Scientists in Russia unveiled a paperback-sized sniffing device they say can detect oil spills in soil, conduct field studies, and help ensure refineries are in compliance with laws governing their pollution.
Researchers at the Skolkovo Institute of Technology (Skoltech) published the findings of their AI-powered e-nose in the Journal of Hazardous Materials.
The aim of the e-nose is to provide a solution to detect oil that is far cheaper than tandem gas chromatograph-mass spectrometers used in laboratories, and much more practical for field use.
After training the sniffing device with an AI-powered "random forest" model, the Skoltech team said it could detect oil at a cost 20 times lower than the expensive lab devices, per a news release on the study.
Its small size and portability also gave it a series of applications. Lab devices have high accuracy and sensitivity, but take up several square meters of space in contrast.
"Our approach can be used to monitor reservoir productivity in oil fields," said Skoltech researcher Valery Zaitsev. "The e-nose will determine the chemical properties of volatile oil compounds in the air based on their smell."
The trained e-nose was capable of detecting oil in soil as much as 12 hours after contamination and after some evaporation had occurred. It also successfully determined the origin of nine different types of oil featuring lighter and heavier oil with varying volatile compounds.
Lighter oil evaporates quicker, which makes it difficult to detect after some time. Heavier oil, meanwhile, escapes in small amounts, which complicates identifying the source. The team's sniffing device used an algorithm to meet those challenges.
If companies harness the e-nose correctly, the devices could help detect oil spills and soil contamination quicker. It can also allow them to monitor conditions to avoid running afoul of pollution restrictions and triggering major fines.
That will ideally mean avoiding endangering neighboring communities that pay a heavy cost for their excess pollution. Dangerous pollutants like benzene can heighten threats for residents to contract leukemia and respiratory illnesses, while methane can warm the planet to dangerous levels.
Zaitsev suggested that "the e-nose can also help to identify the exact locations of new oil fields," which would aid companies in maximizing new drilling opportunities.
Head of the project Fedor Fedorov pointed to its uses by oil companies as "a device and an algorithm for monitoring emissions and training the e-nose for specific tasks."
"Since our device is expected to be used by industrial companies, our immediate goal is to implement it as a commercial product," Fedorov disclosed. Until then, the team at Skoltech will keep refining the sniffing device to replicate a human nose.
"In the meantime, we will try to teach the e-nose to perceive odors like humans do, for example, to determine whether an odor is pleasant or unpleasant and to what extent," he concluded.
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