Simon is a Postdoctoral Researcher within the Energy and Emissions Research Laboratory, where his work focuses on developing and applying technologies to measure and quantify methane emissions from the upstream oil and gas sector and other industrial sources. His doctoral research centred on the development of an optical sensor, “VentX,” capable of simultaneously measuring methane volume fraction and flow rate. This technology has been deployed at multiple production sites in Alberta and Saskatchewan to quantify emissions from casing gas and storage tank vents.
More recently, Simon has led the development of drone-based measurement techniques to detect and quantify methane emissions across a range of sources, including oil and gas infrastructure, landfills, and wastewater treatment facilities. He has also contributed to the development of drone-based methods for assessing natural gas flaring combustion efficiency.
In addition to his technical work, Simon plays a key role in planning and leading field measurement campaigns and supports students in the design and construction of experimental equipment. Prior to joining EERL, Simon completed his Bachelor of Engineering at McGill University.
Read more: Researcher Spotlight – Simon Festa-Bianchet – The Energy and Emissions Research Lab (carleton.ca)
Peer-Reviewed Journal Publications
- S.A. Festa-Bianchet, D.R. Tyner, S.P. Seymour, M.R. Johnson (2023) Methane Venting at Cold Heavy Oil Production with Sand (CHOPS) Facilities Is Significantly Underreported and Led by High-Emitting Wells with Low or Negative Value, Environmental Science & Technology, in press (doi: 10.1021/acs.est.2c06255)
- S.P. Seymour, S.A. Festa-Bianchet, D.R. Tyner, M.R. Johnson (2022) Reduction of Signal Drift in a Wavelength Modulation Spectroscopy-based Methane Flux Sensor, Sensors, 22(16):6139 (doi: 10.3390/s22166139)
- S.A. Festa-Bianchet, S.P. Seymour, D.R. Tyner, M.R. Johnson (2022) A Wavelength Modulation Spectroscopy-Based Methane Flux Sensor for Quantification of Venting Sources at Oil and Gas Sites, Sensors, 22(11), 4175 (doi: 10.3390/s22114175)