Innovative Open-path Tunable Diode Laser for Monitoring Hydrogen Sulfide Gas at the Fence LineAir Monitoring, Methods, and Technology
Oral Presentation
Presented by T. Kuiken
Prepared by C. Gordon1, T. Kuiken1, P. Kluczynski2, J. Bovee3, D. Gamiles4
1 - M&C TechGroup North America, 6019 Olivas Park Dr Suite G, Ventura, California, 93003, United States
2 - Airoptic, UI Rubiez 46 B, 61-612, , Poznan, Poland
3 - Bay Area Air Quality Management District, 375 Beale Street, Suite 600, , San Francisco, United States
4 - Argos Scientific, Inc., 3620 SE Sunrise Drive, , Camas, United States
Contact Information: cliff.gordon@mc-techgroup.com; 805-654-6970
ABSTRACT
The use of open-path fence-line air monitoring systems are becoming an attractive alternative to traditional point sampling devices for identifying emissions associated large scale pollution sources. However, critical gaps remain in the utility of this approach as gases such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S) have been difficult to detect employing open-path systems at concentrations measured by other methods. The paper presents the results of an evaluation of a new open-path H2S air monitoring system that has been tested at the fence-line of an oil refinery in California. The system can be operated at sample path lengths over 1,000 meters, is capable of quantifying H2S, water, and methane in real-time, records the raw data spectra, and can be calibrated in the field using both sealed and flow-through gas cells.
A summary of the data collected by the system during a five-month evaluation period of the technology will be discussed, including an evaluation of the system’s detection capability, a discussion of advantages of this approach and a summary of the quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) checks. In addition, a test plan for overall acceptance of the H2S system will be presented, which incorporates QA/QC indicators associated with EPA Compendium Method TO-16.
