High-accuracy sinewave-scanned direct absorption spectroscopy

Multiwavelength Speciation in Pyrolysis of n-Pentane and Experimental Determination of the Rate Coefficient of nC5H12 = nC3H7 + C2H5 in a Shock Tube

We report the application of a multiwavelength speciation strategy to the study of n-pentane (nC₅H₁₂) pyrolysis behind reflected shock waves in a shock tube. Experiments were conducted with 2% nC₅H₁₂/0.8%CO₂/Ar (by mole) between 1150 and 1520 K in the pressure range of 1-2 atm. Utilization of laser absorption spectroscopy at eight wavelengths allowed time-resolved measurements of n-pentane, ethylene, methane, heavy alkenes, and temperature. The measured time histories were compared against the predictions of four recently developed chemical kinetic models for heavy hydrocarbons. It was found that none of the models reconciled the measured species time histories simultaneously. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to identify key reactions influencing the evolution of ethylene and other major pyrolysis products. The analysis revealed that the unimolecular decomposition of n-pentane into n-propyl and ethyl radicals has a dominating influence over the evolution of ethylene in the temperature range of 1150-1450 K. The rate coefficient of this reaction was then adjusted to match the measured ethylene time histories for each experiment. The rate coefficients thus determined, were fit against temperature using an Arrhenius expression given by k₁(T) = 3.5 × 10¹⁴ exp(-67.2 kcal/RT) s^-1. The average overall 2σ uncertainty of the measured rate coefficient was found to be ±35%, resulting primarily from uncertainties in the rate coefficients of secondary reactions. The measured rate coefficient, when used with the models, leads to a significant improvement in the prediction of species time histories. Further improvements in the model are possible if the rate coefficients of relevant reactions pertaining to small hydrocarbon chemistry are determined with an improved accuracy, and less uncertainty. To the best knowledge of the authors, this is the first experimental determination of the rate coefficient of C₅H₁₂ → nC₃H₇ + C₂H_5.

A Width Measurement Method of Line Shape Based on Second Harmonic Peak and Modulation Amplitude

The line width of different line shapes is a very important parameter in absorption spectroscopy sensing techniques. Based on the high sensitivity and low noise properties of wavelength modulation spectroscopy, we report a novel line width measurement method. After theoretically proving the relationship between line width, modulation amplitude and the amplitude of the second harmonic at the center frequency, the absorption lines of CH₄ near 6046.96 cm^-1 and CO₂ 4989.97 cm^-1 were chosen for simulation, and the relative errors of the line width between our method and theoretical data were kept at about 1%. A distributed feedback laser diode operating near 1653 nm with three different concentrations of CH₄ was used for experimental validation, and the results were consistent with the numerical simulation. Additionally, since only the peaks of second harmonic need to be measured, the advantages of wavelength modulation can be utilized while reducing the difficulty of data acquisition.

Review on recent progress in on-line monitoring technology for atmospheric pollution source emissions in China

Emissions from mobile sources and stationary sources contribute to atmospheric pollution in China, and its components, which include ultrafine particles (UFPs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and other reactive gases, such as NH₃ and NO_x, are the most harmful to human health. China has released various regulations and standards to address pollution from mobile and stationary sources. Thus, it is urgent to develop online monitoring technology for atmospheric pollution source emissions. This study provides an overview of the main progress in mobile and stationary source monitoring technology in China and describes the comprehensive application of some typical instruments in vital areas in recent years. These instruments have been applied to monitor emissions from motor vehicles, ships, airports, the chemical industry, and electric power generation. Not only has the level of atmospheric environment monitoring technology and equipment been improving, but relevant regulations and standards have also been constantly updated. Meanwhile, the developed instruments can provide scientific assistance for the successful implementation of regulations. According to the potential problem areas in atmospheric pollution in China, some research hotspots and future trends of atmospheric online monitoring technology are summarized. Furthermore, more advanced atmospheric online monitoring technology will contribute to a comprehensive understanding of atmospheric pollution and improve environmental monitoring capacity.

Solving the overlapped absorbance profile in gas detection by Lorentz distribution solution based on direct absorption spectroscopy method

A novel method of Lorentz distribution solution (LDS) from overlapped absorbance profile in time domain (incomplete absorbance profile in frequency domain) based on the direct absorption spectroscopy method (DAS) was experimentally demonstrated. It utilized the ratio of the integral in a certain interval on the lower horizontal axis of the Lorentzian profile to the integral in the entire interval on the horizontal axis has a certain relationship and can be expressed by a formula. This method effectively solves the difficulties of extracting gas concentration from incomplete absorbance profile. Formulation and detection procedure were presented, experiments were carried out to prove the method on the extraction of gas concentration from different overlapped absorbance profile and different concentration. Compared with the conventional DAS (C-DAS), the maximum relative errors on the concentration extraction are minimized from 25.55% to 2.64% at different concentration and absorbance profile. Meanwhile, the experimental results show that the obtained gas concentration by LDS presents a good linear relationship while those measured by C-DAS are significantly different.

