Development of a certified reference material of nitrous oxide in nitrogen for emission gas measurement

A reference gas mixture of nitrous oxide (N₂O) in nitrogen, filled in a 10-L high-pressure aluminum alloy gas cylinder, has been developed as a certified reference material for emission measurement of exhaust gases from automobiles. As an example of certified values, mole fraction of N₂O is 302.36 μmol/mol. An electronic mass comparator with a home-made automatic cylinder exchanger, gas-filling equipment, and a gas chromatograph with a thermal conductivity detector have been used for the production of this CRM. The gas chromatographic analysis has of sufficient precision. The mole fraction of N₂O has good long-term stability for 10 years and is independent of inner pressure in the gas cylinder. As these results, a relative expanded uncertainty (coverage factor is 2) of the certified value has become 0.28 %. This sufficiently small uncertainty of the N₂O mole fraction will be advantageous in the calibration of analytical instruments for emission gas analysis.     

Theoretical aspects of quantitative mass spectrometry of gas mixtures

The problem of calibration of mass spectrometers with standard gas mixtures is studied theoretically. The results obtained can be used in deciding the number and optimum composition of standard mixtures. An analogy is drawn between this calibration problem and the mathematical theory of experimental design when mixtures are considered. It is shown that calibration based on a number of standard mixtures is more accurate than calibration with pure gases. A procedure for correction of calibration coefficients is described; it can be applied during measurements on the composition of gas mixtures or gas flows. Application to gas mixtures containing CO, N₂ and CO₂ is discussed.     

三通道气相色谱法监测大气中CH_(4)、CO、CO_(2)、N_(2)O和SF_(6)北大核心CSCD

我国正处于“碳达峰、碳中和”的关键时期,准确认识我国温室气体浓度时空格局以及变化对于评估“碳达峰”和“碳中和”行动成效非常重要。当前我国近地面温室气体高精度监测主要依赖进口的光学监测主机,单台仪器成本高且监测要素有限。为此,该研究基于传统的气相色谱法,自主设计了一套三通道气相色谱分析系统,在单台仪器上实现了5种主要长寿命温室气体(CH_(4)、CO、CO_(2)、N_(2)O和SF_(6))的高精度监测。对该系统的精密度、线性响应情况和准确度进行的针对性测试实验表明系统检测性能满足世界气象组织/全球大气观测(WMO/GAW)质控标准。针对环境浓度的CH_(4)、CO、CO_(2)、N_(2)O和SF_(6)的连续分析精密度分别达0.08%、1.90%、0.05%、0.08%、0.66%。准确度测试中,5种气体(CH_(4)、CO、CO_(2)、N_(2)O和SF_(6))使用回归方程计算所得值与标称摩尔分数间的偏差分别达0.15×10-9、0.20×10-9、0.37×10-6、0.35×10-9、0.02×10-12(摩尔分数),CH_(4)、CO、CO_(2)、N_(2)O和SF_(6)仪器响应值与标称摩尔分数的线性拟合相关系数(R2)均为0.9999,线性拟合残差和准确度基本达到WMO/GAW拓展质控目标。该系统对杭州城区大气温室气体在线连续监测结果显示,2021年5~7月期间大气CH_(4)、CO、CO_(2)和N_(2)O呈明显的日变化特征,主要受人为活动影响。综合测试和试运行结果表明,该研发系统具备良好的精密度、准确度、线性和稳定性,与目前国内广泛进口的仪器相比,具有技术自主可控、运行成本更低、自动化水平更高等优势,能满足多种温室气体在线监测研究的需求。     

Calibration method for the infrared-spectrometric trace gas analysis

Summary A simple and versatile calibration method for the infrared spectrometric trace analysis of gases and vapours is described. A dynamically operating set-up consisting of a capillary dosage system and a dilution unit with a set of micro-orifices was used for producing exactly known small volume fractions of trace constituents in gas mixtures. The infrared absorption measurements were performed using a Fourier transform spectrometer equipped with a long-path gas cell. Absorption coefficients of selected vibrational-rotational bands obtained by a linear least-squares fit around the threshold limit values are reported for NH₃, SO₂, CCl₄ and 1,4-dioxane as examples of trace constituents in air.

