IMPROVED POLLUTION CONTROL USING RAMAN SCATTERING GAS ANALYSIS

REAL TIME ON-LINE ANALYSIS OF STACK GASSES IS NECESSARY TO MONITOR EFFLUENTS AND TO PERMIT FEEDBACK CONTROL OF COMBUSTION PROCESS AND DOWN STREAM SCRUBBER SYSTEMS. MULTIMEDIA POLLUTION ANALYSIS REQUIRES MULTIPLE SENSOR TECHNOLOGY WITH PRESENT COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE INSTRUMENTATION. CURRENTLY, COMPLEX ANALYTICAL SYSTEMS MUSTBE ASSEMBLED THAT ARE EXPENSIVE, PRONE TO DRIFT, AND DIFFICULT TO OPERATE AND MAINTAIN. THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP A COST EFFECTIVE, ACCURATE AND STABLE SENSOR USING SINGLE TECHNOLOGY TO MEASURE MULTIMEDIA POLLUTANTS OF INTEREST TODAY AND READILY RE-CONFIGURABLE FOR FUTURE EMISSION MONITORING REQUIREMENTS. THE ABILITY OF RAMAN LIGHT SCATTERING SPECTROSCOPY TO ANALYZE A WIDE SPECTRUM OF GAS MOLECULES AFFORDS A TREMENDOUS CONSOLIDATION OF INSTRUMENTATION. THE RAMAN SPECTRA AND NORMALIZED CROSS SECTIONS OF GASES OF INTEREST WILL BE DETERMINED. A BENCH RAMAN PROTOTYPE WILL BE BUILT TO SIMULTANEOUSLY MONITOR THE GASSES OF INTEREST WITH A CATHODE RAY TUBE DISPLAY, AND DIGITAL AND ANALOG OUTPUTS TO FACILITATE CONTROL AND RECORDING OF EMISSIONS. THIS PROTOTYPE WILL EVENTUALLY PAVE THE WAY FOR A CENTRALLY INSTALLED ANALYZER TO MONITOR MULTIPLE STACKS ON A MULTIPLEXED BASIS. THE FOCUS OF PHASE II IS DEVELOPING AN INDUSTRIALLY HARDENED SYSTEM, REDUCE COSTS AND EXTEND LIFE OF THE LASER.