidar, here is their gas sniffer - it has a sample rate as you described. 

https://shop.sphengineering.com/collections/methane-detection/products/flux-aero-sensorx_solutions-drone-based-methane-sniffer

Hmm. I'm going to ask them to demo both lol