This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Researchers have developed a vehicle-mounted spectroscopy system that can reliably detect methane in real time while driving. Using a moving vehicle to detect methane could make it easier to locate hidden methane emissions across large areas.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas released from sources such as natural gas infrastructure, livestock farms, landfills and coal mines. Leaks from natural gas infrastructure, which are typically invisible to the naked eye, can also create fire and explosion hazards. "Dual-comb spectroscopy uniquely enables simultaneous, high-precision measurement of multiple gases, but is sensitive to environmental noise, which can degrade its performance.
Our work addresses and overcomes this key challenge," said research team leader Wenxue Li from East China Normal University. "SUVs equipped with our spectroscopy system could cruise residential streets day and night. If an underground gas pipeline has a methane leak, the system could capture the concentration of the gas, record the GPS coordinates and notify maintenance crews." In the journal Optics Express, the researchers describe their new vehicle-mounted system, which is based on mid-infrared dual-comb spectroscopy.
They show that it can identify simulated natural gas leaks and map the 2D gas-diffusion distribution around emission sources across multiple outdoor sites and road environments. "With further development, this technology could help cities and industries quantify hard-to-detect greenhouse gas emissions, providing data to support emissions-reduction policies," said Li. "More accurate methane leak localization could enable targeted repairs, reduce resource waste and improve air quality for nearby residents.
The technology could also be integrated into unmanned aerial vehicles, allowing methane detection in off-road areas and further expanding potential applications." Mid-infrared dual-comb spectroscopy detects gases using two precisely matched frequency combs—light sources that produce many evenly spaced wavelengths. The mid-infrared region is especially useful because many molecules have strong, distinctive absorption signatures there, making it well suited for sensitive gas detection. While dual-comb systems are commonly used in laboratories, taking the technology into the field is challenging.
The systems typically rely on precisely aligned optics, including fixed telescopes and mirrors, which limit their ability to move freely and search for unknown leak sources. In real-world settings, emission sources can be scattered across an area and shift with changing wind direction. To address this challenge, the team combined several advances to create a compact system that can perform high-precision gas detection reliably on a moving vehicle.
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