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Sample records for hydrocarbon gas sensor

  1. Electrochemical cell with integrated hydrocarbon gas sensor for automobile exhaust gas; Elektrochemische Zelle mit integriertem Kohlenwasserstoff-Gassensor fuer das Automobilabgas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Biskupski, D.; Moos, R. [Univ. Bayreuth (Germany). Bayreuth Engine Research Center, Lehrstuhl fuer Funktionsmaterialien; Wiesner, K.; Fleischer, M. [Siemens AG, Corporate Technology, CT PS 6, Muenchen (Germany)

    2007-07-01

    In the future sensors will be necessary to control the compliance with hydrocarbon limiting values, allowing a direct detection of the hydrocarbons. Appropriate sensor-active functional materials are metal oxides, which have a hydrocarbon sensitivity but are also dependent on the oxygen partial pressure. It is proposed that the gas-sensing layer should be integrated into an electrochemical cell. The authors show that the integration of a resistive oxygen sensor into a pump cell allows a defined oxygen concentration level at the sensor layer in any exhaust gas.

  2. A pathway to eliminate the gas flow dependency of a hydrocarbon sensor for automotive exhaust applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Hagen

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Gas sensors will play an essential role in future combustion-based mobility to effectively reduce emissions and monitor the exhausts reliably. In particular, an application in automotive exhausts is challenging due to the high gas temperatures that come along with highly dynamic flow rates. Recently, a thermoelectric hydrocarbon sensor was developed by using materials which are well known in the exhausts and therefore provide the required stability. As a sensing mechanism, the temperature difference that is generated between a catalytically activated area during the exothermic oxidation of said hydrocarbons and an inert area of the sensor is measured by a special screen-printed thermopile structure. As a matter of principle, this thermovoltage significantly depends on the mass flow rate of the exhausts under certain conditions. The present contribution helps to understand this cross effect and proposes a possible setup for its avoidance. By installing the sensor in the correct position of a bypass solution, the gas flow around the sensor is almost free of turbulence. Now, the signal depends only on the hydrocarbon concentration and not on the gas flow. Such a setup may open up new possibilities of applying novel sensors in automotive exhausts for on-board-measurement (OBM purposes.

  3. Broadly tunable mid-infrared VECSEL for multiple components hydrocarbon gas sensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rey, J. M.; Fill, M.; Felder, F.; Sigrist, M. W.

    2014-12-01

    A new sensing platform to simultaneously identify and quantify volatile C1 to C4 alkanes in multi-component gas mixtures is presented. This setup is based on an optically pumped, broadly tunable mid-infrared vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser (VECSEL) developed for gas detection. The lead-chalcogenide VECSEL is the key component of the presented optical sensor. The potential of the proposed sensing setup is illustrated by experimental absorption spectra obtained from various mixtures of volatile hydrocarbons and water vapor. The sensor has a sub-ppm limit of detection for each targeted alkane in a hydrocarbon gas mixture even in the presence of a high water vapor content.

  4. Zirconia-based solid state chemical gas sensors

    CERN Document Server

    Zhuiykov, S

    2000-01-01

    This paper presents an overview of chemical gas sensors, based on solid state technology, that are sensitive to environmental gases, such as O sub 2 , SO sub x , NO sub x , CO sub 2 and hydrocarbons. The paper is focussed on performance of electrochemical gas sensors that are based on zirconia as a solid electrolyte. The paper considers sensor structures and selection of electrode materials. Impact of interfaces on sensor performance is discussed. This paper also provides a brief overview of electrochemical properties of zirconia and their effect on sensor performance. Impact of auxiliary materials on sensors performance characteristics, such as sensitivity, selectivity, response time and recovery time, is also discussed. Dual gas sensors that can be applied for simultaneous monitoring of the concentration of both oxygen and other gas phase components, are briefly considered

  5. Temperature-modulated direct thermoelectric gas sensors: thermal modeling and results for fast hydrocarbon sensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rettig, Frank; Moos, Ralf

    2009-01-01

    Direct thermoelectric gas sensors are a promising alternative to conductometric gas sensors. For accurate results, a temperature modulation technique in combination with a regression analysis is advantageous. However, the thermal time constant of screen-printed sensors is quite large. As a result, up to now the temperature modulation frequency (20 mHz) has been too low and the corresponding principle-related response time (50 s) has been too high for many applications. With a special design, respecting the physical properties of thermal waves and the use of signal processing similar to a lock-in-amplifier, it is possible to achieve response times of about 1 s. As a result, direct thermoelectric gas sensors with SnO 2 as a gas-sensitive material respond fast and are reproducible to the propane concentration in the ambient atmosphere. Due to the path-independent behavior of the thermovoltage and the temperature, the measured thermopower of two sensors is almost identical

  6. Fiber optic distributed chemical sensor for the real time detection of hydrocarbon fuel leaks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendoza, Edgar; Kempen, C.; Esterkin, Yan; Sun, Sunjian

    2015-09-01

    With the increase worldwide demand for hydrocarbon fuels and the vast development of new fuel production and delivery infrastructure installations around the world, there is a growing need for reliable hydrocarbon fuel leak detection technologies to provide safety and reduce environmental risks. Hydrocarbon leaks (gas or liquid) pose an extreme danger and need to be detected very quickly to avoid potential disasters. Gas leaks have the greatest potential for causing damage due to the explosion risk from the dispersion of gas clouds. This paper describes progress towards the development of a fast response, high sensitivity, distributed fiber optic fuel leak detection (HySense™) system based on the use of an optical fiber that uses a hydrocarbon sensitive fluorescent coating to detect the presence of fuel leaks present in close proximity along the length of the sensor fiber. The HySense™ system operates in two modes, leak detection and leak localization, and will trigger an alarm within seconds of exposure contact. The fast and accurate response of the sensor provides reliable fluid leak detection for pipelines, storage tanks, airports, pumps, and valves to detect and minimize any potential catastrophic damage.

  7. Multi-electrode gas sensor system - MEGAS. Final report; Multi-Elektroden-Gassensorsystem - MEGAS. Abschlussbericht

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Heidtkamp, C.

    2002-07-01

    A tungsten/titanium - mixed-oxide based sensor for selective exhaust gas measurement of e.g. diesel engines (NO{sub x}, CO, hydrocarbons, NH{sub 3},..) is described. The special design of the used sensors should allow operation at high ambient temperature with the potential of quantitative determination of different exhaust gas components with only one sensor. Several batches of sensor prototypes are characterised according to sensitivity and stability. (orig.)

  8. Chemical Gas Sensors for Aeronautic and Space Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter, Gary W.; Chen, Liang-Yu; Neudeck, Philip G.; Knight, Dak; Liu, Chung-Chiun; Wu, Quing-Hai; Zhou, Huan-Jun

    1997-01-01

    Aeronautic and space applications require the development of chemical sensors with capabilities beyond those of commercially available sensors. Two areas of particular interest are safety monitoring and emission monitoring. In safety monitoring, detection of low concentrations of hydrogen at potentially low temperatures is important while for emission monitoring the detection of nitrogen oxides, hydrogen, hydrocarbons and oxygen is of interest. This paper discusses the needs of aeronautic and space applications and the point-contact sensor technology being developed to address these needs. The development of these sensors is based on progress in two types of technology: (1) Micromachining and microfabrication technology to fabricate miniaturized sensors. (2) The development of high temperature semiconductors, especially silicon carbide. The detection of each type of gas involves its own challenges in the fields of materials science and fabrication technology. The number of dual-use commercial applications of this microfabricated gas sensor technology make this general area of sensor development a field of significant interest.

  9. Sensors for online determination of CNG gas quality; Sensorer foer onlinebestaemnning av fordonsgaskvalitet

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stenlaaaas, Ola; Roedjegaard, Henrik

    2012-07-01

    Swedish automotive gas has until now been a very uniform, high quality automotive fuel. Elsewhere in Europe the quality of automotive gas varies significantly. Gas from different sources with different flammability require engine settings adjusted to the chosen gas' unique composition. The prospects for a vehicle-mounted sensor based on infrared technology for gas quality measurement has been studied and solutions are presented with questions that must be answered in a possible future work. The proposed vehicle mounted sensor is based on two channels, one of which measures the partial pressure of methane and the other measures the partial pressure of heavier hydrocarbons in 'equivalents of butane'. Ethane produces a signal of about 0.6 equivalents of butane and propane about 0.8 equivalents. The sensor can be accommodated in a cube with 5 cm side and should be equipped with nipple connections to the existing system. The sensor is expected to work throughout their entire lifetime without manual calibration, through continuous automatic calibration, so-called ABC (Automatic Baseline Compensation). The sensor will have to meet tough quality and environmental standards in which primarily contact ring, vibration and prevention of leakage are identified as extra difficult. Working temperatures and the electrical conditions of power supply and communication interface is considered less challenging. In one million volumes, the cost per sensor could be 200 to 300 SEK.

  10. Gas Sensor

    KAUST Repository

    Luebke, Ryan

    2015-01-22

    A gas sensor using a metal organic framework material can be fully integrated with related circuitry on a single substrate. In an on-chip application, the gas sensor can result in an area-efficient fully integrated gas sensor solution. In one aspect, a gas sensor can include a first gas sensing region including a first pair of electrodes, and a first gas sensitive material proximate to the first pair of electrodes, wherein the first gas sensitive material includes a first metal organic framework material.

  11. Gas Sensor

    KAUST Repository

    Luebke, Ryan; Eddaoudi, Mohamed; Omran, Hesham; Belmabkhout, Youssef; Shekhah, Osama; Salama, Khaled N.

    2015-01-01

    A gas sensor using a metal organic framework material can be fully integrated with related circuitry on a single substrate. In an on-chip application, the gas sensor can result in an area-efficient fully integrated gas sensor solution. In one aspect, a gas sensor can include a first gas sensing region including a first pair of electrodes, and a first gas sensitive material proximate to the first pair of electrodes, wherein the first gas sensitive material includes a first metal organic framework material.

  12. Planar Zeolite Film-Based Potentiometric Gas Sensors Manufactured by a Combined Thick-Film and Electroplating Technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marr, Isabella; Reiß, Sebastian; Hagen, Gunter; Moos, Ralf

    2011-01-01

    Zeolites are promising materials in the field of gas sensors. In this technology-oriented paper, a planar setup for potentiometric hydrocarbon and hydrogen gas sensors using zeolites as ionic sodium conductors is presented, in which the Pt-loaded Na-ZSM-5 zeolite is applied using a thick-film technique between two interdigitated gold electrodes and one of them is selectively covered for the first time by an electroplated chromium oxide film. The influence of the sensor temperature, the type of hydrocarbons, the zeolite film thickness, and the chromium oxide film thickness is investigated. The influence of the zeolite on the sensor response is briefly discussed in the light of studies dealing with zeolites as selectivity-enhancing cover layers. PMID:22164042

  13. Planar Zeolite Film-Based Potentiometric Gas Sensors Manufactured by a Combined Thick-Film and Electroplating Technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gunter Hagen

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Zeolites are promising materials in the field of gas sensors. In this technology-oriented paper, a planar setup for potentiometric hydrocarbon and hydrogen gas sensors using zeolites as ionic sodium conductors is presented, in which the Pt-loaded Na-ZSM-5 zeolite is applied using a thick-film technique between two interdigitated gold electrodes and one of them is selectively covered for the first time by an electroplated chromium oxide film. The influence of the sensor temperature, the type of hydrocarbons, the zeolite film thickness, and the chromium oxide film thickness is investigated. The influence of the zeolite on the sensor response is briefly discussed in the light of studies dealing with zeolites as selectivity-enhancing cover layers.