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Methode zur Kalibrierung in der infrarotspektrometrischen Spurenanalyse von Gasen

Zusammenfassung Ein vielseitig einsetzbares einfaches Kalibrierverfahren für die infrarotspektrometrische Spurenanalytik von Gasen und Dämpfen wird beschrieben. Zur Realisierung genau bekannter kleiner Volumenanteile von Spurenkomponenten in Gasmischungen diente eine nach dem dynamischen Prinzip arbeitende Apparatur, bestehend aus einem Capillardosierer und einer Verdünnungseinheit mit Mikroblenden. Zur Messung der Infrarotabsorption wurde ein Fourier-Transform-Spektrometer mit Langweggasküvette verwendet. Für NH₃, SO₂, CCl₄ und 1,4-Dioxan als Beispiele für Spurenkomponenten in Luft werden die mit Hilfe einer linearen Ausgleichsrechnung im Bereich der MAK-Werte erhaltenen Absorptionskoeffizienten ausgewählter Schwingungs-Rotationsbanden angegeben.

     

Multiscale simulation of pollution gases adsorption in porous organic cage CC3

A general multiscale simulation procedure is proposed to accurately predict the uptakes of pollution gases such as CO₂, SO₂, H₂S, and CO in one of the most investigated porous organic cages CC3 by using a sophisticated force field vdW3 fitted by double hybrid functional (B2PLYP) with a dispersion correction (D3) separately for gas–gas and CC3‐gas interactions. The fitted vdW3 was used in grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations. Good comparison with the coupled cluster single and double excitation and the perturbative triples (CCSD(T))/complete basis set (CBS) limit interaction energies make the B2PLYP‐D3 results reliable for our purpose. The good agreement of simulated CO₂ loading with experimental one and the low deviation in the fitting procedure for H₂S and CO make our approach available in predicting gases in novel porous materials. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A new test gas generator for atmospheric trace compounds

A new device for generating atmospheric trace gases for calibration purposes is described, which allows to adjust test gas concentrations with fast response times and constant carrier gas flow. It consists of a permeation tubing surrounded by a solution of the substance of interest. Inside of the tubing a movable piston is placed. The position of this piston determines the available fraction of the permeation surface and hence the output of the test gas source. The device has been tested for the trace gas production of SO₂ and formaldehyde in the ppbv range. It shows linear dependence of the produced concentrations on the position of the piston, fast response times and good reproducibilities.Dedicated to Professor Dr. Dieter Klockow on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Preliminary investigation for the development of surrogate debris from nuclear detonations in marine-urban environments

The effect of ambient gas on measurements with microwave-assisted laser-induced plasma in microwave-assisted laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (MA-LIBS) was studied with relevance for the analysis of nuclear fuel. A pelletized gadolinium oxide (Gd₂O₃) sample, which was used as a simulated nuclear fuel, was irradiated by a pulsed Nd:YAG laser (532 nm, 5 mJ) coupled with microwaves (2.45 GHz, 400 W) under various gases of air, Ar, and He. Microwaves can be effectively used to enhance laser-induced plasma emissions. The emission spectrums of Gd obtained by MA-LIBS in Ar and He gases are much better than those of the air case. Namely, the spectral lines can be clearly identified and are far from molecular bands. Furthermore, the emission intensity is highest with low background emissions. Linear calibration curves of Ca in the concentration range between 0 and 500 mg/kg as an impurity in Gd₂O₃ have been successfully obtained in all gases. The detection limits of Ca impurity in air, Ar and He gases were 2, 0.8 and 0.6 mg/kg, respectively, which are much lower than the required limits of Ca impurity in nuclear fuels.     

Anion-ligand interactions: ab initio study of the binding of H2O,CO2 and SO2 to the nitrite ion

Binding enthalpies of single attachment of H₂O, CO₂ and SO₂ to NO^?₂ in the gas phase are reproduced with striking accuracy by SCF ab initio computations using a minimal basis set with counterpoise correction. The positions of binding to NO^?₂ are predicted. The charge-transfer character of the binding, small for water, is slightly increased for CO₂ and appreciable for SO₂.     

