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EUROSTARS-EUROSTARS

E!11040 SOMMA Sensor Optical Multi-purpose Mid-IR Applications

Alternative title: E!11040 SOMMA Optisk multifunksjons-sensor applikasjoner for mellom infra-rødt

Awarded: NOK 1.5 mill.

Project Number:

271777

Project Period:

2017 - 2020

Funding received from:

Partner countries:

In recent years, the negative effect of so-called greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) on global climate has become evident and is reported regularly in the news. Lesser known is that some gases, especially perfluorocarbons (PFCs), have a much higher potential to contribute to the greenhouse effect, however, their abundance in ambient air is in general much lower than that of CO2, CH4, and N2O, so they are not in the focus of daily news. The aluminum smelting process is one of the largest anthropogenic contributors to atmospheric PFCs and discussions about regulating emissions have initiated the investigation of suitable monitoring solutions. Using tunable diode lasers to perform spectroscopic measurements of gas concentrations has become a well-established and mature technology. The technique allows measuring emissions of many gases in a variety of industrial applications directly in the process or on-stack without the necessity of complex sampling systems. This success has led to the aluminum industry's interest in evaluating a similar technology for in-situ CF4 monitoring. Initial tests have proven the feasibility, however, a cross-interference with CH4 was observed. Within the SOMMA project, the ambition was to develop a new laser source (a so called QCL-XT) tailored for the interference-free measurement of CF4 by applying a new method for removing interference with other gases in the process. The new laser source is based on so-called quantum cascade laser technology and emits laser light in the mid-infrared spectral region, where almost all gases have their strongest absorption lines and, thus, highest sensitivities can be achieved. NEO Monitors has design and developed a set of electronics boards dedicated to drive a QCL-XT laser device. The electronics comprises a special laser driver (with the capability to provide different currents to the respective sections of the QCL-XT), a temperature controller able to stabilize the laser temperature to a given value (even if the current levels are varying during switching between the different sections), receiver electronics (pre-amplifier and mixer), and a mainboard that is controlling all the other boards, performs the signal processing and the communication to an attached computer. All boards were manufactured and tested with respect to functionality and performance. Project partner Alpes Lasers delivered a prototype of a QCL-XT to NEO Monitors. The laser has three wavelength clusters, that means, the wavelength can 'jump' between three different wavelength regions depending on driving conditions (laser temperature and laser current). The laser was integrated with the new electronics, some optics (lenses and gas cell) and a detector into a laboratory setup. The gas cell was filled with methane and tetrafluoromethane. The position of absorption lines were used to identify the respective wavelength for different driving conditions. In this way, it was possible to successfully demonstrate that the different wavelength clusters can be addressed in a controlled way enabling the possibility to measure several gases with the same laser device and potentially reduce cross-interference.

NEO Monitors developed new competence in signal processing of overlapping spectra as well as competence in driving and controlling a quantum cascade laser with extended tuning. The development has the potential to be used in a new product for improved emission monitoring of perfluorocarbons, strong greenhouse gases.

The SOMMA project has the scope to develop a multipurpose sensing platform based on laser sources with an extended tuning range in the mid-infrared spectral region(3 µm to 12 µm). These so-called QCL-XTs will be developed by Alpes Lasers (Switzerland). The enhanced tunability of these sources will enable the detection of substances in liquid phase, such as contaminations in jet-fuel, as well as multi-gas sensing, such as continuous tetrafluoromethane (CF4) measurements in presence of methane (CH4), water vapor (H2O), and nitrous oxide (N2O). These two applications will be developed in collaboration with two industrial partners: NEO Monitors AS (Norway) and Quantared (Austria). Both developed sensing systems will analyze concentration measurements autonomously and continuously. The end user will be presented with simple information on contamination concentration as a function of time. Due to its low maintenance, ease of use and the abundance of sample preparation, the end user can significantly reduce the total cost of ownership.

Funding scheme:

EUROSTARS-EUROSTARS