Auto-calibrating, Air Quality Monitoring System

自动校准、空气质量监测系统 项目摘要：2021年，美国化学制造业大约有52.9万名工人， 以及226,840名美国石油和天然气行业的“采掘”工人。随着最近美国石油和天然气的大幅增长 天然气行业和预期的未来增长，工人暴露在有害水平的石化产品中的情况正在增长 而且很可能还会增加。从2003-2015年间，该行业报告了148起因接触“化学品”而造成的致命伤害 和化学产品。长期暴露的影响没有得到很好的跟踪。在第一阶段SBIR海岸 Science，Inc.建议开发一种全自动化系统，以支持对室内空气质量(IAQ)的监测 工作场所。拟议的监视器结合了一个低成本的检测器、双捕集和净化收集器，以及 气相色谱的分离和分辨能力：(1)采集和分析其即刻的空气 环境，(2)向工业卫生员提供无线联网数据，以跟踪工作场所的暴露情况，(3) 通过在空气样本采集、分析和分析之间自动循环，降低每个样本的分析成本 无需用户干预即可进行校准。远程可编程性将提供无人值守操作。 在这一阶段中，我们将制作一个分析器的原型，目标是职业危害，如苯，至少10倍 低于OSHA行动水平(超过8小时TWA的0.5ppm)，用于石化行业。然而，该系统将是 模块化，允许未来在其他空气监测市场进行定制。海岸将整合行业标准 热解吸(TD)管，选自NIOSH和OSHA取样和分析方法 适用于石化危险的材料，转化为无烤箱电阻加热的迷你GC系统。这个 系统将在试管之间循环，以提供不间断的监测，其中采样和分析发生在 并行，提高数据吞吐量。我们将选择一种色谱柱，专门用于高分辨率 苯系物(苯、甲苯、乙苯和二甲苯)和类似职业危害的分离 在石油化工行业周围，来自干扰化合物。一种高灵敏度的化学探测器- 光电离(PID)-由于其对碳氢化合物高度敏感以及对湿度和二氧化碳不敏感而被选中。 该系统的一个主要特点是开发了自动校准和系统清洗验证。 子系统和协议将使用带有专用样本环路的创新歧管进行集成，以实现 该系统可自校正探测器漂移并检测杂质。与之相比，该系统将是便宜的。 与常规实验室分析仪器(如GC/MS)连接，便于携带，便于安装。在7500美元以下， 系统在整个轮班期间提供数据的能力，使每个样本的成本比 传统的样本采集方法。在这个价格下，空气质量调查人员可以每小时或每天查看一次 数据，而不是每周或每月的数据。海岸公司将与马克国际公司合作验证这一阶段 我使用他们的分析实验室制作原型，并与维京咨询公司一起验证市场并制定协议。

Auto-calibrating, Air Quality Monitoring System Project Summary: In 2021 there were roughly 529,000 workers in the US chemical manufacturing industries, and 226,840 “Extraction” workers in the U.S. oil & gas industry. With massive recent growth of the U.S. oil and gas industries and anticipated future growth, worker exposures, to harmful levels of petrochemicals, are growing and likely will increase. From 2003-2015, this industry reported 148 fatal injuries from exposures to “chemicals and chemical products.” The effects of long-term exposure are not well tracked. In this Phase I SBIR Seacoast Science, Inc. proposes to develop a fully automated system to support monitoring of indoor air quality (IAQ) in the workplace. The proposed monitor combines a low-cost detector, twin trap-and-purge collectors, and the separation and resolving power of gas chromatography to (1) collect and analyze air in its immediate environment, (2) provide wirelessly networked data to industrial hygienists to track workplace exposure, (3) reduce the per-sample analytical costs by automatically cycling between air sample collection, analysis, and calibration, without user intervention. Remote programmability will provide unattended operation. In this Phase I we will prototype an analyzer targeting occupational hazards such as benzene at least 10x below OSHA action level (0.5ppm over 8-hr TWA) for the petrochemical industry. However, the system will be modular, allowing for future customization other air-monitoring markets. Seacoast will integrate industry standard thermal desorption (TD) tubes, selected from NIOSH and OSHA sampling and analytical methods with appropriate materials for petrochemical hazards, into an oven-less resistively heated Mini GC system. The system will cycle between tubes to provide uninterrupted monitoring, where sampling and analysis occurs in parallel, increasing data throughput. We will select a chromatography column, specifically for high resolution separation of BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene), and similar occupational hazards in and around petrochemical industries, from interfering compounds. A high-sensitivity chemical detector – photoionization (PID) – is selected for its high sensitivity to hydrocarbons and insensitivity to humidity and CO2. A key feature of the proposed system is the development of auto-calibration and system purge validation. Sub-systems and protocols will be integrated using an innovative manifold with dedicated sample loop to allow the system to self-correct for detector drift and to detect impurities. The system will be inexpensive compared to common in-laboratory analytical instruments (e. g. GC/MS), and portable for easy setup. At under $7,500, the system's ability to provide data throughout a work shift, allows for a much lower cost per sample than the traditional means of sample collection. At this price, air quality investigators can have an hourly or daily stream of data, rather than weekly or monthly data. Seacoast will work with Markes International to validate the Phase I prototype using their analytical labs, and with Viking Consultants to validate the market and develop protocols.