Study on a stable destruction method of radioactive waste ion exchange resins

This paper is a study on a stable destruction method of radioactive waste ion exchange resins. According to the resin TGA results, its decomposition occurred through three stages. And a sufficient retention time of the resins and an effective retention capacity of SO₂ gases and the doped metal compounds were required to destruct resins doped with radioactive metals stably. The resins doped with radioactive metal surrogates were effectively destructed in the lab-scale MCO system. CO and SO₂ emissions were below 100 and 1 ppm, respectively. And the surrogates were collected more than 99.9% in the molten carbonate. Thus, the resins can be destructed stably in the MCO process.     

Monitoring of Atmospheric Sulfur Dioxide by Fluorescence Monitoring System

A fluorescence monitoring system was used to measure gaseous sulfur dioxide at Taoyuan Agricultural Farm. A gas-diluting system and gas chromatograph equipped with a sulfur chemiluminescence detector used to audit the accuracy of diluted sulfur dioxide are described. The accuracy was ?8% and ?2%, respectively, for the preparation of 10 and 50 ppb SO₂ standard gas. The pattern of variation of SO₂ concentration at Taoyuan Agricultural Farm is reported. In summer at Taoyuan Agricultural Farm, the concentration of SO₂ varied with a pattern of night concentration (15-20 ppb) greater than that in the afternoon (0–2 ppb). Computer-analyzed wind trajectories in Taiwan for this pattern are reported.     

Solid-state potentiometric gas sensors—a supplement

Potentiometric in situ gas probes with solid electrolytes were described for the first time 50 years ago. It is the intention of the present communication to give some additions on oxygen sensors in reducing gases which have been neglected in a recent review (J Solid State Electrochem, 13:3, 2009). Today, the most frequently used solid electrolyte gas sensors are the lambda probes. In their electrodes is a very quick change between gas phases with excess of oxygen and excess of components of reducing gases. Changes in the interpretation of the mechanism of the interaction between gas and solid electrolyte in the gas sensors are discussed. At low temperatures, mixed potentials appear which have to be expected at oxygen electrodes also with air and technical oxygen, if these gases are not cleaned particularly. Among the CO₂ sensors, the system with the reference electrode SiO₂, Na₂Si₂O₅ on ß-alumina must be mentioned. This system has special advantages and in the commercially available device it reaches excellent long-term stability. A report about long-term measurements of SO₂ traces in air is worth mentioning. For measurements of SO₂ in industrial gases, Westinghouse has offered a complicated system in the 1980s.     

Surface,Interface and Structure Optimization of Metal-Organic Frameworks: Towards Efficient Resourceful Conversion of Industrial Waste Gases

Industrial waste gas emissions from fossil fuel over-exploitation have aroused great attention in modern society. Recently, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been developed in the capture and catalytic conversion of industrial exhaust gases such as SO₂, H₂S, NO_x, CO₂, CO, etc. Based on these resourceful conversion applications, in this review, we summarize the crucial role of the surface, interface, and structure optimization of MOFs for performance enhancement. The main points include (1) adsorption enhancement of target molecules by surface functional modification, (2) promotion of catalytic reaction kinetics through enhanced coupling in interfaces, and (3) adaptive matching of guest molecules by structural and pore size modulation. We expect that this review will provide valuable references and illumination for the design and development of MOF and related materials with excellent exhaust gas treatment performance.     

The determination of nitrite by ultraviolet absorption spectrometry in the gas phase

Aliquots of nitrite-containing solutions are injected into small aliquots of 8 M hydrochloric acid and the evolved gases are swept by a stream of carrier gas through an absorption cell where transient absorbance in the gas phase is measured at 195 nm. The detection limit is 0.2 μg NO₂^- ml^-1 with the calibration curve remaining linear to 65 μg NO₂^- ml^-1 Reproducibility is reflected in 2.4% relative standard deviation from the mean at the 5 μg NO₂^- ml^-1 level. There is no interference from CO₃^2-, NO₃^-, SO₄^2-, Br^-, CN^-, CNO^-, or NH₄⁺, but SCN^-, I^-, S^2- and SO₃^2- interfere.     

