Project Overview

• The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign owns and operates approximately 22 miles of natural gas transmission pipeline bringing the fuel to Abbott Power Plant and portions of campus from a connection with Kinder Morgan NGPL near Monticello, IL.  Pipeline safety regulations required the university to install new equipment at the pipeline take point to protect the pipeline from overpressure and allow it to be internally inspected.  This meant approximately 11 miles of the pipeline would need to have the natural gas removed so the work could be done safely.  Past industry practice was to blow the pipeline down to atmosphere.  Methane has been identified as a significant contributor to the greenhouse gas effect.  In fact, methane is considered far more harmful than carbon dioxide.  To avoid the release, Facilities & Services at the university looked to USDI to provide a solution.  USDI teamed up with Onboard Dynamics to utilize their GoVAC^tm FLEX system to compress the gas from the segment of pipeline needing maintenance to a downstream segment isolated by block valves.  The Onboard Dynamics team captured 310,129 cubic feet of methane and moved it into the downstream section of pipeline.  Including the carbon dioxide produced by fueling the GoVAC, the project avoided introducing 160 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent to the atmosphere.
• USDI applauds the University of Illinois for its commitment to environmental stewardship and responsibly operating its pipeline infrastructure.  If you want to discuss options to minimize methane emissions associated with pipeline maintenance, repair, or abandonment, please contact any engineers at USDI or Darin L. Houchin, P.E. ([email protected]).