Raman spectroscopy for on-line, trace-level selenium analysis

The proposed Phase I SBIR Project will demonstrate the feasibility of using Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) online, real-time monitoring of selenium in coal-fired power plant waste water- As an innovator in advanced chemical analysis, OndaVia is positioned to be the provider of choice for companies demanding fast, accurate water testing- The OndaVia analysis system consists of patent- pending cartridges onto which a few micro-liters of solution are placed- The cartridges are inserted into an instrument that scans the sample to determine contaminant concentrations- Results are presented simply to the user—with calibration-free analysis performed over a wide contaminant range- The specific Phase I goal is to demonstrate the feasibility of converting our innovative technology into an online, autonomous selenium analysis platform- This feasibility demonstration will enable Phase II prototype development ready for deployment at customer sites- OndaVia’s technology has already been proven for the measurement of selenium in coal-fired power plant waste water with 5-ppb detection limits- Our auto-calibrating, modular system overcomes the challenges faced by other on-line systems using an optical method coupled with an internal standard to determine selenium concentration- With the further capability to speciate selenium, and future potential to measure arsenic and nitrate with the sample platform, OndaVia’s approach will address the needs of the coal power industry in the years to come-This proposal targets 20C - Novel Concepts for Online, Real-time Monitoring of Liquid Phase Selenium in Pulverized Coal Power Plant Wastewaters-