Drones : A futuristic application in the Chemical Industry

Read the earlier 2 posts on Drones here and more : 

Another futuristic application of drones that I envisage is using them as an advanced warning system about the safety and health of the plant as a whole. Every chemical plant has fugitive emissions from hundreds of components: flange gaskets, pump seals, valve packing etc. These fugitive emissions constitute a unique “chemical signature” of the plant. A sudden spike in the fugitive emissions can be used as an alert to a possible malfunction and preventive intervention before things go out of hand. This would require fitting drones with sophisticated sensors which can sniff out chemicals in trace concentrations. Such sensors, for example Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, are already becoming available and the technology is poised for further improvement. Drones would obviate the need to fit multiple sensors at many locations and make data collection simple and inexpensive. Such drones can also be deployed to keep tabs on illicit production of chemical weapons and enforce CWC.