Remote sensing of sulfates in a dry power plant plume: a feasibility study

Thesis/Dissertation · Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:5913295

Nevitt, T J

It is proposed that the relative abundances of acid sulfates and neutral sulfates in a power plant plume can be remotely determined by infrared backscattering spectroscopy. Assessing the feasibility of this proposed technique requires an understanding of the processes leading to sulfate particle formation in plumes, in some instances sulfuric acid droplets, a precursor to acid rain, and in others, neutral sulfates such as ammonium sulfate. In addition, the problem of predicting the infrared backscattering properties of plume particles must be formulated in terms of particle shape, composition, and size distribution. Small, irregularly shaped particles of ammonium sulfate show strong backscattering cross section resonances in the infrared. A method is developed whereby the backscattering cross sections of irregularly shaped particles are approximated by averaging over a range of electromagnetic microstates, in this instance, randomly oriented particles that are continuously distributed in ellipsoidal shape. Other particles, such as sulfuric acid droplets, show no cross section resonances in the infrared. The absence of backscattering resonances for acid sulfate particles and their occurrence for neutral sulfate particles suggest the possibility that characterize infrared backscattering spectra can be used to infer particle.

• Research Organization: Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5913295
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
ACID RAIN
FOSSIL-FUEL POWER PLANTS
PLUMES
SULFATES
REMOTE SENSING
INFRARED SPECTRA
PARTICULATES
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PARTICLES
POWER PLANTS
RAIN
SPECTRA
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
200202* - Fossil-Fueled Power Plants- Waste Management- Noxious Gas & Particulate Emissions