Advanced Infrared Spectroscopy for Improved Characterizationof Chemical Systems

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This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is in the general area of analytical and surface chemistry and in the subfield of process analytical instrumentation. The goal of this research is to demonstrate the feasibility of a rugged, relatively inexpensive, sensitive and versatile detector for the simultaneous on-line analysis of compositions, concentrations, and temperatures of gases and particles in process streams. This instrument is based on Phase Sensitive Fourier Transform (PS-FT) spectroscopy, and it will be designed to (1) substantially reduce the noise in measurements of hot streams that are turbulent, inhomogeneous, or contain particles, (2) increase the limits of detection in a noise-free environment, and (3) provide a sensitive method of performing spatially resolved measurements. PS-FT will expand the capabilities of Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) Emission and Transmission (E/T) spectroscopy which is a technique that has been developed and patented by Advanced Fuel Research, Inc. This Phase I project will demonstrate the capabilities of PS-FTIR. The technique will be implemented by modifying a commercial FT-IR and will demonstrate the reduction of noise from detectors, the rejection of noise from sample streams, and the application of a crossed beam technique for obtaining spatially resolved data. Modern chemical analysis of process streams requires increasingly sophisticated methods to understand complex chemical processes. Often, many variables must be measured simultaneously, in-situ, and at the lower limits of detectability. While many techniques are available as in-situ diagnostics, in general they only measure one property, so that several instruments are required to analyze the stream. This Phase I research will demonstrate the feasibility of enhancing the sensitivity and spatial resolution of FT-IR while retaining its broad spectral bandwidth. The successful development of this instrument as planned would have both a technological and a cost advantage over combinations of diagnostics currently available.