  14. Nitrocarburising in ammonia-hydrocarbon gas mixtures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Hanne; Christiansen, Thomas; Somers, Marcel A. J.

    2010-01-01

    The present work investigates the possibility of nitrocarburising in ammonia-acetylene-hydrogen and ammoniapropene- hydrogen gas mixtures, where unsaturated hydrocarbon gas is the carbon source during nitrocarburising. Consequently, nitrocarburising is carried out in a reducing atmosphere...... microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. It is shown that the use of unsaturated hydrocarbon gas in nitrocarburising processes is a viable alternative to traditional nitrocarburising methods....

  15. Nitrocarburizing in ammonia-hydrocarbon gas mixtures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Hanne; Christiansen, Thomas; Somers, Marcel A. J.

    2011-01-01

    The present work investigates the possibility of nitrocarburising in ammonia-acetylene-hydrogen and ammonia-propene-hydrogen gas mixtures, where unsaturated hydrocarbon gas is the carbon source during nitrocarburising. Consequently, nitrocarburising is carried out in a reducing atmosphere...... microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. It is shown that the use of unsaturated hydrocarbon gas in nitrocarburising processes is a viable alternative to traditional nitrocarburising methods....

  16. Accelerometer Sensor Specifications to Predict Hydrocarbon Using Passive Seismic Technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. H. Md Khir

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The ambient seismic ground noise has been investigated in several surveys worldwide in the last 10 years to verify the correlation between observed seismic energy anomalies at the surface and the presence of hydrocarbon reserves beneath. This is due to the premise that anomalies provide information about the geology and potential presence of hydrocarbon. However a technology gap manifested in nonoptimal detection of seismic signals of interest is observed. This is due to the fact that available sensors are not designed on the basis of passive seismic signal attributes and mainly in terms of amplitude and bandwidth. This is because of that fact that passive seismic acquisition requires greater instrumentation sensitivity, noise immunity, and bandwidth, with active seismic acquisition, where vibratory or impulsive sources were utilized to receive reflections through geophones. Therefore, in the case of passive seismic acquisition, it is necessary to select the best monitoring equipment for its success or failure. Hence, concerning sensors performance, this paper highlights the technological gap and motivates developing dedicated sensors for optimal solution at lower frequencies. Thus, the improved passive seismic recording helps in oil and gas industry to perform better fracture mapping and identify more appropriate stratigraphy at low frequencies.

  17. Smart gas sensors for mitigating environments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Azad, A.M.

    1997-01-01

    From the viewpoint of industrial and automobile exhaust pollution control sensors capable of detecting and metering the concentration of harmful gasers such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen, hydrocarbons, NO sub x, SO sub x, etc, in the ambient are desired. Solid state gas sensors based on semiconducting metal oxides have been widely used for the detection and metering of a host of reducing gases, albeit with varying degrees of success. In this presentation, development aspects of new solid-state CO and H2 sensors are described. Benevolent effect of second phases and catalyst on the sensing characteristics, and the possible sensing mechanism are discussed. In the case of titania-based CO sensors, test results in a Ford V6 engine under programmed near-stoichiometric combustion conditions are also presented. Some new concepts in the area of reliable metering of humidity (water content) in the ambient are briefly highlighted. (author)

  18. Four-Wire Impedance Spectroscopy on Planar Zeolite/Chromium Oxide Based Hydrocarbon Gas Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ralf Moos

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available Impedometric zeolite hydrocarbon sensors with a chromium oxide intermediatelayer show a very promising behavior with respect to sensitivity and selectivity. Theunderlying physico-chemical mechanism is under investigation at the moment. In order toverify that the effect occurs at the electrode and that zeolite bulk properties remain almostunaffected by hydrocarbons, a special planar setup was designed, which is very close to realsensor devices. It allows for conducting four-wire impedance spectroscopy as well as two-wire impedance spectroscopy. Using this setup, it could be clearly demonstrated that thesensing effect can be ascribed to an electrode impedance. Furthermore, by combining two-and four-wire impedance measurements at only one single frequency, the interference of thevolume impedance can be suppressed and an easy signal evaluation is possible, withouttaking impedance data at different frequencies.

  19. Pd-Doped SnO2-Based Sensor Detecting Characteristic Fault Hydrocarbon Gases in Transformer Oil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weigen Chen

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Methane (CH4, ethane (C2H6, ethylene (C2H4, and acetylene (C2C2 are important fault characteristic hydrocarbon gases dissolved in power transformer oil. Online monitoring these gaseous components and their generation rates can present the operational state of power transformer timely and effectively. Gas sensing technology is the most sticky and tricky point in online monitoring system. In this paper, pure and Pd-doped SnO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by hydrothermal method and characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, respectively. The gas sensors were fabricated by side-heated preparation, and their gas sensing properties against CH4, C2H6, C2H4, and C2H2 were measured. Pd doping increases the electric conductance of the prepared SnO2 sensors and improves their gas sensing performances to hydrocarbon gases. In addition based on the frontier molecular orbital theory, the highest occupied molecular orbital energy and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy were calculated. Calculation results demonstrate that C2H4 has the highest occupied molecular orbital energy among CH4, C2H6, C2H4, and C2H2, which promotes charge transfer in gas sensing process, and SnO2 surfaces capture a relatively larger amount of electric charge from adsorbed C2H4.

  20. Field-effect gas sensors and their application in exhaust treatment systems; Feldeffekt-Gassensoren und ihre Anwendung in Abgasnachbehandlungssystemen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schalwig, Jan

    2002-07-01

    Tightening environmental constraints on exhaust gas emissions of gasoline and Diesel engines led to a growing interest in new and highly sophisticated gas sensors. Such sensors will be required in future exhaust gas aftertreatment systems for the selective real time detection of pollutants such as nitric oxides, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. Restrictions on cost and device dimensions imposed by the automobile industry make semiconductor gas sensors promising candidates for the realization of cheap and small-size sensor devices. This work deals with semiconductor field effect devices with catalytically active platinum (Pt) electrodes and potential applications of such devices in automotive exhaust gas aftertreatment systems. To allow for continuous operation at high temperatures, silicon carbide (SiC) and group III-nitrides such as GaN and AlGaN were used as semiconductor materials. Different devices have been realized with such materials: SiC based MOS capacitors (MOSiC), GaN Schottky diodes and GaN/AlGaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMT). The principle feasibility of SiC and GaN based field effect gas sensors for automotive applications was tested under laboratory conditions using synthetic gas mixtures. Exhaust gas components such as carbon monoxide (CO), nitric oxides (NO and NO{sub 2}), various saturated and unsaturated hydro-carbons as well as water vapor, oxygen (O{sub 2}) and hydrogen (H{sub 2}) were used as test gases in appropriate concentrations with the sensor devices being operated in a range of temperatures extending from room temperature up to 600{sup o}C. (orig.)

  1. Fiber optic gas sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Peng (Inventor); Buric, Michael P. (Inventor); Swinehart, Philip R. (Inventor); Maklad, Mokhtar S. (Inventor)

    2010-01-01

    A gas sensor includes an in-fiber resonant wavelength device provided in a fiber core at a first location. The fiber propagates a sensing light and a power light. A layer of a material is attached to the fiber at the first location. The material is able to absorb the gas at a temperature dependent gas absorption rate. The power light is used to heat the material and increases the gas absorption rate, thereby increasing sensor performance, especially at low temperatures. Further, a method is described of flash heating the gas sensor to absorb more of the gas, allowing the sensor to cool, thereby locking in the gas content of the sensor material, and taking the difference between the starting and ending resonant wavelengths as an indication of the concentration of the gas in the ambient atmosphere.

  2. Gas sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmid, Andreas K.; Mascaraque, Arantzazu; Santos, Benito; de la Figuera, Juan

    2014-09-09

    A gas sensor is described which incorporates a sensor stack comprising a first film layer of a ferromagnetic material, a spacer layer, and a second film layer of the ferromagnetic material. The first film layer is fabricated so that it exhibits a dependence of its magnetic anisotropy direction on the presence of a gas, That is, the orientation of the easy axis of magnetization will flip from out-of-plane to in-plane when the gas to be detected is present in sufficient concentration. By monitoring the change in resistance of the sensor stack when the orientation of the first layer's magnetization changes, and correlating that change with temperature one can determine both the identity and relative concentration of the detected gas. In one embodiment the stack sensor comprises a top ferromagnetic layer two mono layers thick of cobalt deposited upon a spacer layer of ruthenium, which in turn has a second layer of cobalt disposed on its other side, this second cobalt layer in contact with a programmable heater chip.

  3. Direct hydrocarbon exploration and gas reservoir development technology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kwak, Young Hoon; Oh, Jae Ho; Jeong, Tae Jin [Korea Inst. of Geology Mining and Materials, Taejon (Korea, Republic of); and others

    1995-12-01

    In order to enhance the capability of petroleum exploration and development techniques, three year project (1994 - 1997) was initiated on the research of direct hydrocarbon exploration and gas reservoir development. This project consists of four sub-projects. (1) Oil(Gas) - source rock correlation technique: The overview of bio-marker parameters which are applicable to hydrocarbon exploration has been illustrated. Experimental analysis of saturated hydrocarbon and bio-markers of the Pohang E and F core samples has been carried out. (2) Study on surface geochemistry and microbiology for hydrocarbon exploration: the test results of the experimental device for extraction of dissolved gases from water show that the device can be utilized for the gas geochemistry of water. (3) Development of gas and gas condensate reservoirs: There are two types of reservoir characterization. For the reservoir formation characterization, calculation of conditional simulation was compared with that of unconditional simulation. In the reservoir fluid characterization, phase behavior calculations revealed that the component grouping is more important than the increase of number of components. (4) Numerical modeling of seismic wave propagation and full waveform inversion: Three individual sections are presented. The first one is devoted to the inversion theory in general sense. The second and the third sections deal with the frequency domain pseudo waveform inversion of seismic reflection data and refraction data respectively. (author). 180 refs., 91 figs., 60 tabs.

  4. Formation of diamonds out of hydrocarbon gas in the earth's mantle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krason, J.; Szymanski, A.; Savkevitch, S.S.