A Fourier-domain-based line shape recovery method used in direct absorption spectroscopy

A novel absorption line shape recovery method with self-calibration function and ultra-easy implementation was introduced to direct absorption spectroscopy (DAS) in this study. The self-calibration function empowered the DAS system with the immunity to the laser power fluctuations. The ultra-easy implementation was achieved in that the DAS system was substantially simplified with a single-path DAS rather than the traditional dual-path differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS), and the absorption profile can be directly recovered by an analog or digital filter instead of complex fitting algorithm or sophisticated balance detection circuits. The reliability and self-calibration characteristic of the new method were validated using CH₄ transition at 1653.72 nm, where the line strength is 1.45×10^-21cm/molec. The Voigt fitting residual and signal to noise ratio were optimized in detail and compared with the DOAS.

Recovery integral absorbance method in the full concentration range to eliminate the interference of background gas

At present, gas sensors are extremely susceptible to interference from background gases in the field environment, which leads to greatly reduced accuracy. For this reason, we propose an improved method of recovering integral absorbance (IA) using Y component of first harmonic to achieve accurate prediction of the full range of concentration (not reaching absorption saturation). This approach can eliminate the interference of background gas at a low modulation depth (m < 0.25). When the background gas is pure nitrogen and a mixture of nitrogen and carbon dioxide, the recovery effect of this method on methane is both close to the theoretical value when the background gas is air. The linear fitting coefficients for the methane concentration range of 2000-7000 ppm are all greater than 0.999. The prediction effect is satisfactory regardless of the background gas, with a relative error of less than 1%. In summary, this method has considerable application prospects.

Detection Limit of CO Concentration Measurement in LPG/Air Flame Flue Gas Using Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy

In a combustion reaction of hydrocarbon fuel, carbon monoxide (CO) is a gas species that is closely related to air pollution generation and combustion efficiency. It has a trade-off with nitrogen oxide and increases rapidly in case of incomplete combustion or in fuel-rich (Φ > 1) environments. Therefore, it is essential to measure CO concentration in order to optimize the combustion condition. In the case of a steel annealing system, the combustion environment is maintained in a deoxidation atmosphere to prevent the formation of an oxide layer on the steel sheet surface. However, it is difficult to measure the CO concentration in a combustion furnace in real-time because of the harsh environment in the furnace. Tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy, which has the advantages of non-invasiveness, fast response, and in situ measurement-based optical measurement, is highly attractive for measuring the concentration of a certain gas species in a combustion environment. In this study, a combustion system of a partially premixed flamed burner was designed to control the equivalence ratio for fuel-rich conditions. CO concentration was measured using a distributed feedback laser with a wavenumber of 4300.7 cm−1 in the mid-infrared region. The results showed that the CO concentration measured at an equivalence ratio of 1.15 to 1.50 was 0.495% to 6.139%. The detection limit in the combustion environment was analyzed at a path length of 190 cm and an internal temperature of 733 K. The ranges of the peak absorbance were derived as 0.064 and 0.787, which were within the theoretical bounds of 10−3 and 0.80 when the equivalence ratio was varied from 1.15 to 1.50.

Miniaturised Infrared Spectrophotometer for Low Power Consumption Multi-Gas Sensing

Concept, design and practical implementation of a miniaturized spectrophotometer, utilized as a mid-infrared-based multi gas sensor is described. The sensor covers an infrared absorption wavelength range of 2.9 to 4.8 um, providing detection capabilities for carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide, sulphur dioxide, ammonia and methane. A lead selenide photo-detector array and customized MEMS-based micro-hotplate are used as the detector and broadband infrared source, respectively. The spectrophotometer optics are based on an injection moulded Schwarzschild configuration incorporating optical pass band filters for the spectral discrimination. This work explores the effects of using both fixed-line pass band and linear variable optical filters. We report the effectiveness of this low-power-consumption miniaturized spectrophotometer as a stand-alone single and multi-gas sensor, usage of a distinct reference channel during gas measurements, development of ideal optical filters and spectral control of the source and detector. Results also demonstrate the use of short-time pulsed inputs as an effective and efficient way of operating the sensor in a low-power-consumption mode. We describe performance of the spectrometer as a multi-gas sensor, optimizing individual component performances, power consumption, temperature sensitivity and gas properties using modelling and customized experimental procedures.

