Topic Area: 9c. Remediation and Management of Petroleum Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Sites

Formatted Title:

Smart Sensors and Algorithms: Leveraging Fundamental Chemistry and Autonomous Sensors to Transform PHC Monitoring with Continuous Data Insights

Background/Objectives:

Contaminated site managers and stakeholders report site status to regulators based on specific regulatory criteria for carbon fraction-specific compounds such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX), as well as CCME PHC Fractions 1 and 2. Compared to traditional point-in-time (PIT) sampling, continuous and autonomous site monitoring unveils daily, monthly, and seasonal trends that PIT approaches cannot capture. While PIT sampling provides invaluable and detailed measurements from multiple site locations, it is prone to potential pitfalls, such as sampling and laboratory errors, and it involves costly site visits that limit data frequency and spatial resolution.

Approach/Activities:

Environmental Material Science (EMS) Inc. has developed autonomous sensors and a complementary technology stack that address these challenges. Frequent measurements at specific locations reduce uncertainty, and continuous monitoring across multiple locations provides a more representative dataset. Additionally, these approaches significantly lower the financial and logistical burdens of site management. Here we introduce a novel EMS algorithm that integrates fundamental principles of chemistry—Dalton’s and Raoult’s laws—with invaluable historical data collected by consultants. This algorithm generates continuous estimates of key regulatory PHC compounds at contaminated sites.

Callum Doolin

Affiliation

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Smart Sensors and Algorithms: Leveraging Fundamental Chemistry and Autonomous Sensors to Transform PHC Monitoring with Continuous Data Insights