SBIR Phase I: A Real Time, High Sensitivity Atmospheric Benzene Vapor Monitor

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This Small Business Innovation Research (BSIR) Phase I project will address the need for a trace benzene vapor sensor for ambient air. Benzene is a carcinogen and significant Mobile Source Air Toxic (MSAT) released during incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, and is commonly emitted from motor vehicles and many industrial sites. Entanglement Technologies proposes to determine the feasibility of developing a benzene vapor sensor with sensitivity better than 100 pptv in 30 minutes based on the combination of cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) and diffusion time-of-flight (DiTOF). This combination allows the use of the extremely sensitive CRDS technique to detect large molecules that cannot be distinguished spectrally using CRDS alone. The Phase I project will develop a prototype detector to evaluate and demonstrate the critical technologies. The broader/commercial impacts of this research are the development of a sensor with the ability to detect benzene and map its dispersal into the environment. This will directly impact health hazard mitigation, liability exposure reduction, and reduced regulatory compliance costs in numerous industries. The improved sensitivity and reduced cost of the sensor indicate strong market demand for the sensor. The technology platform will be readily extended to a wide variety of other air toxics including toluene, ethyl-benzene, and xylenes. In the long term, this technology will be applied to biomedical science, industrial process monitoring, environmental remediation and explosives detection. Diffusion-based selectivity will allow separation and quantification of the many hydrocarbon gas components in human breath, that are useful for non-invasive diagnosis of disease.