    1991-01-01

    This paper discusses the concept of formation of polycrystalline diamonds being discussed dint he context of a very rapid, dynamic decomposition of the hydrocarbon gas, initially biogenic or thermogenic condensed in gas hydrates, naturally locked and highly compressed in the hosting rocks. Gas hydrates are of solid, ice-like composition, mostly of hydrocarbon. Gas hydrates, composed of polyhedral cages, may have two types of structural forms: the body-centered structure or Structure I (small molecules) and diamond lattice or Structure II (large molecules). The crystal structure of the gas hydrate depends on the geometry of gas molecules. The thermodynamic conditions required for stabilization and preservation of the gas hydrates can be changed. Thus, in this concept, the principal source for at least some diamond deposits can originally be highly condensed hydrocarbons. In this case, if all the above indicated thermodynamic conditions and processes are met, naturally precondensed hydrocarbons can be directly converted into polycrystalline, extremely coherent diamonds

  5. High-resolution gas chromatographic analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and aliphatic hydrocarbons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perez, M.; Gonzalez, D.

    1988-01-01

    A study of the analysis by gas chromatography of aromatic polycyclic hydrocarbons and aliphatic hydrocarbons is presented. The separation has been carried out by glass and fused silica capillary column in two different polar stationary phases OV-1 and SE-54. The limitation and the advantages of the procedure are discussed in terms of separation, sensitivity and precision. (Author) 20 refs

  6. Revealing the properties of oils from their dissolved hydrocarbon compounds in water with an integrated sensor array system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Xiubin; Crooke, Emma; Ross, Andrew; Bastow, Trevor P; Stalvies, Charlotte

    2011-09-21

    This paper presents a system and method developed to identify a source oil's characteristic properties by testing the oil's dissolved components in water. Through close examination of the oil dissolution process in water, we hypothesise that when oil is in contact with water, the resulting oil-water extract, a complex hydrocarbon mixture, carries the signature property information of the parent oil. If the dominating differences in compositions between such extracts of different oils can be identified, this information could guide the selection of various sensors, capable of capturing such chemical variations. When used as an array, such a sensor system can be used to determine parent oil information from the oil-water extract. To test this hypothesis, 22 oils' water extracts were prepared and selected dominant hydrocarbons analyzed with Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS); the subsequent Principal Component Analysis (PCA) indicates that the major difference between the extract solutions is the relative concentration between the volatile mono-aromatics and fluorescent polyaromatics. An integrated sensor array system that is composed of 3 volatile hydrocarbon sensors and 2 polyaromatic hydrocarbon sensors was built accordingly to capture the major and subtle differences of these extracts. It was tested by exposure to a total of 110 water extract solutions diluted from the 22 extracts. The sensor response data collected from the testing were processed with two multivariate analysis tools to reveal information retained in the response patterns of the arrayed sensors: by conducting PCA, we were able to demonstrate the ability to qualitatively identify and distinguish different oil samples from their sensor array response patterns. When a supervised PCA, Linear Discriminate Analysis (LDA), was applied, even quantitative classification can be achieved: the multivariate model generated from the LDA achieved 89.7% of successful classification of the type of the

  7. Noble gas and hydrocarbon tracers in multiphase unconventional hydrocarbon systems: Toward integrated advanced reservoir simulators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darrah, T.; Moortgat, J.; Poreda, R. J.; Muehlenbachs, K.; Whyte, C. J.

    2015-12-01

    Although hydrocarbon production from unconventional energy resources has increased dramatically in the last decade, total unconventional oil and gas recovery from black shales is still less than 25% and 9% of the totals in place, respectively. Further, the majority of increased hydrocarbon production results from increasing the lengths of laterals, the number of hydraulic fracturing stages, and the volume of consumptive water usage. These strategies all reduce the economic efficiency of hydrocarbon extraction. The poor recovery statistics result from an insufficient understanding of some of the key physical processes in complex, organic-rich, low porosity formations (e.g., phase behavior, fluid-rock interactions, and flow mechanisms at nano-scale confinement and the role of natural fractures and faults as conduits for flow). Noble gases and other hydrocarbon tracers are capably of recording subsurface fluid-rock interactions on a variety of geological scales (micro-, meso-, to macro-scale) and provide analogs for the movement of hydrocarbons in the subsurface. As such geochemical data enrich the input for the numerical modeling of multi-phase (e.g., oil, gas, and brine) fluid flow in highly heterogeneous, low permeability formations Herein we will present a combination of noble gas (He, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe abundances and isotope ratios) and molecular and isotopic hydrocarbon data from a geographically and geologically diverse set of unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs in North America. Specifically, we will include data from the Marcellus, Utica, Barnett, Eagle Ford, formations and the Illinois basin. Our presentation will include geochemical and geological interpretation and our perspective on the first steps toward building an advanced reservoir simulator for tracer transport in multicomponent multiphase compositional flow (presented separately, in Moortgat et al., 2015).

  8. Intelligent gas-mixture flow sensor

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lammerink, Theodorus S.J.; Dijkstra, Fred; Houkes, Z.; van Kuijk, J.C.C.; van Kuijk, Joost

    A simple way to realize a gas-mixture flow sensor is presented. The sensor is capable of measuring two parameters from a gas flow. Both the flow rate and the helium content of a helium-nitrogen gas mixture are measured. The sensor exploits two measurement principles in combination with (local)

  9. Gas condensate--raw material for producing liquid paraffin hydrocarbons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aliyeva, R.B.; Alikishi-Zade, G.Yu.; Kuliyev, A.M.; Leonidov, A.N.; Pereverzev, A.N.

    1980-01-01

    The problem of efficient utilization of gas condensates as raw material for removal of a valuable product, liquid paraffins, is examined. A classification of gas condensates is given which is used as raw material for removing these hydrocarbons: gas condensate with high content of n-alkanes (25-40 mass percent), with average content (18-25 mass percent), with low content (12-18 mass percent), light weight fractions compositions, which do not contain fractions up to 200/sup 0/, and also, content ofless than 12% n-alkanes. Gas condensate I-III groups are 30% of the total reserve of gas condensate. Liquid paraffins hydrocarbons, produced from fractions of diesel fuel, which has been removed from Shatlyk gas condensate under conditions which simulate virtual processes of caramide deparaffinization meet all requirements without additional refining.

  10. National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 01 offshore India; gas hydrate systems as revealed by hydrocarbon gas geochemistry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lorenson, Thomas; Collett, Timothy S.

    2018-01-01

    The National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 01 (NGHP-01) targeted gas hydrate accumulations offshore of the Indian Peninsula and along the Andaman convergent margin. The primary objectives of coring were to understand the geologic and geochemical controls on the accumulation of methane hydrate and their linkages to underlying petroleum systems. Four areas were investigated: 1) the Kerala-Konkan Basin in the eastern Arabian Sea, 2) the Mahanadi and 3) Krishna-Godavari Basins in the western Bay of Bengal, and 4) the Andaman forearc Basin in the Andaman Sea.Upward flux of methane at three of the four of the sites cored during NGHP-01 is apparent from the presence of seafloor mounds, seismic evidence for upward gas migration, shallow sub-seafloor geochemical evidence of methane oxidation, and near-seafloor gas composition that resembles gas from depth.The Kerala-Konkan Basin well contained only CO2 with no detectable hydrocarbons suggesting there is no gas hydrate system here. Gas and gas hydrate from the Krishna-Godavari Basin is mainly microbial methane with δ13C values ranging from −58.9 to −78.9‰, with small contributions from microbial ethane (−52.1‰) and CO2. Gas from the Mahanadi Basin was mainly methane with lower concentrations of C2-C5 hydrocarbons (C1/C2 ratios typically >1000) and CO2. Carbon isotopic compositions that ranged from −70.7 to −86.6‰ for methane and −62.9 to −63.7‰ for ethane are consistent with a microbial gas source; however deeper cores contained higher molecular weight hydrocarbon gases suggesting a small contribution from a thermogenic gas source. Gas composition in the Andaman Basin was mainly methane with lower concentrations of ethane to isopentane and CO2, C1/C2 ratios were mainly >1000 although deeper samples were exploration and occurs in a forearc basin. Each of these hydrate-bearing systems overlies and is likely supported by the presence and possible migration of gas from deeper gas-prone petroleum

  11. Simulation of a thermoelectric gas sensor that determines hydrocarbon concentrations in exhausts and the light-off temperature of catalyst materials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Ritter

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Catalyst materials can be characterized with a thermoelectric gas sensor. Screen-printed thermopiles measure the temperature difference between an inert part of the planar sensor and a part that is coated with the catalyst material to be analyzed. If the overall sensor temperature is modulated, the catalytic activity of the material can be varied. Exothermic reactions that occur at the catalyst layer cause a temperature increase that can then be measured as a sensor voltage due to the Seebeck coefficient of the thermopiles. This mechanism can also be employed at stationary conditions at constant sensor temperature to measure gas concentrations. Then, the sensor signal changes linearly with the analyte concentration. Many variables influence the sensing performance, for example, the offset voltage due to asymmetric inflow and the resulting inhomogeneous temperature distributions are an issue. For even better understanding of the whole sensing principle, it is simulated in this study by a 3-D finite element model. By coupling all influencing physical effects (fluid flow, gas diffusion, heat transfer, chemical reactions, and electrical properties a model was set up that is able to mirror the sensor behavior precisely, as the comparison with experimental data shows. A challenging task was to mesh the geometry due to scaling problems regarding the resolution of the thin catalyst layer in the much larger gas tube. Therefore, a coupling of a 3-D and a 1-D geometry is shown. This enables to calculate the overall temperature distribution, fluid flow, and gas concentration distribution in the 3-D model, while a very accurate calculation of the chemical reactions is possible in a 1-D dimension. This work does not only give insight into the results at stationary conditions for varying feed gas concentrations and used substrate materials but shows also how various exhaust gas species behave under transient temperature modulation.

  12. Hydrocarbon emissions from gas engine CHP-units. 2011 measurement program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Van Dijk, G.H.J. [KEMA, Arnhem (Netherlands)

    2012-06-15

    In December 2009, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment (IandM) issued the Decree on Emission Limits for Middle Sized Combustion Installations (BEMS). This decree imposes a first-time emission limit value (ELV) of 1500 mg C/m{sup 3}{sub o} at 3% O{sub 2} for hydrocarbons emitted by gas engines. IandM used the findings of two hydrocarbon emission measurement programs, executed in 2007 and 2009, as a guideline for this initial ELV. The programs did reveal substantial variation in the hydrocarbon emissions of the gas engines tested. This variation, and especially the uncertainty as to the role of engine and/or other parameters causing such variation, was felt to hamper further policy development. IandM therefore commissioned KEMA to perform follow-up measurements on ten gas engine CHP-units in 2011. Aim of this 2011 program is to assess hydrocarbon emission variation in relation to engine parameters and process conditions including maintenance status, and to atmospheric conditions. The 2011 program comprised two identical measurement sessions, one in spring and one in winter.

