Know Thy Emissions Before Others Do - mowastecoalition.org

Know Thy Emissions Before Others DoOdor Reduction | Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions | Improved Compliance Record

MWCC Presentation | July 13, 2021

Active in 14+ states, five investor-owned waste companies and various municipalities

Aerial OpsSnifferDRONE™ for emissions monitoring

Aerial surveying/mapping for airspace, density calcs, cut/fill, etc.

Aerial Imagery (thermal, multi-spectral, RGB)

Manual OpsSurface emissions monitoring & penetration inspection for compliance – active in 7 states

Asset inventory – identification, tagging & inspection

GIS ServicesEsri licensing, development, and back-end support

Now working in Missouri!

© 2021 Sniffer Robotics, LLC

The Challengethe “Whack-A-Mole” trap

Greater scrutiny is coming…

• Technology is rapidly improving, and stakeholders are quickly adopting

• Increased regulation (penetration inspection, etc.)• Increased scrutiny and accountability for emissions with

increased public exposure risk

https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/methane-menace-aerial-survey-spots-super-emitter-landfills-2021-06-18/

Meeting current regulation may not be enough

June 18, 2021

“Everyone should be profiling their assets” in preparation for future emissions scrutiny.

Worthing F Jackman, President & CEO Waste ConnectionsWaste Expo 2021, Tuesday, June 29th, 2021


https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/methane-menace-aerial-survey-spots-super-emitter-landfills-2021-06-18/

A comprehensive approachTHIRD-PARTY SPECIALIST FOR EMISSIONS MONITORING IS RECOMMENDED

Site Profiles – Methane EmissionsSniffer’s Comprehensive Landfill Cover Integrity Assessment (LCIA)

• Methane data collection (SnifferDRONE) • Cover integrity

• Manual verification• Penetration logging &

inspection1 2

3.


Site Profiles – Methane EmissionsSniffer’s Comprehensive Landfill Cover Integrity Assessment (LCIA)

• Data to Actionable Information• Trends and Analytics• Geospatial Analysis• Dynamic Viewing and Reporting

3

Sniffer Field Ops™• Automates data collection and

reporting• Serves to ensure quality of work• You see what our technician sees• Automated alerts when exceedances

are found

SnifferVIEW™KPI Dashboard Viewer

• Operational dashboard• High-level view of multiple locations – KPIs and active tracking• Highly flexible and customizable for additional content

Final Reports


Data can be problematic but,

information is our friendA GIS systems approach

Aggregated data for an analytical scorecard

Holistic view provides better perspective, better identifies the real issue(s), helps to prioritize actions, identifies trends, and helps in predictive modeling

Scorecard approach based on exceedances measured throughout the year categorized according to the following methodology

Stability – are the exceedances consistent?

Trend – are the exceedance concentrations increasing/decreasing?

Risk – are the locations problematic and/or hazardous?

Surface Emissions by 100’ grid - TREND

Cover Penetrations - RISK© 2021 Sniffer Robotics, LLC

Surface Emissions Monitoring Current State – Safety Risk

Potential HazardsTechnician risks while managing challenging field conditions

Fatigue

Injuries

Exposure

Insect, animals…

Potential exposure to high-levels of hazardous gases

Ticks, spiders, scorpions & other

Insects

Snakes

Ice & Snow Drifts

Mud

Trip & fall hazards

The elements

Alligators & other animals

Thick & high brush


Surface Emissions MonitoringEfficiency & Effectiveness – Opportunity for Improvement

Performance lacks consistency • Interpretation in the method

• Technician training, performance, subjectivity

• Credibility issue?

Actual walking path: 350 acres = 57 miles

TimePlanning: ~15 miles per 100 acres (10-hour day/technician)

Actual: 40 +/- 5 manhours to walk 57 miles (350 acres) for SEM

surface scan

< 10% of the inspected area is problematic

Imperfect method, but solutions can improve performance

Objectives:

• Improve safety

• Improve consistency in application

• Attack the 90% of wasted time



Current regulation offers value –Automate the regulation and enhance its value

Objective: Collect hyper-local data objectively, accurately, and autonomously

Sample the emission, not the plume (PPM v PPM/m)⇒ Data that cannot precisely locate a problem provides little value to those trying fix it

∴ Sample as close to the emission (i.e. ground) as possible, identify the sample location, collect hyper-localslope and wind effects

Localize the source⇒ As velocity and response time increase, data points turn to blobs with less geospatial precision –

decreasing the value

∴ Know your samples/meter traveled with respect to emission area, slow down and push detectorresponse time to a minimum

Meet the requirements of regulation – develop more value⇒Hyper-local data can provide additional value

∴ Slope, wind effects, other, can be useful for correlation studies, gas flux, predictive modeling, etc.

Net Result: provide actionable information for fastremediation & additional value


SnifferDRONE

Operating conditions

• 14°F to 104°F• <8m/s (18mph) ground wind speed• No precipitation

Cover Systems • Final, intermediate, temp covers• Aggressive slopes• High/dense vegetation¹

Cover Integrity capability

• 4K FPV video & imagery• Ability to deviate from flight plan during flight to inspect area

Compliance • 5-10 cm from ground surface during operation• Meets detector requirements, flow rate, response time, calibration procedures,

and sensor accuracy• Method allows for flight paths consistent with regulatory & operational

requirements• Measures and reports methane concentration in PPM

Safety features • “Break-away” tail• Active piloting for obstacle avoidance• Intrinsically safe, if required

Accuracy • More effective at identifying leaks than manual• >90% of all leaks reported by the SnifferDRONE can be manually verified• SnifferDRONE reported leaks can be manually identified within 20’ (average). 95%

of all leaks can be manually identified within 45’.

