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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

A laser-based technique to continuously monitor metal aerosol emissions

Conference ·
OSTI ID:10154213
; ; ; ; ;  [1]
  1. INSITEC Measurement Systems, Inc., San Ramon, CA (United States)
Sandia National Laboratories is developing an instrument to continuously monitor metal aerosol emissions. Applications for this monitor range from industrial process vents (e.g., exhaust stacks from electroplating baths) to waste treatment processes (incinerators), to boilers and industrial furnaces (coal-fired power plants). The monitoring technique is based on Laser Spark Spectroscopy (LASS; also known as Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy -- LIBS), in which a pulsed laser is used to rapidly heat a particle and produce a plasma (or laser ``spark``). The light emission from the spark is spectrally resolved and analyzed to identify the elemental constituents of the particle and quantify the abundance of the measured species. One feature of LASS is that it can measure atomic species embedded in either solid particles or fine liquid droplets, which account for a large percentage of metal emissions from applications of interest. Presented here are a description of the technique and initial results from laboratory simulations to determine sensitivity and to establish calibration procedures. Our project is currently focused on measuring chromium emissions from electroplating baths. This work forms the basis for future applications to incineration and fossil power plants since chromium is one of the more toxic metals under regulation by the Clean Air Act.
Research Organization:
Sandia National Labs., Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-76DR00789
OSTI ID:
10154213
Report Number(s):
SAND--93-8558C; CONF-9305183--1; ON: DE93012836
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English