Spectroscopic Detection of Sulfur Oxides in the Aircraft Wake

The absorption/emission spectral regions of SO, SO₂, SO₃, S₂O and HSO are analyzed for the range from UV (λ ≥ 0.2 μm) to IR (λ < 30 μm) and are compared with the atmospheric transmission spectrum. It is shown that many vibrational bands of the compounds considered fall into atmospheric transmission windows. For the vibrational bands of SO, SO₂, SO₃, S₂O, and HSO molecules there are some gases which hinder the absorption diagnostics of the indicated compounds. These interfering gases are natural components of atmospheric air as well as specific gases of aircraft engine exhaust. It is found that the least influence of the interference takes place in the 2400–2700 cm⁻¹ IR region. The spectroscopic techniques used for the detection of aircraft engine exhaust compounds are briefly reviewed, with much consideration given to SO₂. The IR absorption spectra of SO₂ and other gases are calculated for the conditions of the aircraft engine nozzle exit. Narrow spectral intervals suitable for SO₂ detection in a hot flow are determined. An analysis is made for the detection capabilities of CO₂ lasers (including isotope CO₂ lasers) and CO lasers (both fundamental band and first-overtone ones) as applied to SO₂ detection in aircraft engine exhaust. Published in English as Preprint No. 5 of the P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Moscow (2004).