  13. National Gas Survey. Synthesized gaseous hydrocarbon fuels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    1978-06-01

    The supply-Technical Advisory Task Force-Synthesized Gaseous Hydrocarbon Fuels considered coal, hydrocarbon liquids, oil shales, tar sands, and bioconvertible materials as potential feedstocks for gaseous fuels. Current status of process technology for each feedstock was reviewed, economic evaluations including sensitivity analysis were made, and constraints for establishment of a synthesized gaseous hydrocarbon fuels industry considered. Process technology is presently available to manufacture gaseous hydrocarbon fuels from each of the feedstocks. In 1975 there were eleven liquid feedstock SNG plants in the United States having a capacity of 1.1 billion SCFD. There can be no contribution of SNG before 1982 from plants using feedstocks other than liquids because there are no plants in operation or under construction as of 1977. Costs for SNG are higher than current regulated prices for U.S. natural gas. Because of large reserves, coal is a prime feedstock candidate although there are major constraints in the area of coal leases, mining and water permits, and others. Commercial technology is available and several new gasification processes are under development. Oil shale is also a feedstock in large supply and commercial process technology is available. There are siting and permit constraints, and water availability may limit the ultimate size of an oil shale processing industry. Under projected conditions, bioconvertible materials are not expected to support the production of large quantities of pipeline quality gas during the next decade. Production of low or medium Btu gas from municipal solid wastes can be expected to be developed in urban areas in conjunction with savings in disposal costs. In the economic evaluations presented, the most significant factor for liquid feedstock plants is the anticipated cost of feedstock and fuel. The economic viability of plants using other feedstocks is primarily dependent upon capital requirements.

  14. Electrodes for Semiconductor Gas Sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Sung Pil

    2017-01-01

    The electrodes of semiconductor gas sensors are important in characterizing sensors based on their sensitivity, selectivity, reversibility, response time, and long-term stability. The types and materials of electrodes used for semiconductor gas sensors are analyzed. In addition, the effect of interfacial zones and surface states of electrode–semiconductor interfaces on their characteristics is studied. This study describes that the gas interaction mechanism of the electrode–semiconductor interfaces should take into account the interfacial zone, surface states, image force, and tunneling effect. PMID:28346349

  15. Subsurface biogenic gas rations associated with hydrocarbon contamination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marrin, D.L.

    1991-01-01

    Monitoring the in situ bioreclamation of organic chemicals in soil is usually accomplished by collecting samples from selected points during the remediation process. This technique requires the installation and sampling of soil borings and does not allow for continuous monitoring. The analysis of soil vapor overlying hydrocarbon-contaminated soil and groundwater has been used to detect the presence of nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPL) and to locate low-volatility hydrocarbons that are not directly detected by more conventional soil gas methods. Such soil vapor sampling methods are adaptable to monitoring the in situ bioremediation of soil and groundwater contamination. This paper focuses on the use of biogenic gas ratio in detecting the presence of crude oil and gasoline in the subsurface

  16. Gas Sensors Based on Electrodeposited Polymers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boris Lakard

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Electrochemically deposited polymers, also called “synthetic metals”, have emerged as potential candidates for chemical sensing due to their interesting and tunable chemical, electrical, and structural properties. In particular, most of these polymers (including polypyrrole, polyaniline, polythiophene and their derivatives can be used as the sensitive layer of conductimetric gas sensors because of their conducting properties. An important advantage of polymer-based gas sensors is their efficiency at room temperature. This characteristic is interesting since most of the commercially-available sensors, usually based on metal oxides, work at high temperatures (300–400 °C. Consequently, polymer-based gas sensors are playing a growing role in the improvement of public health and environment control because they can lead to gas sensors operating with rapid detection, high sensitivity, small size, and specificity in atmospheric conditions. In this review, the recent advances in electrodeposited polymer-based gas sensors are summarized and discussed. It is shown that the sensing characteristics of electrodeposited polymers can be improved by chemical functionalization, nanostructuration, or mixing with other functional materials to form composites or hybrid materials.

  17. Hydrogen Detection With a Gas Sensor Array – Processing and Recognition of Dynamic Responses Using Neural Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gwiżdż Patryk

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available An array consisting of four commercial gas sensors with target specifications for hydrocarbons, ammonia, alcohol, explosive gases has been constructed and tested. The sensors in the array operate in the dynamic mode upon the temperature modulation from 350°C to 500°C. Changes in the sensor operating temperature lead to distinct resistance responses affected by the gas type, its concentration and the humidity level. The measurements are performed upon various hydrogen (17-3000 ppm, methane (167-3000 ppm and propane (167-3000 ppm concentrations at relative humidity levels of 0-75%RH. The measured dynamic response signals are further processed with the Discrete Fourier Transform. Absolute values of the dc component and the first five harmonics of each sensor are analysed by a feed-forward back-propagation neural network. The ultimate aim of this research is to achieve a reliable hydrogen detection despite an interference of the humidity and residual gases.

  18. National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 01 offshore India; gas hydrate systems as revealed by hydrocarbon gas geochemistry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lorenson, Thomas; Collett, Timothy S.

    2018-01-01

    The National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 01 (NGHP-01) targeted gas hydrate accumulations offshore of the Indian Peninsula and along the Andaman convergent margin. The primary objectives of coring were to understand the geologic and geochemical controls on the accumulation of methane hydrate and their linkages to underlying petroleum systems. Four areas were investigated: 1) the Kerala-Konkan Basin in the eastern Arabian Sea, 2) the Mahanadi and 3) Krishna-Godavari Basins in the western Bay of Bengal, and 4) the Andaman forearc Basin in the Andaman Sea.Upward flux of methane at three of the four of the sites cored during NGHP-01 is apparent from the presence of seafloor mounds, seismic evidence for upward gas migration, shallow sub-seafloor geochemical evidence of methane oxidation, and near-seafloor gas composition that resembles gas from depth.The Kerala-Konkan Basin well contained only CO2 with no detectable hydrocarbons suggesting there is no gas hydrate system here. Gas and gas hydrate from the Krishna-Godavari Basin is mainly microbial methane with δ13C values ranging from −58.9 to −78.9‰, with small contributions from microbial ethane (−52.1‰) and CO2. Gas from the Mahanadi Basin was mainly methane with lower concentrations of C2-C5 hydrocarbons (C1/C2 ratios typically >1000) and CO2. Carbon isotopic compositions that ranged from −70.7 to −86.6‰ for methane and −62.9 to −63.7‰ for ethane are consistent with a microbial gas source; however deeper cores contained higher molecular weight hydrocarbon gases suggesting a small contribution from a thermogenic gas source. Gas composition in the Andaman Basin was mainly methane with lower concentrations of ethane to isopentane and CO2, C1/C2 ratios were mainly >1000 although deeper samples were compositions range from −65.2 to −80.7‰ for methane, −53.1 to −55.2‰ for ethane is consistent with mainly microbial gas sources, although one value recorded of −35.4‰ for propane

  19. Hyperspectral reflectance of vegetation affected by underground hydrocarbon gas seepage

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Noomen, M.F.

    2007-01-01

    Anomalous concentrations of natural gas in the soil may be sourced from leaking underground gas pipelines or from natural microseepages. Due to the explosive nature of hydrocarbon gases, early detection of these gases is essential to avoid dangerous situations. It is known that natural gas in the

  20. Method for depth referencing hydrocarbon gas shows on mud logs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dion, E.P.

    1986-01-01

    A method is described for identifying hydrocarbon formations surrounding a borehole, comprising the steps of: a. measuring hydrocarbon gas in the entrained formation cuttings obtained during drilling operations in which a drilling mud is continually circulated past a drill bit to carry the cuttings to the earth's surface, b. simultaneously measuring natural gamma radiation in the cuttings, c. identifying the depths at which the cuttings were obtained within the borehole, d. measuring natural gamma radiation within the borehole following completion of the drilling operations, e. correlating the natural gamma radiation measurements in steps (b) and (d), and f. identifying the depths within the borehole from which the entrained cuttings containing hydrocarbon gas were obtained during drilling operations when there is correlation between the natural gamma radiation measurements in steps (b) and (d)

  1. Microfabricated Chemical Gas Sensors and Sensor Arrays for Aerospace Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter, Gary W.

    2005-01-01

    Aerospace applications require the development of chemical sensors with capabilities beyond those of commercially available sensors. In particular, factors such as minimal sensor size, weight, and power consumption are particularly important. Development areas which have potential aerospace applications include launch vehicle leak detection, engine health monitoring, and fire detection. Sensor development for these applications is based on progress in three types of technology: 1) Micromachining and microfabrication (Microsystem) technology to fabricate miniaturized sensors; 2) The use of nanocrystalline materials to develop sensors with improved stability combined with higher sensitivity; 3) The development of high temperature semiconductors, especially silicon carbide. This presentation discusses the needs of space applications as well as the point-contact sensor technology and sensor arrays being developed to address these needs. Sensors to measure hydrogen, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides (NO,), carbon monoxide, oxygen, and carbon dioxide are being developed as well as arrays for leak, fire, and emissions detection. Demonstrations of the technology will also be discussed. It is concluded that microfabricated sensor technology has significant potential for use in a range of aerospace applications.

  2. Gas sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dorogan, V.; Korotchenkov, Gh.; Vieru, T.; Prodan, I.

    2003-01-01

    The invention relates to the gas sensors on base of metal-oxide films (SnO, InO), which may be used for enviromental control, in the fireextinguishing systema etc. The gas includes an insulating substrate, an active layer, a resistive layer with ohmic contacts. The resistive layer has two or more regions with dofferent resistances , and on the active layer are two or more pairs of ohmic contacts

  3. Determination of Chlorinated Hydrocarbons in Water Using Highly Sensitive Mid-Infrared Sensor Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Rui; Mizaikoff, Boris; Li, Wen-Wei; Qian, Chen; Katzir, Abraham; Raichlin, Yosef; Sheng, Guo-Ping; Yu, Han-Qing

    2013-08-01

    Chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons and chlorinated aromatic hydrocarbons (CHCs) are toxic and carcinogenic contaminants commonly found in environmental samples, and efficient online detection of these contaminants is still challenging at the present stage. Here, we report an advanced Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy-attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) sensor for in-situ and simultaneous detection of multiple CHCs, including monochlorobenzene, 1,2-dichlorobenzene, 1,3-dichlorobenzene, trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene, and chloroform. The polycrystalline silver halide sensor fiber had a unique integrated planar-cylindric geometry, and was coated with an ethylene/propylene copolymer membrane to act as a solid phase extractor, which greatly amplified the analytical signal and contributed to a higher detection sensitivity compared to the previously reported sensors. This system exhibited a high detection sensitivity towards the CHCs mixture at a wide concentration range of 5~700 ppb. The FTIR-ATR sensor described in this study has a high potential to be utilized as a trace-sensitive on-line device for water contamination monitoring.