A high-accurate and universal method to characterize the relative wavelength response (RWR) in wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS)

Considering the importance of the laser wavelength response and the difficulty in its real-scenario measurement in WMS, a high-accuracy and universal method was developed to characterize the relative wavelength response (RWR) by analyzing the laser current response. A coupling term that depends on both the current scan and the modulation characteristic was introduced to describe the coupling effect between the wavelength scan and modulation. The accuracy of the proposed method was verified with different laser working conditions and scan waveforms. All fitting residuals of the RWR result from the proposed method are smaller than 0.1% of the total scan range and the fitting residual of the ramp scanned WMS is twice smaller than the minimum value from literature. The better calibration-free 2f/1f fitting and more accurate CO₂ concentration results also suggest the high accuracy and superiority of the proposed method. Finally, based on the precise prediction of RWR with small scan and modulation indices, the spectral parameters, including line strength and self-collisional broadening coefficient, of CO₂ transition at 6976.2026 cm^-1 were successfully measured using WMS.

Highly Sensitive, Calibration-Free WM-DAS Method for Recovering Absorbance-Part I: Theoretical Analysis

The absorbance is of great importance in the tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) as it contains information of both gas properties and spectroscopic parameters. A novel, calibration-free wavelength modulation-direct absorption spectroscopy (WM-DAS) is proposed and experimentally verified in this two-part paper. This method combines the capability of absorbance measurement from DAS and the advantages of enhanced noise rejection and high sensitivity from WMS. In this Part I, we focus on the full theoretical basis and procedures of this method from the following three aspects: the high-accuracy characterizations of laser frequency and intensity, noise rejection ability by extracting the characteristic spectra through the fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the light intensity, and the simultaneous fitting strategy for both baseline and absorbance. The preliminary validation experiment of CO transition at 4300.6999 cm-1 in a static gas cell shows the high accuracy of the proposed method.

Highly Sensitive, Calibration-Free WM-DAS Method for Recovering Absorbance-Part II: Experimental Analysis

Following the theoretical work in Part I, in this experimental study, the robustness, temporal resolution, and the narrow scan performance of the proposed wavelength modulation-direct absorption spectroscopy (WM-DAS) method are experimentally validated in a high-temperature tube furnace. The electromagnetic and other random-frequency noises can be effectively eliminated by extracting the characteristic spectra of the light intensity. The performance of WM-DAS with modulation frequencies from 0.1 to 100 kHz and scan indexes from 3.3 to 11.1 are also investigated at atmospheric pressure. The proposed method produces accurate line profile and high SNR over 500 consistently even with a weak absorption. As for real applications, the spectral line parameters of CO at 4300.6999 cm-1 including the collisional broadening, Dicke narrowing, and their dependence on temperature are measured. Furthermore, the high-speed measurement (1 ms) of the temperature and CO concentration of a McKenna flat flame are demonstrated.

A Wide-Range and Calibration-Free Spectrometer Which Combines Wavelength Modulation and Direct Absorption Spectroscopy with Cavity Ringdown Spectroscopy

A wide-range, calibration-free tunable diode laser spectrometer is established by combining wavelength modulation and direct absorption spectroscopy (WM-DAS) with continuous wave cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CW-CRDS). This spectrometer combines the benefits of absolute concentration measurements, wide range, and high speed, using WM-DAS with enhanced noise reduction in CW-CRDS. The accurate baseline ringdown time, τ0, is calculated by the absorption peak (measured by WM-DAS) and the ringdown time containing gas absorption information (measured by CW-CRDS at the center wavelength of the spectral line). The gas concentration is obtained without measuring τ0 in real time, thus, greatly improving the measuring speed. A WM-DAS/CW-CRDS spectrometer at 1.57 μm for CO detection was assembled for experimental validation of the multiplexing scheme over a concentration ranging from 4 ppm to 1.09% (0.1 MPa, 298 K). The measured concentration of CO at 6374.406 cm-1 shows that the dynamic range of this tunable diode laser absorption spectrometer is extendable up to five orders of magnitude and the corresponding precision is improved. The measurement speed of this spectrometer can extend up to 10 ms, and the detection limit can reach 35 ppb within 25 s.

Simultaneous and interference-free measurements of temperature and C2H4 concentration using a single tunable diode laser at 1.62 µm

In the tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy-based diagnostics, the absorption of the measured target species may be influenced by the interference absorption from other vapor-phase species and the extinction from particles and liquid droplets, especially at high temperatures and pressures. Here, we report the first application (to our knowledge) of a differential absorption diagnostic for interference-free, simultaneous measurement of temperature and ethylene concentration using a single distributed-feedback diode laser near 1.62 μm. According to the detailed study of the C₂H₄ spectra in this region, two wavelength pairs are chosen to measure the temperature based on six selection criteria. C₂H₄ concentration is measured by one of the selected wavelength pairs with higher differential absorption. To validate the developed system, experiments are performed in a well-controlled heated static cell at a range of temperatures (300-900 K) and pressures (1-6 atm). The measurement accuracies for temperature and ethylene concentration are 1.83% and 1.65%, respectively, over the considered ranges. The precision, stability, and detection limit are also analyzed to validate the system's performance. This system can potentially be applied in a variety of combustion applications.