Simple analyzer for continuous monitoring of sulfur dioxide in gas streams

The construction, optimization and use of simple and inexpensive gas analyzer for real time measurement of sulfur dioxide in gas streams are described. The analyzer consisted of three main components (i) a custom fabricated hollow fiber membrane (HFM) gas contactor, (ii) carrier solution which absorbs SO₂ molecules from the gas stream in the HFM gas contactor and (iii) a flow-through detector placed downstream which continuously measures the changes occurred to the carrier solution upon absorption of SO₂ molecules. The significant acidic properties of the produced sulfurous acid suggested pH and conductivity detectors to monitor the decrease in pH or the increase in the conductivity which constituted the basis for quantification of SO₂ in the gas line. Aqueous potassium oxalate (10^? 1 mol/L) and hydrogen peroxide (10^? 3 mol/L) were used as carrier solutions in combination with pH and conductivity detectors, respectively. The analyzer equipped with pH detector provided linear potentiometric response to SO₂ concentration up to 1000 ppm with Nernstian slop of 61 mV/log[SO₂]. Excellent SO₂ recoveries (97–108%) were obtained in the presence of several folds of potentially interfering acidic gases, i.e., CO₂ and H₂S. The conductivity detector provided linear response up to 2500 ppm. Under optimized conditions, both detectors offered several favorable performance characteristics such as (i) fast response and recovery times, (ii) excellent signal stability and reproducibility (RSD = 0.5%), (iii) intrinsic high selectivity to most common neutral gases, e.g., CH₄, N₂, O₂, CO, etc. The suggested analyzer was applied successfully in monitoring the removal of SO₂ from SO₂–N₂ gas mixtures with hollow fiber membrane contactor using distilled water or aqueous sodium hydroxide as stripping solvents.     

A gas chromatographic analysis for SO2 oxidation

Summary An improved method of determining yields of sulphur trioxide in sulphur dioxide oxidations is reported. The method relies on the absorption of SO₃ from the reaction gases. An all-teflon system incorporating a gas density balance is used. Separation of SO₂ and O₂ is effected on a Porapak PS column at ambient temperature.     

Initial study of a combustion-mass spectrometric system for organic microanalysis

A combustion-mass spectrometric system has been designed and studied for simultaneous determining C, N and S compositions of organic compounds. The system is constructed by linking a high-temperature combustion furnace with a quadrupole mass selected detector. A solid or liquid organic sample is directly dropped into the quartz reactor within the furnace where it is combusted and converted into gaseous CO₂, N₂, and SO₂. The resulting gases are mixed thoroughly in a chamber prior to being introduced, through a high-precision metering valve, into the ion source of the mass spectrometer. After performing a series of optimization studies, we examined the analytical performance of the system by testing the precision and linearity of calibration. The initial study indicates that good analytical sensitivity and precision can be obtained for C, N, and S even with 0.2 mg of sample, approximately 1/10 of what is required using traditional combustion-thermal conductive detector (TCD) method. The use of 0.1% argon in the helium working gas as an internal standard further improves the analytical precision. The typical R.S.D. obtained is in the range of 0.43-1.10% depending on the analyte. Another feature of this system is that it not only yields quantitative data, but also helps monitoring the combustion efficiency for analytes eluting through the combustion furnace. This feature can perhaps be utilized to establish suitable experimental conditions and monitor combustion process, especially of large and refractory compounds, thus ensuring the accuracy of the microanalysis.     

Der Claus‐Prozess. Reich an Jahren und bedeutender denn je

Modern industrial societies are dependent on fossil feedstocks as source of fuels and base chemicals. Due to the sulphur content of mineral oil, natural gas and coal, desulphurisation technology in general and the Claus process in particular are crucial to protect the environment from sulphur emissions. Sulphur recovery from natural gases or process gases with high H₂S content is the domain of the Claus Process, also predominating as source of the base chemical sulphur. The process is still steadily growing in importance.     