  4. High-temperature CO / HC gas sensors to optimize firewood combustion in low-power fireplaces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Ojha

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available In order to optimize firewood combustion in low-power firewood-fuelled fireplaces, a novel combustion airstream control concept based on the signals of in situ sensors for combustion temperature, residual oxygen concentration and residual un-combusted or partly combusted pyrolysis gas components (CO and HC has been introduced. A comparison of firing experiments with hand-driven and automated airstream-controlled furnaces of the same type showed that the average CO emissions in the high-temperature phase of the batch combustion can be reduced by about 80 % with the new control concept. Further, the performance of different types of high-temperature CO / HC sensors (mixed-potential and metal oxide types, with reference to simultaneous exhaust gas analysis by a high-temperature FTIR analysis system, was investigated over 20 batch firing experiments (∼ 80 h. The distinctive sensing behaviour with respect to the characteristically varying flue gas composition over a batch firing process is discussed. The calculation of the Pearson correlation coefficients reveals that mixed-potential sensor signals correlate more with CO and CH4; however, different metal oxide sensitive layers correlate with different gas species: 1 % Pt / SnO2 designates the presence of CO and 2 % ZnO / SnO2 designates the presence of hydrocarbons. In the case of a TGS823 sensor element, there was no specific correlation with one of the flue gas components observed. The stability of the sensor signals was evaluated through repeated exposure to mixtures of CO, N2 and synthetic air after certain numbers of firing experiments and exhibited diverse long-term signal instabilities.

  5. High resolution gas volume change sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dirckx, Joris J. J.; Aernouts, Jef E. F.; Aerts, Johan R. M.

    2007-01-01

    Changes of gas quantity in a system can be measured either by measuring pressure changes or by measuring volume changes. As sensitive pressure sensors are readily available, pressure change is the commonly used technique. In many physiologic systems, however, buildup of pressure influences the gas exchange mechanisms, thus changing the gas quantity change rate. If one wants to study the gas flow in or out of a biological gas pocket, measurements need to be done at constant pressure. In this article we present a highly sensitive sensor for quantitative measurements of gas volume change at constant pressure. The sensor is based on optical detection of the movement of a droplet of fluid enclosed in a capillary. The device is easy to use and delivers gas volume data at a rate of more than 15 measurements/s and a resolution better than 0.06 μl. At the onset of a gas quantity change the sensor shows a small pressure artifact of less than 15 Pa, and at constant change rates the pressure artifact is smaller than 10 Pa or 0.01% of ambient pressure

  6. Natural gas treatment: Simultaneous water and hydrocarbon-dew point-control

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schmidt, T. (Solvay Catalysts GmbH, Hannover (Germany)); Rennemann, D. (Solvay Catalysts GmbH, Hannover (Germany)); Schulz, T. (Solvay Catalysts GmbH, Hannover (Germany))

    1993-10-01

    Natural gas is a multicomponent mixture of hydrocarbons. The condensation behavior of such mixtures is different from single component systems. The so-called retrograde behavior leads to the observations that saturated vapor (dew point curve) and saturated liquid curve (bubble point curve) are not identical. Between both is a region of saturated phases which even can exist above the critical point. Following this behaviour it is possible that condensation might occur at pressure decrease or at temperature increase, respectively. This phenomenon is undesired in natural gas pipeline networks. Selective removal of higher hydrocarbons by the means of adsorption can change the phase behavior in such a way that condensation does not occur at temperatures and pressures specified for gas distribution. (orig.)

  7. Enhanced biodegradation of polyaromatic hydrocarbons in manufactured gas plant wastes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gauger, W.K.; Srivastava, V.J.; Hayes, T.D.; Linz, D.G.

    1991-01-01

    Scientists at the Institute of Gas Technology (IGT) have focused on enhancing destruction of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present as pollutants in manufactured gas plant (MGP) soils. The factor that bears the most restrictive influence on successful biological PAH degradation is low pollutant transfer from soil into an aqueous environment where biotreatment processes can take place. Physical and chemical enhancements were used in conjunction with biological processes. Physical enhancements overcame the mass transfer problem and made possible the biological destruction of aromatic hydrocarbons. One- to three-ring aromatic hydrocarbons were readily biodegraded in liquid, soil slurry, and - to a lesser degree - composted soil systems. Four- to six-ring PAHs remained persistent but were effectively destroyed when chemical co-treatments were used. Combined biological/chemical/physical processes are currently being tested to achieve the most extensive PAH degradation possible for MGP soils

  8. Possibilities of rationalizing gas storage in hydrocarbon deposits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stricker; Gilch; Kretzschmar

    1990-01-01

    A number of criteria on the utilization of gas fields for storage and major methods for rationalizing such storage reservoirs (such as pressure optimization and increase of well performance) are indicated. The pressure reduction/ pressure increase conducted in phases and the investigations involved are discussed in detail. In particular, experiences and results for fixing the maximum allowable storage pressures are analyzed critically. Problems of gas blending in case of different compositions of residual gas and storage gas are dealt with. Finally, some recommendations are given for the necessary investigations to increase efficiency in the conversion of depleted hydrocarbon deposits to gas storage. 3 figs

  9. A Rapid Process for Fabricating Gas Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chun-Ching Hsiao

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Zinc oxide (ZnO is a low-toxicity and environmentally-friendly material applied on devices, sensors or actuators for “green” usage. A porous ZnO film deposited by a rapid process of aerosol deposition (AD was employed as the gas-sensitive material in a CO gas sensor to reduce both manufacturing cost and time, and to further extend the AD application for a large-scale production. The relative resistance change (△R/R of the ZnO gas sensor was used for gas measurement. The fabricated ZnO gas sensors were measured with operating temperatures ranging from 110 °C to 180 °C, and CO concentrations ranging from 100 ppm to 1000 ppm. The sensitivity and the response time presented good performance at increasing operating temperatures and CO concentrations. AD was successfully for applied for making ZnO gas sensors with great potential for achieving high deposition rates at low deposition temperatures, large-scale production and low cost.

  10. Development of High Temperature SiC Based Hydrogen/Hydrocarbon Sensors with Bond Pads for Packaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Jennifer C.; Hunter, Gary W.; Chen, Liangyu; Biagi-Labiosa, Azlin M.; Ward, Benjamin J.; Lukco, Dorothy; Gonzalez, Jose M., III; Lampard, Peter S.; Artale, Michael A.; Hampton, Christopher L.

    2011-01-01

    This paper describes efforts towards the transition of existing high temperature hydrogen and hydrocarbon Schottky diode sensor elements to packaged sensor structures that can be integrated into a testing system. Sensor modifications and the technical challenges involved are discussed. Testing of the sensors at 500 C or above is also presented along with plans for future development.

  11. Solid state gas sensors. Industrial application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fleischer, Maximilian [Siemens AG, Muenchen (Germany). Corporate Technology; Lehmann, Mirko (eds.) [Innovative Sensor Technology (IST) AG, Wattwil (Switzerland)

    2012-11-01

    Written by experts. Richly illustrated. Encourages future research and investments in the fascinating field of gas sensors. Gas sensor products are very often the key to innovations in the fields of comfort, security, health, environment, and energy savings. This compendium focuses on what the research community labels as solid state gas sensors, where a gas directly changes the electrical properties of a solid, serving as the primary signal for the transducer. It starts with a visionary approach to how life in future buildings can benefit from the power of gas sensors. The requirements for various applications, such as for example the automotive industry, are then discussed in several chapters. Further contributions highlight current trends in new sensing principles, such as the use of nanomaterials and how to use new sensing principles for innovative applications in e.g. meteorology. So as to bring together the views of all the different groups needed to produce new gas sensing applications, renowned industrial and academic representatives report on their experiences and expectations in research, applications and industrialisation.

  12. Safety barriers to prevent release of hydrocarbons during production of oil and gas

    OpenAIRE

    Sklet, Snorre; Hauge, Stein

    2004-01-01

    This report documents a set of scenarios related to release of hydrocarbons during production on oil and gas platforms. For each release scenario, initiating events, barrier functions aimed to prevent loss of containment, and barrier systems that realize these barrier functions are identified and described. Safety barriers to prevent release of hydrocarbons during production of oil and gas

  13. Characterization of Polymeric Chemiresistors for Gas Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hendro Juwono

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Composite polymer-carbon has resistance change if come into contact with gas. Composite polymer-carbon can be used as a gas sensor. This research will be characterized the sensor composite polymer-carbon that has been made from 6 types of polymer, which are; PEG6000, PEG20M, PEG200, PEG1540, Silicon and Squelene. The 6 sensors will be tested by 9 types of gas, which are; Aceton, Aceton Nitril, Benzene, Etanol, Methanol, Ethyl Aceton, Chloroform, n-Hexan and Toluene. This characterization will be grouped into 4 claster of characteristics, which are; the selectivity (influence type of gas, the sensitivity (influence volume of gas, the influence of temperature and the influence of humidity. Test using method testing sensors that paleced in an isolated chamber which is connected with data acquisition. variations of temperature, humidity, type and volume of gas will be condition in the chamber. Correspondence analysis and regression will be used to process the data. Test results found that each sensor of type of polymers have different sensitivity and selectivity towards a particular type of gas. Resistance sensors increases with rising temperature and humidity environment with a polynomial equation of order-2 and order-3

  14. Enhanced biodegradation of polyaromatic hydrocarbons in manufactured gas plant wastes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gauger, W.K.; Srivastava, V.J.; Hayes, T.D.; Linz, D.G.

    1990-01-01

    Scientists at the Institute of Gas Technology (IGT) have focused on enhancing destruction of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present as pollutants in manufactured gas plant (MGP) soils. The factor that bears the most restrictive influence on successful biological PAH degradation is low pollutant transfer from soil into an aqueous environment where biotreatment processes can take place. Physical and chemical enhancements were used in conjunction with biological processes. Physical enhancements overcame the mass transfer problem and made possible the biological destruction of aromatic hydrocarbons. One- to three-ring aromatic hydrocarbons were readily biodegraded in liquid, soil slurry, and -- to a lesser degree -- composted soil systems. Four- to six-ring PAHs remained persistent but were effectively destroyed when chemical co-treatments were used. Combined biological/chemical/physical processes are currently being tested to achieve the most extensive PAH degradation possible for MGP soils. 8 refs., 9 figs., 2 tabs

  15. Triboelectric Hydrogen Gas Sensor with Pd Functionalized Surface

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sung-Ho Shin

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Palladium (Pd-based hydrogen (H2 gas sensors have been widely investigated thanks to its fast reaction and high sensitivity to hydrogen. Various sensing mechanisms have been adopted for H2 gas sensors; however, all the sensors must be powered through an external battery. We report here an H2 gas sensor that can detect H2 by measuring the output voltages generated during contact electrification between two friction surfaces. When the H2 sensor, composed of Pd-coated ITO (indium tin oxide and PET (polyethylene Terephthalate film, is exposed to H2, its output voltage is varied in proportion to H2 concentration because the work function (WF of Pd-coated surface changes, altering triboelectric charging behavior. Specifically, the output voltage of the sensor is gradually increased as exposing H2 concentration increases. Reproducible and sensitive sensor response was observed up 1% H2 exposure. The approach introduced here can easily be adopted to development of triboelectric gas sensors detecting other gas species.

