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U.S. Department of Energy
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On-line elemental analysis of fossil fuel process streams by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry

Conference ·
OSTI ID:426261
METC is continuing development of a real-time, multi-element plasma based spectrometer system for application to high temperature and high pressure fossil fuel process streams. Two versions are under consideration for development. One is an Inductively Coupled Plasma system that has been described previously, and the other is a high power microwave system. The ICP torch operates on a mixture of argon and helium with a conventional annular swirl flow plasma gas, no auxiliary gas, and a conventional sample stream injection through the base of the plasma plume. A new, demountable torch design comprising three ceramic sections allows bolts passing the length of the torch to compress a double O-ring seal. This improves the reliability of the torch. The microwave system will use the same data acquisition and reduction components as the ICP system; only the plasma source itself is different. It will operate with a 750-Watt, 2.45 gigahertz microwave generator. The plasma discharge will be contained within a narrow quartz tube one quarter wavelength from a shorted waveguide termination. The plasma source will be observed via fiber optics and a battery of computer controlled monochromators. To extract more information from the raw spectral data, a neural net computer program is being developed. This program will calculate analyte concentrations from data that includes analyte and interferant spectral emission intensity. Matrix effects and spectral overlaps can be treated more effectively by this method than by conventional spectral analysis.
Research Organization:
USDOE Morgantown Energy Technology Center, WV (United States)
OSTI ID:
426261
Report Number(s):
DOE/METC--95/1018-Vol.2; CONF-9506162--Vol.2; ON: DE95009733
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English