System and methods for monitoring leaks in underground storage tanks

An apparatus for monitoring leaks in aboveground and underground storage tanks and pipeline containments, the apparatus comprising:

• an oxidation chamber to receive vapor samples taken from an area surrounding the containment or samples taken from an air collection pipe positioned in vicinity of the containment, wherein the vapor sample may contain hydrocarbon or other contaminates and marker chemicals added to the containment, the hydrocarbons being absorbed or destroyed within the vapor samples;
• a chemical marker concentrator to receive effluent from the oxidation chamber, the chemical marker concentrator comprising an elongate conduit with a metal foil suspended within the conduit, the metal foil having a chemical coating to attract the marker chemicals, the metal foil being heated to periodically release the marker chemicals attracted on the foil;
• and
• a mass spectrometer (MS) ion trap to receive the released marker chemicals to analyze for the presence of the marker chemicals by measuring for their molecular weight for each chemical marker and to determine an amount of the marker chemicals and output an leakage analysis result.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium or media comprising one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more microprocessors, causes the steps to be performed comprising:

• receiving at an oxidation chamber vapor samples taken from an air collection pipe positioned in vicinity of an underground or aboveground containment, wherein the vapor sample may contain hydrocarbon and other contaminates and marker chemicals added to the containment;
• feeding oxygen into the oxidation chamber at a predetermined flow rate to create an oxygen atmosphere and heating the oxidation chamber at a predetermined temperature to absorb or destroy the hydrocarbon contaminates within the vapor samples;
• passing effluent from the oxidation chamber to a chemical marker concentrator with a metal foil or metal screen suspended within an elongate conduit of chemical marker concentrator, the metal foil having a chemical coating to attract and hold the marker chemicals and being heated to periodically release the marker compound attracted on the foil with a predetermined period;
• and
• receiving the released marker chemicals at a mass spectrometer (MS) ion trap to analyze for the presence of the marker chemicals by measuring for their molecular weight for each chemical marker output an leakage analysis result.