  16. Diesel-related hydrocarbons can dominate gas phase reactive carbon in megacities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. E. Dunmore

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Hydrocarbons are key precursors to two priority air pollutants, ozone and particulate matter. Those with two to seven carbons have historically been straightforward to observe and have been successfully reduced in many developed cities through air quality policy interventions. Longer chain hydrocarbons released from diesel vehicles are not considered explicitly as part of air quality strategies and there are few direct measurements of their gaseous abundance in the atmosphere. This study describes the chemically comprehensive and continuous measurements of organic compounds in a developed megacity (London, which demonstrate that on a seasonal median basis, diesel-related hydrocarbons represent only 20–30 % of the total hydrocarbon mixing ratio but comprise more than 50 % of the atmospheric hydrocarbon mass and are a dominant local source of secondary organic aerosols. This study shows for the first time that 60 % of the winter primary hydrocarbon hydroxyl radical reactivity is from diesel-related hydrocarbons and using the maximum incremental reactivity scale, we predict that they contribute up to 50 % of the ozone production potential in London. Comparing real-world urban composition with regulatory emissions inventories in the UK and US highlights a previously unaccounted for, but very significant, under-reporting of diesel-related hydrocarbons; an underestimation of a factor ~4 for C9 species rising to a factor of over 70 for C12 during winter. These observations show that hydrocarbons from diesel vehicles can dominate gas phase reactive carbon in cities with high diesel fleet fractions. Future control of urban particulate matter and ozone in such locations requires a shift in policy focus onto gas phase hydrocarbons released from diesels as this vehicle type continues to displace gasoline world-wide.

  17. Gas Composition Sensor for Natural Gas and Biogas

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boersma, A.; Sweelsen, J.; Blokland, H.

    2016-01-01

    The calorific value of energetic gasses is an important parameter in the quality assessment of gas steams, and can be calculated from the chemical composition of the gas. An array of capacitive sensor electrodes was developed, each functionalized with a gas responsive coating to measure the

  18. A Novel Wearable Sensor-Based Human Activity Recognition Approach Using Artificial Hydrocarbon Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ponce, Hiram; Martínez-Villaseñor, María de Lourdes; Miralles-Pechuán, Luis

    2016-07-05

    Human activity recognition has gained more interest in several research communities given that understanding user activities and behavior helps to deliver proactive and personalized services. There are many examples of health systems improved by human activity recognition. Nevertheless, the human activity recognition classification process is not an easy task. Different types of noise in wearable sensors data frequently hamper the human activity recognition classification process. In order to develop a successful activity recognition system, it is necessary to use stable and robust machine learning techniques capable of dealing with noisy data. In this paper, we presented the artificial hydrocarbon networks (AHN) technique to the human activity recognition community. Our artificial hydrocarbon networks novel approach is suitable for physical activity recognition, noise tolerance of corrupted data sensors and robust in terms of different issues on data sensors. We proved that the AHN classifier is very competitive for physical activity recognition and is very robust in comparison with other well-known machine learning methods.

  19. Micro Coriolis Gas Density Sensor

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sparreboom, Wouter; Ratering, Gijs; Kruijswijk, Wim; van der Wouden, E.J.; Groenesteijn, Jarno; Lötters, Joost Conrad

    2017-01-01

    In this paper we report on gas density measurements using a micro Coriolis sensor. The technology to fabricate the sensor is based on surface channel technology. The measurement tube is freely suspended and has a wall thickness of only 1 micron. This renders the sensor extremely sensitive to changes

  20. Characterization of the vadose zone above a shallow aquifer contaminated with gas condensate hydrocarbons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sublette, K.; Duncan, K.; Thoma, G.; Todd, T.

    2002-01-01

    A gas production site in the Denver Basin near Ft. Lupton, Colorado has leaked gas condensate hydrocarbons from an underground concrete tank used to store produced water. The leak has contaminated a shallow aquifer. Although the source of pollution has been removed, a plume of hydrocarbon contamination still remains for nearly 46 m from the original source. An extensive monitoring program was conducted in 1993 of the groundwater and saturated sediments. The objective was to determine if intrinsic aerobic or anaerobic bioremediation of hydrocarbons occurred at the site at a rate that would support remediation. Geochemical indicators of hydrogen biodegradation by microorganisms in the saturated zone included oxygen depletion, increased alkalinity, sulfate depletion, methane production and Fe2+ production associated with hydrogen contamination. The presence of sulfate-reducing bacteria and methanogens was also much higher in the contaminated sediments. Degraded hydrocarbon metabolites were found in contaminated groundwater. An extensive characterization of the vadose zone was conducted in which the vadose zone was sample in increments of 15 cm from the surface to the water table at contaminated and non contaminated sites. The samples were tested for individual C3+ hydrocarbons, methane, CO2, total organic carbon, total inorganic carbon, and total petroleum hydrocarbons. The vadose zone consisted of an active and aerobic bioreactor fueled by condensate hydrocarbons transported into the unsaturated zone by evaporation of hydrocarbons at the water table. It was concluded that the unsaturated zone makes an important contribution to the natural attenuation of gas condensate hydrocarbons in the area. 17 refs., 2 tabs., 28 figs

  1. Microphotonic sensors for the rapid detection of the presence of explosive gas mixtures

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNesby, Kevin L.; Miziolek, Andrzej W.

    2002-02-01

    A first generation, microphotonic sensor for rapid (10 ms response time) measurement of vapors from the hydrocarbon-based fuels JP-8, DF-2, and gasoline has been developed at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory. This sensor is based upon a previously reported laser mixing technique that uses two tunable diode lasers emitting in the near-infrared spectral region to measure concentrations of gases having unstructured absorption spectra. The fiber-mixed laser beam consists of two wavelengths, one of which is absorbed by the fuel vapor, and one of which is not absorbed. By sinusoidally modulating the power of the two lasers at the same frequency but 180 degrees out of phase, a sinusoidal signal is generated at the detector (when the target gas is present in the line of sight). The signal amplitude, measured using standard phase sensitive detection techniques, is proportional to fuel vapor concentration. A second generation sensor, designed to measure the full envelope of the first overtone C-H vibrations in middle distillate fuels is currently being developed. Both sensors are described. Limits of detection using the first generation sensor are reported for vapors of the three fuels studied.

  2. A Review of Carbon Nanotubes-Based Gas Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yun Wang

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Gas sensors have attracted intensive research interest due to the demand of sensitive, fast response, and stable sensors for industry, environmental monitoring, biomedicine, and so forth. The development of nanotechnology has created huge potential to build highly sensitive, low cost, portable sensors with low power consumption. The extremely high surface-to-volume ratio and hollow structure of nanomaterials is ideal for the adsorption of gas molecules. Particularly, the advent of carbon nanotubes (CNTs has fuelled the inventions of gas sensors that exploit CNTs' unique geometry, morphology, and material properties. Upon exposure to certain gases, the changes in CNTs' properties can be detected by various methods. Therefore, CNTs-based gas sensors and their mechanisms have been widely studied recently. In this paper, a broad but yet in-depth survey of current CNTs-based gas sensing technology is presented. Both experimental works and theoretical simulations are reviewed. The design, fabrication, and the sensing mechanisms of the CNTs-based gas sensors are discussed. The challenges and perspectives of the research are also addressed in this review.

  3. Sensor platform for gas composition measurement

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    De Graaf, G.; Bakker, F.; Wolffenbuttel, R.F.

    2011-01-01

    The gas sensor research presented here has a focus on the measurement of the composition of natural gas and gases from sustainable resources, such as biogas. For efficient and safe combustion, new sensor systems need to be developed to measure the composition of these new gases. In general about 6

  4. Laser-based gas sensors keep moisture out of pipelines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anon.

    2006-07-15

    Natural gas often contains contaminants that cause corrosion, and long-term deterioration, and must be cleaned and brought to pipeline standards before it can be delivered to high-pressure, long-distance pipelines. Many older sensors produce false data that can result in contaminated gas getting through. This article presented details of the SpectraSensor, a new laser-based sensor technology used by the El Paso Natural Gas Company (EPNG). The SpectraSensor is comprised of a tunable diode laser (TDL) based technology developed by the National American Space Agency (NASA). The gas analyzer provides non-contact measurement of moisture, carbon dioxide, and other corrosives in natural gas pipelines, and the tunable laser-based gas sensors are fast, accurate, and flexible. Producers can monitor El Paso's gas analyzer readings by capturing the electronic signal from El Paso's unit via a SCADA system and view the readings from control rooms. While initial purchase price is higher than more problematic surface-based gas sensors, an evaluation of the technology has indicated that maintenance savings alone may provide an almost immediate return on investments. Unlike electrochemical and crystal gas sensors, laser-based gas analyzers do not come into direct contact with any substances, a fact which practically eliminates maintenance and operational costs. Studies have shown that the cost of operating conventional electrochemical sensors can result in a cumulative annual expense exceeding $50,000 per unit including labour; recalibration and rebuilding; back-up sensor heads; and gas dehydration and tariffs. 1 fig.

  5. Evaluation on occluded hydrocarbon in deep–ultra deep ancient source rocks and its cracked gas resources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jian Li

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Oil-cracked gas, as the main type of high-over mature marine natural gas in China, is mainly derived from occluded hydrocarbon. So it is significant to carry out quantitative study on occluded hydrocarbon. In this paper, the occluded hydrocarbon volume of the main basins in China was calculated depending on their types, abundances and evolution stages by means of the forward method (experimental simulation and the inversion method (geologic profile dissection. And then, occluded hydrocarbon evolution models were established for five types of source rocks (sapropelic, sapropelic prone hybrid, humic prone hybrid, humic and coal. It is shown that the hydrocarbon expulsion efficiency of sapropelic and sapropelic prone hybrid excellent source rocks is lower than 30% at the low-maturity stage, 30%–60% at the principal oil generation stage, and 50%–80% at the high-maturity stage, which are all about 10% higher than that of humic prone hybrid and humic source rocks at the corresponding stages. The resource distribution and cracked gas expulsion of occluded hydrocarbon since the high-maturity stage of marine source rocks in the Sichuan Basin were preliminarily calculated on the basis of the evolution models. The cracked gas expulsion is 230.4 × 1012 m3 at the high evolution stage of occluded hydrocarbon of the Lower Cambrian Qiongzhusi Fm in this basin, and 12.3 × 1012 m3 from the source rocks of Sinian Doushantuo Fm, indicating good potential for natural gas resources. It is indicated that the favorable areas of occluded hydrocarbon cracked gas in the Qiongzhusi Fm source rocks in the Sichuan Basin include Gaoshiti–Moxi, Ziyang and Weiyuan, covering a favorable area of 4.3 × 104 km2.

  6. Sol-Gel Thin Films for Plasmonic Gas Sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Della Gaspera, Enrico; Martucci, Alessandro

    2015-01-01

    Plasmonic gas sensors are optical sensors that use localized surface plasmons or extended surface plasmons as transducing platform. Surface plasmons are very sensitive to dielectric variations of the environment or to electron exchange, and these effects have been exploited for the realization of sensitive gas sensors. In this paper, we review our research work of the last few years on the synthesis and the gas sensing properties of sol-gel based nanomaterials for plasmonic sensors. PMID:26184216

  7. Gas sensing properties of indium–gallium–zinc–oxide gas sensors in different light intensity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kuen-Lin Chen

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available We have successfully observed the change in indium–gallium–zinc–oxide (IGZO gas sensor sensitivity by controlling the light emitting diode (LED power under the same gas concentrations. The light intensity dependence of sensor properties is discussed. Different LED intensities obviously affected the gas sensor sensitivity, which decays with increasing LED intensity. High LED intensity decreases not only gas sensor sensitivity but also the response time (T90, response time constant (τres and the absorption rate per second. Low intensity irradiated to sensor causes high sensitivity, but it needs larger response time. Similar results were also observed in other kinds of materials such as TiO2. According to the results, the sensing properties of gas sensors can be modulated by controlling the light intensity.

