OF EMISSION GAS STREAMS

THE ECONOMIC USEFULNESS AND THE RANGE OF INFOMATION THAT CANBE OBTAINED FORM ON-LINE INFRARED GAS ANALYSIS IS LIMITED SINCE A COMPLEX AND UNRELIABLE EXTRACTIVE SAMPLING SYSTEM ORA DEDICATED SPECTROMETER IS NEEDED AT EACH SENSING POINT IN THE PROCESS. THIS PROGRAM INTENDS TO DEMOSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF TRANSMITTING THE IR SPECTRAL INFORMATION VIA OPTICAL FIBERS DRAWN FROM NEW MATERIALS--HEAVY METAL FLURIDEGLASSES (HMFG)--UNDER DEVELOPMENT BY THE TELECOMMUNIVATIONS LINKS. THESE HMFG FIBERS EXHIBIT LOW LOSSES IN THE 1 TO 6 MM WAVELENGTHS, WHICH COVER MOST MOLECULES OF INTEREST FOR EMMISSIONS MONITORING PURPOSES. SUCH A TRANSMITTING LINK WOULD ALLOW A NUMBER OF INSITU GAS SENSORS TO BE REMOTELY CONNECTED TO A SINGLE CENTRALLY LOCATED SPECTROMETER THUS PROVIDING MORE RELIABLE EMISSIONS DATA AT SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER COST. THE OPTICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF THESE FIBERS WILL BE MEASURED AND EVALUATED AGAINST BENCHMARKS DETERMINED FOR PHASE I. A PROTOTYPE FIBERS WILL BE MEASURED AND EVALUATED AGAINST BENCHMARKS DETERMINED FOR PHASE I. A PROTOTYPE FIBEROPTIC TRANSMISSION LINK WILL BE DESIGNED, FABRICATED, AND T TESTED USING AN ACTUAL IN-SITU GAS SENSOR AND ITS COMPANION IR GAS ANALYZER. THE PHASE I PROGRAM WILL CONCLUSIVELY DEMONSTRATE WHETHER IR FIBER OPTIC TRANSMISSION LINKS ARE TECHNICALLY AND ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE FOR IR ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY EMISSIONS MONITORING SYSTEMS.