Effectiveness • Infinite flight planning capabilities (30m, 15m, etc.)• Greater control in area to be scanned• Can be utilized in areas and conditions that are hazardous for technicians

• Flying at 6m AGL, the SnifferDRONE in close proximity to airports within controlled airspace.

Efficiency • Surface scan in 1/3 the manhours as manual• Overall operation in half the manhours (verification + penetrations)

SnifferDRONE™Automated means for methane data collection

Compliant | Safer | More accurate, efficient, effective

¹ General rule of thumb, if a technician can walk through it, SnifferDRONE can successfully perform.

The Industry’s Best Available Technology


Emissions monitoring in hazardous areas

SnifferDRONE™ “extras”Cover integrity during flight ops


Pre-programmed flight path (30m)

Manual Verification (surface)

Manual Verification (penetration)

PPM measurement provides specificity

25’ / avg

44’ / 95% Quality Assurance: geospatial buffer (30m shaded area) from actual flight path

Area where flight path spacing exceeded 30m

Objective Data Precise & Accurate Localized & Verifiable Repeatable Quality Assurance


Case Study

“Sniffer is my truth detector”

SnifferDRONE data aggregated in 100’ grids (Max PPM)

October 2019

January 2020

February 2020

April 2020

May 2020

Jun 2020

October 2019

January 2020

February 2020

April 2020

May 2020

Jun 2020

October 2019

January 2020

February 2020

April 2020

May 2020

Jun 2020

October 2019

January 2020

February 2020

April 2020

May 2020

Jun 2020

October 2019

January 2020

February 2020

April 2020

May 2020

Jun 2020

October 2019

January 2020

February 2020

April 2020

May 2020

Jun 2020

October January February April May June SeptemberAugust

• Investor owned NSPS XXX MSW site• Location: Great Lakes• ~120 acres

Challenged site with ongoing odor and compliance issues whose manual surface emissions monitoring results (4-6 exceedances/qtr) did not provide necessary information to help resolve the issues.

Safer: Reduced onsite technician(s) labor by half

More efficient: Obtained results in half the manhours

More effective:

• Identified more leak locations vs. manual

• A contributing factor in reducing onsite odors and

improving compliance record

• A major contributor in improving credibility with

stakeholders

• Used to help design gas collection system, temporary

cover system, and verify their efficiencies

Results

Qualitative heat map superimposed over the gas collection system design identified an area requiring new gas

collection branch.

On average, <0.5% of all data collected by the SnifferDRONE is > 500 PPM~1% of all data collected is 200 PPM > < 499 PPM


Case Study

“Game Changer”• Investor owned NSPS WWW MSW site• Location: Texas• ~140 acres

Issue:

• Continued odor complaints from neighbors to the north

• Quarterly surface emissions monitoring produced <10 exceedances performed by national engineering firm – managed by onsite gas developer

Results:

• Established new baseline for emissions (note: many were in non-NSPS area)

• Exceedances measured at 30% of all penetrations

• 180 locations with exceedance (42% penetrations, 38% surface)

• Confirmed need for gas collection system in recently closed area

• Area of largest methane concentrations correlated to area of highest H2S emissions

• Identified the problem and a means to verify remediation performance (follow-up inspection planned in August)


Case Study

New baseline for quarterly SEM

Q2 Manual SEM (2)

>500 PPM

200 PPM >< 500 PPM

SnifferDRONE

Investor owned NSPS WWW MSW site

Location: Southeastern US

~130 acres

Corporate

initiative to better

understand

quarterly SEM

performance and

overall emissions


Case Study

“Exceeded our expectations”Public NSPS WWW MSW site

Location: Caribbean

Acreage: 60

Objective: SnifferDRONE SEM scan over the entire site for compliance purposes

RESULTS

• Safer: Greatly reduced technician exposure to hazardous conditions

• More Efficient: SnifferDRONE was able to scan nearly twice as more area than what was scanned manually, at half the manhours

• More Effective:

• Identified low-level emissions + elevated methane concentrations over the full cover

• Images of the cover, geospatially referenced for cover integrity studies

• Provided raw data with analytics in SnifferVIEW™ for customer analysis

Site Challenges included 2:1 slopes, dense vegetation, surface fires, surface obstacles, controlled airspace from international airport in close proximity.

Manual SEM over the entire site has not been possible due to site conditions.


Speed is a virtueTools to inform. Inform for Action.

Sniffer Field Ops™

• Photographs, observations, and other data

• Automates data collection and reporting

• Serves to ensure quality of work• You see what our technician sees,

instantaneously• Automated alerts when

exceedances are found Sniffer provides customization, app development, back-end support, and licenses

for Esri solutions

Sniffer Symbology

A Sniffer developed software app for field operations


Built to serve…

• Improve operational effectiveness

• Identify odor sources and verify

• Improve gas collection efficiency and verify

• Establish new baseline for emissions monitoring

• Prepare for future scrutiny

Our FocusUS EPA approval of

SnifferDRONE method for surface emissions

monitoringAerial Ops | Field Ops | GIS Services

Sniffer Robotics LLCwww.snifferrobotics.com

[email protected] | 855/476-4333

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

Know Thy Emissions Before Others Do - mowastecoalition.org