Detecting pipeline leaks on land and at sea.

Our guest today uses special technology to locate leaks quickly before they become hazards.

Offshore and onshore, how timely leak detection is critical for people and the environment.

That's next on this episode of Technology Today.

We live with technology, science, engineering, and the results of innovative research every day. Now, let's understand it better. You're listening to the Technology Today podcast presented by Southwest Research Institute. Transcripts and photos for this episode and all episodes are available at podcast.s.Swri.org.

Hello and welcome to technology today. I'm Lisa Benia. Across the U.S., a vast network of pipelines carry oil and gas from the point of production

to our communities.

Sometimes weak spots develop or damage occurs to the system causing leaks.

That's when our SWRI experts and their cutting-edge technology are called in.

SWRI engineer Shane Sibonaller, director in our fluids engineering department,

joins us now to tell us about the methods used to detect leaks before they become problematic.

Thanks for joining us, Shane.

Nice to be with you.

So let's start by understanding the big picture.

What is the role of pipelines in our economy?

Sure. So we use petroleum in our everyday lives. We use our homes. If you have a plastic

water bottle, it came from petroleum. Chances are if you plug in your electric car, the power

and electricity that's used to charge that car came from a power plant that is likely

using fossil fuels.

And so we need to move the petroleum from the point of its generation to the point of its use.

And we can do that in different ways.

You can put that on a truck.

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