  8. Safety barriers on oil and gas platforms. Means to prevent hydrocarbon releases

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sklet, Snorre

    2005-12-15

    The main objective of the PhD project has been to develop concepts and methods that can be used to define, illustrate, analyse, and improve safety barriers in the operational phase of offshore oil and gas production platforms. The main contributions of this thesis are; Clarification of the term safety barrier with respect to definitions, classification, and relevant attributes for analysis of barrier performance Development and discussion of a representative set of hydrocarbon release scenarios Development and testing of a new method, BORA-Release, for qualitative and quantitative risk analysis of hydrocarbon releases Safety barriers are defined as physical and/or non-physical means planned to prevent, control, or mitigate undesired events or accidents. The means may range from a single technical unit or human actions, to a complex socio-technical system. It is useful to distinguish between barrier functions and barrier systems. Barrier functions describe the purpose of safety barriers or what the safety barriers shall do in order to prevent, control, or mitigate undesired events or accidents. Barrier systems describe how a barrier function is realized or executed. If the barrier system is functioning, the barrier function is performed. If a barrier function is performed successfully, it should have a direct and significant effect on the occurrence and/or consequences of an undesired event or accident. It is recommended to address the following attributes to characterize the performance of safety barriers; a) functionality/effectiveness, b) reliability/ availability, c) response time, d) robustness, and e) triggering event or condition. For some types of barriers, not all the attributes are relevant or necessary in order to describe the barrier performance. The presented hydrocarbon release scenarios include initiating events, barrier functions introduced to prevent hydrocarbon releases, and barrier systems realizing the barrier functions. Both technical and human

  9. Microfabricated Formaldehyde Gas Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karen C. Cheung

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available Formaldehyde is a volatile organic compound that is widely used in textiles, paper, wood composites, and household materials. Formaldehyde will continuously outgas from manufactured wood products such as furniture, with adverse health effects resulting from prolonged low-level exposure. New, microfabricated sensors for formaldehyde have been developed to meet the need for portable, low-power gas detection. This paper reviews recent work including silicon microhotplates for metal oxide-based detection, enzyme-based electrochemical sensors, and nanowire-based sensors. This paper also investigates the promise of polymer-based sensors for low-temperature, low-power operation.

  10. Oil-shale gasification for obtaining of gas for synthesis of aliphatic hydrocarbons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Strizhakova, Yu. [Samara State Univ. (Russian Federation); Avakyan, T.; Lapidus, A.L. [I.M. Gubkin Russian State Univ. of Oil and Gas, Moscow (Russian Federation)

    2011-07-01

    Nowadays, the problem of qualified usage of solid fossil fuels as raw materials for obtaining of motor fuels and chemical products is becoming increasingly important. Gasification with further processing of gaseous products is a one of possible ways of their use. Production of synthesis gas with H{sub 2}/CO ratio equal 2 is possible by gasification of oil-shale. This gas is converted into the mixture of hydrocarbons over cobalt catalyst at temperature from 160 to 210 C at atmospheric pressure. The hydrocarbons can be used as motor, including diesel, or reactive fuel. (orig.)

  11. Nanoparticle-based gas sensors and methods of using the same

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mickelson, William; Zettl, Alex

    2017-10-17

    Gas sensors are provided. The gas sensors include a gas sensing element having metal oxide nanoparticles and a thin-film heating element. Systems that include the gas sensors, as well as methods of using the gas sensors, are also provided. Embodiments of the present disclosure find use in a variety of different applications, including detecting whether an analyte is present in a gaseous sample.

  12. Hydrocarbon and Carbon Dioxide Fluxes from Natural Gas Well Pad Soils and Surrounding Soils in Eastern Utah.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyman, Seth N; Watkins, Cody; Jones, Colleen P; Mansfield, Marc L; McKinley, Michael; Kenney, Donna; Evans, Jordan

    2017-10-17

    We measured fluxes of methane, nonmethane hydrocarbons, and carbon dioxide from natural gas well pad soils and from nearby undisturbed soils in eastern Utah. Methane fluxes varied from less than zero to more than 38 g m -2 h -1 . Fluxes from well pad soils were almost always greater than from undisturbed soils. Fluxes were greater from locations with higher concentrations of total combustible gas in soil and were inversely correlated with distance from well heads. Several lines of evidence show that the majority of emission fluxes (about 70%) were primarily due to subsurface sources of raw gas that migrated to the atmosphere, with the remainder likely caused primarily by re-emission of spilled liquid hydrocarbons. Total hydrocarbon fluxes during summer were only 39 (16, 97)% as high as during winter, likely because soil bacteria consumed the majority of hydrocarbons during summer months. We estimate that natural gas well pad soils account for 4.6 × 10 -4 (1.6 × 10 -4 , 1.6 × 10 -3 )% of total emissions of hydrocarbons from the oil and gas industry in Utah's Uinta Basin. Our undisturbed soil flux measurements were not adequate to quantify rates of natural hydrocarbon seepage in the Uinta Basin.

  13. A suggestion to assess spilled hydrocarbons as a greenhouse gas source

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McAlexander, Benjamin L., E-mail: bmcalexander@trihydro.com

    2014-11-15

    Petroleum-contaminated site management typically counts destruction of hydrocarbons by either natural or engineered processes as a beneficial component of remediation. While such oxidation of spilled hydrocarbons is often necessary for achieving risk reduction for nearby human and ecological receptors, site assessments tend to neglect that this also means that the pollutants are converted to greenhouse gases and emitted to the atmosphere. This article presents a suggestion that the current and long term greenhouse gas emissions from spilled hydrocarbons be incorporated to petroleum site assessments. This would provide a more complete picture of pollutant effects that could then be incorporated to remedial objectives. At some sites, this additional information may affect remedy selection. Possible examples include a shift in emphasis to remedial technologies that reduce pollutant greenhouse gas effects (e.g., by conversion of methane to carbon dioxide in the subsurface), and a more holistic context for considering remedial technologies with low emission footprints.

  14. Meso-/Nanoporous Semiconducting Metal Oxides for Gas Sensor Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nguyen Duc Hoa

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Development and/or design of new materials and/or structures for effective gas sensor applications with fast response and high sensitivity, selectivity, and stability are very important issues in the gas sensor technology. This critical review introduces our recent progress in the development of meso-/nanoporous semiconducting metal oxides and their applications to gas sensors. First, the basic concepts of resistive gas sensors and the recent synthesis of meso-/nanoporous metal oxides for gas sensor applications are introduced. The advantages of meso-/nanoporous metal oxides are also presented, taking into account the crystallinity and ordered/disordered porous structures. Second, the synthesis methods of meso-/nanoporous metal oxides including the soft-template, hard-template, and temple-free methods are introduced, in which the advantages and disadvantages of each synthetic method are figured out. Third, the applications of meso-/nanoporous metal oxides as gas sensors are presented. The gas nanosensors are designed based on meso-/nanoporous metal oxides for effective detection of toxic gases. The sensitivity, selectivity, and stability of the meso-/nanoporous gas nanosensors are also discussed. Finally, some conclusions and an outlook are presented.

  15. Nanocrystalline samarium oxide coated fiber optic gas sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Renganathan, B.; Sastikumar, D.; Srinivasan, R.; Ganesan, A.R.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • This fiber optic gas sensor works at room temperature. • As-prepared and annealed Sm 2 O 3 nanoparticles are act as sensor materials. • Sm 2 O 3 clad modified fiber detect the ammonia, ethanol and methanol gases. • The response of evanescent wave loss has been studied for different concentrations. - Abstract: Nanocrystalline Sm 2 O 3 coated fiber optic sensor is proposed for detecting toxic gases such as ammonia, methanol and ethanol vapors. Sm 2 O 3 in the as prepared form as well as annealed form have been used as gas sensing materials, by making them as cladding of a PMMA fiber. The spectral characteristics of the Sm 2 O 3 gas sensor are presented for ammonia, methanol and ethanol gases with different concentrations ranging from 0 to 500 ppm. The sensor exhibits a linear variation in the output light intensity with the concentration. The enhanced gas sensitivity and selectivity of the sensor for ethanol is discussed briefly

  16. Metal oxide gas sensors on the nanoscale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plecenik, A.; Haidry, A. A.; Plecenik, T.; Durina, P.; Truchly, M.; Mosko, M.; Grancic, B.; Gregor, M.; Roch, T.; Satrapinskyy, L.; Moskova, A.; Mikula, M.; Kus, P.

    2014-06-01

    Low cost, low power and highly sensitive gas sensors operating at room temperature are very important devices for controlled hydrogen gas production and storage. One of the disadvantages of chemosensors is their high operating temperature (usually 200 - 400 °C), which excludes such type of sensors from usage in explosive environment. In this report, a new concept of gas chemosensors operating at room temperature based on TiO2 thin films is discussed. Integration of such sensor is fully compatible with sub-100 nm semiconductor technology and could be transferred directly from labor to commercial sphere.

  17. Development of air fuel ratio sensor; A/F sensor no kaihatsu

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sakawa, T; Hori, M [Denso Corp., Aichi (Japan); Nakamura, Y [Toyota Motor Corp., Aichi (Japan)

    1997-10-01

    The Air Fuel Ratio Sensor (A/F sensor), which is applied to a 1997 model year Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) was developed. This sensor enables the detection of the exhaust gas air fuel ratio, both lean and rich of stoichiometric. It has an effective air fuel ratio range from 12 to 18 as required for LEV regulation. It has the fast light off, - within 20 seconds - to minimize exhaust hydrocarbon content. Further, it has fast response time, less than 200 msec, to improve the air fuel ratio controllability. 3 refs., 7 figs.

  18. Thermal soil desorption for total petroleum hydrocarbon testing on gas chromatographs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mott, J.

