SBIR Phase I: Compact analyzer for trace ammonia in air

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目将产生一种高度小型化的痕量气体分析仪，可用于排放监测和工业安全应用。这项计划中的工作是为了检测空气中的氨。氨一旦释放到空气中，就会形成细颗粒物，通过影响云的形成来影响气候，并与心脏和呼吸系统疾病有关。预计氨的检测下限在十亿分之一到十分之十之间。这项拟议的技术如果成功，将导致商业化的氨分析器，可以放在衬衫口袋里。计划中的为期六个月的第一阶段项目将确定限制测量灵敏度的技术因素，确定分析仪性能随样品压力的变化，并将氨的结果外推到其他具有环境、工业和生物医学重要性的气体中。第一阶段项目将在项目期间建造的台式分析仪和已成功部署用于空气中氨的快速测量的校准良好的开路氨分析仪之间进行面对面的比较。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发新的快速、低成本和廉价的技术，用于环境监测、工业工作场所安全，可能还包括通过分析呼出的呼气进行医疗诊断。这项技术是每年2.5亿至3.5亿美元的气体传感器、探测器和分析仪市场的一部分。对空气中氨排放和痕量浓度的测量将对大气科学和公众健康产生重大影响。有人建议，减少美国东部空气中细颗粒物数量的最经济方法是控制氨排放，而不是试图限制氮和硫的氧化物。但是，提供支持数据和监测氨分布所需的高度便携、价格合理的氨分析仪还没有商业化。这项计划中的技术还可以应用于一氧化碳、二氧化碳、硫化氢、甲烷、氯化氢、一氧化氮和乙烯等化合物的检测。在石化行业的硫化氢检测方面，新技术比现有的井口和炼油厂硫化氢监测方法具有显著优势。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will lead to a highly miniaturized trace gas analyzers that are useful for emissions monitoring and industrial safety application. The planned work is motivated by a need to detect ammonia in the air. Once released into the air, ammonia forms fine particles can impact the climate by affecting cloud formation, and are linked to cardiac and respiratory illness. Anticipated ammonia detection limits are between 1 and 10 parts per billion. The proposed technology will, if successful, lead to commercial ammonia analyzers that will fit into a shirt pocket. The planned six-month-duration Phase I project will identify the technical factors limiting measurement sensitivity, determine the changes in analyzer performance with changing sample pressure, and extrapolate results for ammonia to other gases of environmental, industrial, and biomedical importance. The Phase I project will end with a head-to-head comparison between the benchtop analyzer built during the project and a well-calibrated, open-path ammonia analyzer that has been deployed successfully for rapid measurements of ammonia in air.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is the development of new rapid, low cost, and inexpensive technology for analyzing trace gases in environmental monitoring, industrial workplace safety, and, perhaps, medical diagnostics through analysis of exhaled breath. The technology is part of the $250 to $350 million dollar a year market for gas sensors, detectors, and analyzers. Measurements of ammonia emissions and trace concentrations in air will have significant impact on atmospheric science and public health. It has been suggested that the most economical way to reduce the amount of fine particles in air over the eastern United States, is to control ammonia emissions instead of trying to limit oxides of nitrogen and sulfur. But, highly-portable, reasonably-priced ammonia analyzers that are needed to provide supporting data and to monitor ammonia distributions are not yet commercially available. The planned technology can also be applied to detection of compounds including carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, methane, hydrogen chloride, nitric oxide, and ethylene. In the case of hydrogen sulfide detection for the petrochemical industry, the new technology offers significant advantages over existing methods for hydrogen sulfide monitoring at wellheads and in refineries.