Study on the diffusion pattern of sulfur-containing natural gas leakage based on infrared monitoring technology

Abstract

Hydrogen sulfide in sulfur-containing natural gas is a highly toxic acidic gas that can cause corrosion in natural gas gathering and transportation pipelines, potentially leading to large-scale gas leakage and poisoning incidents. Therefore, investigating the leakage and dispersion patterns of sulfur-containing natural gas holds significant importance for personnel safety and environment protection. Given the multiple factors affecting sulfur-containing natural gas leakage, this study conducted experiments using mid-infrared remote sensing lasers and thermal infrared imager. The experiments analyzed the effects of hydrogen sulfide concentration, leak aperture, flow rate, and environmental wind speed on the dispersion range and gas concentration. The results revealed that during atmospheric dispersion, leaking sulfur-containing natural gas exhibits intrinsic motion and dilution phenomena independent of other parameter variations. As the jet kinetic energy gradually diminishes, the migration of leaked gas within the experimental setup is primarily governed by environmental wind speed and gravitational effects. Notably, increased environmental wind speed was observed to reduce plume dispersion at equivalent positions within the experimental platform. This study quantitatively determined the influence range of different hydrogen sulfide concentrations, leakage aperture, flow velocity, and wind speed, and supplemented the study of the transport of toxic mixed gases in the atmosphere from the perspective of simulation experiments. The relevant experimental process ideas can be further extended to the study of the laws of other types of leaks.