Lattice engineering route for self-assembled nanohybrids of 2D layered double hydroxide with 0D isopolyoxovanadate: chemiresistive SO2 sensor

Tuning the interior chemical composition of layered double hydroxides (LDHs) via lattice engineering route is a unique approach to enable multifunctional applications of LDHs. In this regard, the exfoliated 2D LDH nanosheets coupled with various guest species lead to the lattice-engineered LDH-based multifunctional self-assembly with precisely tuned chemical composition. This article reports the synthesis and characterization of mesoporous zinc–chromium-LDH (ZC-LDH) hybridized with isopolyoxovanadate nanohybrids (ZCiV) via lattice-engineered self-assembly between delaminated ZC-LDH nanosheets and isopolyoxovanadate (iPOV) anions. Electrostatic self-assembly between 2D ZC-LDH monolayers and 0D iPOV significantly altered structural, morphological, and surface properties of ZC-LDH. The structural and morphological study demonstrated the formation of mesoporous interconnected sheet-like architectures composed of restacked ZCiV nanosheets with expanded surface area and interlayer spacing. In addition, the ZCiV nanohybrid resistive elements were used as a room-temperature gas sensor. The selectivity of ZCiV nanohybrid was tested for various oxidizing (SO₂, Cl₂, and NO₂) gases and reducing (LPG, CO, H₂, H₂S, and NH₃) gases. The optimized ZCiV nanohybrid demonstrated highly selective SO₂ detection with the maximum SO₂ response (72%), the fast response time (20 s), low detection limit (0.1 ppm), and long-term stability at room temperature (27 ± 2 °C). Of prime importance, ZCiV nanohybrids exhibited moderately affected SO₂ sensing responses with high relative humidity conditions (80%–95%). The outstanding SO₂ sensing performance of ZCiV is attributed to the active surface gas adsorptive sites via plenty of mesopores induced by a unique lattice-engineered interconnected sheet-like microstructure and expanded interlayer spacing.     

Evaluation of airborne particles at the Alhambra monument in Granada, Spain

As a part of an ongoing investigation regarding the air quality at the Alhambra monument (UNESCO World Cultural Heritage), indoor and outdoor atmospheric aerosols (PM₁ and PM_10-1) and pollutant gases (O₃, NO₂, SO₂ and NH₃) were studied during summer and winter. Bulk elements, ionic compounds and black carbon (BC) in aerosols were analyzed with X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, ion chromatography and aethalometry/reflectometry, respectively. Natural PM_10-1 aerosols, such as carbonate-rich soil and sea salts, reacted with a typical urban atmosphere, producing a mixture of particulates with diverse chemical composition. The content/formation of secondary inorganic aerosols depended on the air temperature and absolute humidity. Ratios of typical mineral elements (i.e., Ti/Fe and Si/Fe) showed that Saharan dust events contribute to the composition of the observed mineral aerosol content. BC, V and Ni originated from diesel exhaust, while Cu, Cr, Pb and Zn came mainly from non-exhaust vehicular emissions. Weathering phenomena, such as blackening and pigment discoloration, which could arise from gradual aerosol deposition indoors, are discussed.     

Gas chromatographic determination of volatile anaesthetic agents in blood. Part 1. Preparation of standard gas mixtures of volatile anaesthetic agents

A method for preparing standard gas mixtures of the volatile anaesthetics halothane, enflurane and isoflurane is described. Static mixtures of gases of known concentration can be prepared manometrically by measuring the required pressure of anaesthetic gas into a bulb and diluting to atmospheric pressure with air. Standard gas mixtures in the concentration range 0-4% V/V can be prepared with an accuracy of +/- 0.01% V/V, and the relative standard error of measurements of a single standard concentration is less than 0.8%. Significant adsorptive losses in the gas sampling valve were observed for gas standards prepared in the absence of any diluent gas. These losses were not detected for measurements of standards made up to atmospheric pressure in air. A comparison with calibration procedures currently in practice is presented.