FOURIER TRANSFORM INFARED DIAGNOSTICS

THE PRIMARY CONTAMINANTS FROM COMBUSTION PROCESSES ARE PARTICULATES, UNBURNED HYDROCARBONS, CHLORINATED COMPOUNDS, SULFUR OXIDES, NITROGEN OXIDES, AND AMMONIA. AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF POLLUTION CONTROL STRATEGIES IS THE ABILITY TO HAVE ON-LINE MONITORING OF THE CLEANUP DEVICE. THIS ENSURES ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AS WELL AS PROPER OPERATION OF THE PLANT. RECENT WORK SHOWS THAT THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR AN FTIR-BASED FLUE GAS MONITORING SYSTEM. HOWEVER, THE SYSTEM HAS NEVER BEEN CONTINUOUSLY INSTALLED IN A FULL-SCALE PLANT ENVIRONMENT AND SUBJECTED TO RIGOROUS EVALUATION. MANY DESIGN CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS TO THE HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE SYSTEMS OF THE SPECTROMETER ARE NECESSARY BEFORE THIS IS POSSIBLE. THE PROJECT IS DEVELOPING A WORKING RESEARCH PROTOTYPE OF AN IN SITU FTIR FLUE GAS MONITOR. THE PROTOTYPE IS BEING FILED TESTED IN A FULL-SCALE POWER OR WASTE INCINERATION PLANT FOR A ONE-MONTH PERIOD. THE PROJECT ADDRESSES THE COMPLEXITIES OF A PERMANENT INSTALLATION AT A POWER PLANT OR INCINERATOR AND VALIDATION OF THE MEASUREMENT CAPABILITIES. THE RESULTANT PRODUCT IS A PROTOTYPE STACK GAS MONITORING INSTRUMENT WHICH INCLUDES THE FTIR SPECTROMETER, COUPLING OPTICS, ANALYSIS SOFTWARE, AND CONTROL SOFTWARE. THE PROJECT FOCUSES ON THE MEASUREMENT OF GAS SPECIES CONCENTRATIONS BY AN FTIR TRANSMISSION METHOD.