The measurement technology shows that the gas found is flammable, but there is no obvious point of damage. Repeated measurements continue to show gas emissions. The cause could not only be a defective natural gas pipeline, but also digester or sump gases (e.g. biogas from digesters, landfill gas, mine gas, cemetery gas or even fuels).
Both natural gas and digester gases consist mainly of methane (CH4), which can be detected on the surface of the earth using gas detectors.
In the case of natural gas, hydrocarbons such as ethane (C2H6), propane (C3H8), butane (C4H10), etc. are also present.
Digester gases consist mainly of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2), but normally only have a very small proportion of ethane and other higher hydrocarbons, often less than 0.1 %.
To distinguish natural gas from digester gas, you must therefore determine whether ethane is present in the gas sample. A portable ethane detector can be used for this purpose, which can be integrated into a combination analyser (e.g. the EX-TEC® HS 680) is integrated. The analysis is carried out directly at the probe hole and works in a similar way to a gas chromatograph.
The gas sample is passed with ambient air through a separation column, where the gas is broken down into its components. Each gas has a specific time to pass through the separation column. If ethane is present in the sample, this is clearly indicated.
This allows you to distinguish precisely between natural gas and digester gas and determine the cause of the gas emissions more accurately.
