Scientific video journal visits WVU research facility

 

JoVE, a peer reviewed scientific video journal, recently visited West Virginia University to film a segment on technology created at the Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines and Emissions.

JoVE heard about the technology through a paper published by CAFEE researchers in  Environmental Science and Technology. While working on an Environmental Defense Fund grant, the researchers needed an accurate, mobile measurement system to quantify methane emissions. The equipment on the market just wasn't cutting it.

"We needed something easy to transport and accurate, but it also needed to be able to handle the measurement amounts we were focusing on in the study, which we just couldn't find," said April Covington, a doctoral  mechanical engineering student from Sylvania, Georgia, at CAFEE.

CAFEE developed the full flow sampling system to meet its needs. A provisional patent for the system has been filed by the  Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources' Derek Johnson, research assistant professor; Nigel Clark, professor; Zachary Luzader, computer software engineer; Christopher Rowe; engineering technician; and Covington.

The team hopes that new greenhouse gas regulations will eventually lead to commercialization of the system.

Phone calls are rolling in from companies and organizations wanting to learn about and utilize the machinery for emissions testing in the field. But with CAFEE's busy research schedule, the system is booked solid, traveling across the country to states like Texas, Ohio and Arkansas.

The JoVE video and manuscript, featuring the science and mechanics behind the system, will be available for public viewing in the coming months.

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