    1995-01-01

    Testing for total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) is one of the most common analytical tests today. A recent development in chromatography incorporates Thermal Soil Desorption technology to enable analyses of unprepared soil samples for volatiles such as BTEX components and semi-volatiles such as diesel, PCBs, PAHs and pesticides in the same chromatogram, while in the field. A gas chromatograph is the preferred method for determining TPH because the column in a GC separates the individual hydrocarbons compounds such as benzene and toluene from each other and measures each individually. A GC analysis will determine not only the total amount of hydrocarbon, but also whether it is gasoline, diesel or another compound. TPH analysis with a GC is typically conducted with a Flame Ionization Detector (FID). Extensive field and laboratory testing has shown that incorporation of a Thermal Soil Desorber offers many benefits over traditional analytical testing methods such as Headspace, Solvent Extraction, and Purge and Trap. This paper presents the process of implementing Thermal Soil Desorption in gas chromatography, including procedures for, and advantages of faster testing and analysis times, concurrent volatile and semi-volatile analysis, minimized sample manipulation, single gas (H 2 ) operation, and detection to the part-per billion levels

  19. Discrimination of honeys using colorimetric sensor arrays, sensory analysis and gas chromatography techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tahir, Haroon Elrasheid; Xiaobo, Zou; Xiaowei, Huang; Jiyong, Shi; Mariod, Abdalbasit Adam

    2016-09-01

    Aroma profiles of six honey varieties of different botanical origins were investigated using colorimetric sensor array, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and descriptive sensory analysis. Fifty-eight aroma compounds were identified, including 2 norisoprenoids, 5 hydrocarbons, 4 terpenes, 6 phenols, 7 ketones, 9 acids, 12 aldehydes and 13 alcohols. Twenty abundant or active compounds were chosen as key compounds to characterize honey aroma. Discrimination of the honeys was subsequently implemented using multivariate analysis, including hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA). Honeys of the same botanical origin were grouped together in the PCA score plot and HCA dendrogram. SPME-GC/MS and colorimetric sensor array were able to discriminate the honeys effectively with the advantages of being rapid, simple and low-cost. Moreover, partial least squares regression (PLSR) was applied to indicate the relationship between sensory descriptors and aroma compounds. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Hydrocarbon degassing of the earth and origin of oil-gas fields (isotope-geochemical and geodynamic aspects)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valyaev, Boris; Dremin, Ivan

    2016-04-01

    More than half a century ago, Academician PN Kropotkin substantiated the relationship of the formation and distribution of oil and gas fields with the processes of emanation hydrocarbon degassing of the Earth. Over the years, the concept of PN Kropotkin received further development and recognition of studies based on new factual material. Of particular importance are the following factors: a) the results of studies on global and regional uneven processes of traditional oil and gas and the role of deep faults in controlling the spread of oil and gas fields; b) the results of the research on gigantic volumes and localization of the discharges of hydrocarbon fluids (mud volcanoes, seeps) on land and into the atmosphere and through the bottom of the World ocean; c) the results of the studies on grand volumes of the spread of unconventional hydrocarbon resources in their non-traditional fields, especially on near-surface interval of unconventional oil and gas accumulation with gas hydrates, heavy oil and bitumen, as well as extraordinary resources of oil and gas in the shale and tight rocks. Deep mantle-crust nature of oil and gas in traditional and nontraditional deposits thus received further substantiation of geological and geophysical data and research results. However, isotopic and geochemical data are still interpreted in favor of the concept of the genesis of oil and gas in the processes of thermal catalytic conversion of organic matter of sedimentary rocks, at temperatures up to 200°C. In this report an alternative interpretation of the isotope carbon-hydrogen system (δ13C-δD) for gas and of oil deposits, isotope carbon system for methane and carbon dioxide (δ13C1-δ13C0) will be presented. An alternative interpretation will also be presented for the data on carbon-helium isotope geochemical system for oil and gas fields, volcanoes and mud volcanoes. These constructions agree with the geological data on the nature of deep hydrocarbon fluids involved in the

  1. Intrinsic bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons in a gas condensate-contaminated aquifer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gieg, L.M.; McInerney; Tanner, R.S.; Harris, S.H. Jr.; Sublette, K.L.; Suflita, J.M.; Kolhatkar, R.V.

    1999-01-01

    A study was designed to determine if the intrinsic bioremediation of gas condensate hydrocarbons represented an important fate process in a shallow aquifer underlying a natural gas production site. For over 4 yr, changes in the groundwater, sediment, and vadose zone chemistry in the contaminated portion of the aquifer were interpreted relative to a background zone. Changes included decreased dissolved oxygen and sulfate levels and increased alkalinity, Fe(II), and methane concentrations in the contaminated groundwater, suggesting that aerobic heterotrophic respiration depleted oxygen reserves leaving anaerobic conditions in the hydrocarbon-impacted subsurface. Dissolved hydrogen levels in the contaminated groundwater indicated that sulfate reduction and methanogenesis were predominant biological processes, corroborating the geochemical findings. Furthermore, 10--1000-fold higher numbers of sulfate reducers and methanogens were enumerated in the contaminated sediment relative to background. Putative metabolites were also detected in the contaminated groundwater, including methylbenzylsuccinic acid, a signature intermediate of anaerobic xylene decay. Laboratory incubations showed that benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and each of the xylene isomers were biodegraded under sulfate-reducing conditions as was toluene under methanogenic conditions. These results coupled with a decrease in hydrocarbon concentrations in contaminated sediment confirm that intrinsic bioremediation contributes to the attenuation of hydrocarbons in this aquifer

  2. Porous Silicon Structures as Optical Gas Sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levitsky, Igor A

    2015-08-14

    We present a short review of recent progress in the field of optical gas sensors based on porous silicon (PSi) and PSi composites, which are separate from PSi optochemical and biological sensors for a liquid medium. Different periodical and nonperiodical PSi photonic structures (bares, modified by functional groups or infiltrated with sensory polymers) are described for gas sensing with an emphasis on the device specificity, sensitivity and stability to the environment. Special attention is paid to multiparametric sensing and sensor array platforms as effective trends for the improvement of analyte classification and quantification. Mechanisms of gas physical and chemical sorption inside PSi mesopores and pores of PSi functional composites are discussed.

  3. Co-processing of standard gas oil and biocrude oil to hydrocarbon fuels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Agblevor, Foster A.; Mante, O.; McClung, R.; Oyama, S.T.

    2012-01-01

    The major obstacle in thermochemical biomass conversion to hydrocarbon fuels using pyrolysis has been the high oxygen content and the poor stability of the product oils, which cause them to solidify during secondary processing. We have developed a fractional catalytic pyrolysis process to convert biomass feedstocks into a product termed “biocrude oils” (stable biomass pyrolysis oils) which are distinct from unstable conventional pyrolysis oils. The biocrude oils are stable, low viscosity liquids that are storable at ambient conditions without any significant increases in viscosity; distillable at both atmospheric pressure and under vacuum without char or solid formation. About 15 wt% biocrude oils containing 20–25% oxygen were blended with 85 wt% standard gas oil and co-cracked in an Advanced Catalyst Evaluation (ACE™) unit using fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts to produce hydrocarbon fuels that contain negligible amount of oxygen. For the same conversion of 70% for both the standard gas oil and the biocrude oil/gas oil blends, the product gasoline yield was 44 wt%, light cycle oil (LCO) 17 wt%, heavy cycle oil (HCO) 13 wt%, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) 16 wt%. However, the coke yield for the standard gas oil was 7.06 wt% compared to 6.64–6.81 wt% for the blends. There appeared to be hydrogen transfer from the cracking of the standard gas oil to the biocrude oil which subsequently eliminated the oxygen in the fuel without external hydrogen addition. We have demonstrated for the first time that biomass pyrolysis oils can be successfully converted into hydrocarbons without hydrogenation pretreatment. -- Highlights: ► The co-processed product had less than 1% oxygen content and contained biocarbons determined by 14 C analysis. ► The co-processing did not affect the yields of gasoline, LCO, and HCO. ► First demonstration of direct conversion of pyrolysis oils into drop-in hydrocarbon fuels.

  4. Metal oxide-based gas sensor and microwave broad-band measurements: an innovative approach to gas sensing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jouhannaud, J; Rossignol, J; Stuerga, D

    2007-01-01

    We outline the development of a gas sensor using microwave technology (0.3 MHz to 3 GHz). The sensor is a coaxial structure into which is introduced a sensitive material. An electromagnetic field (microwave), sent out through the sensor by a vectorial network analyzer, solicits the sensitive material exposed to a gas. The observed variation in the sensor response is due to the variation in the adsorption of this gas. SrTiO 3 , demonstrated to be the highly sensitive to water vapour, is exposed to different gases (saturated vapour of water, ethanol and toluene). The response of the sensor is quantitative and typical for each gas. This method of measurement leads to the development of an alternative to the current gas sensor

  5. Porous Silicon Structures as Optical Gas Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Igor A. Levitsky

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available We present a short review of recent progress in the field of optical gas sensors based on porous silicon (PSi and PSi composites, which are separate from PSi optochemical and biological sensors for a liquid medium. Different periodical and nonperiodical PSi photonic structures (bares, modified by functional groups or infiltrated with sensory polymers are described for gas sensing with an emphasis on the device specificity, sensitivity and stability to the environment. Special attention is paid to multiparametric sensing and sensor array platforms as effective trends for the improvement of analyte classification and quantification. Mechanisms of gas physical and chemical sorption inside PSi mesopores and pores of PSi functional composites are discussed.

  6. Miniaturized Planar Room Temperature Ionic Liquid Electrochemical Gas Sensor for Rapid Multiple Gas Pollutants Monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, Hao; Yin, Heyu; Lin, Lu; Zeng, Xiangqun; Mason, Andrew J

    2018-02-01

    The growing impact of airborne pollutants and explosive gases on human health and occupational safety has escalated the demand of sensors to monitor hazardous gases. This paper presents a new miniaturized planar electrochemical gas sensor for rapid measurement of multiple gaseous hazards. The gas sensor features a porous polytetrafluoroethylene substrate that enables fast gas diffusion and room temperature ionic liquid as the electrolyte. Metal sputtering was utilized for platinum electrodes fabrication to enhance adhesion between the electrodes and the substrate. Together with carefully selected electrochemical methods, the miniaturized gas sensor is capable of measuring multiple gases including oxygen, methane, ozone and sulfur dioxide that are important to human health and safety. Compared to its manually-assembled Clark-cell predecessor, this sensor provides better sensitivity, linearity and repeatability, as validated for oxygen monitoring. With solid performance, fast response and miniaturized size, this sensor is promising for deployment in wearable devices for real-time point-of-exposure gas pollutant monitoring.

  7. A Model of Solid State Gas Sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woestman, J. T.; Brailsford, A. D.; Shane, M.; Logothetis, E. M.

    1997-03-01

    Solid state gas sensors are widely used to measure the concentrations of gases such as CO, CH_4, C_3H_6, H_2, C_3H8 and O2 The applications of these sensors range from air-to-fuel ratio control in combustion processes including those in automotive engines and industrial furnaces to leakage detection of inflammable and toxic gases in domestic and industrial environments. As the need increases to accurately measure smaller and smaller concentrations, problems such as poor selectivity, stability and response time limit the use of these sensors. In an effort to overcome some of these limitations, a theoretical model of the transient behavior of solid state gas sensors has been developed. In this presentation, a model for the transient response of an electrochemical gas sensor to gas mixtures containing O2 and one reducing species, such as CO, is discussed. This model accounts for the transport of the reactive species to the sampling electrode, the catalyzed oxidation/reduction reaction of these species and the generation of the resulting electrical signal. The model will be shown to reproduce the results of published steady state models and to agree with experimental steady state and transient data.

  8. Development of Microfabricated Chemical Gas Sensors and Sensor Arrays for Aerospace Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter, G. W.; Neudeck, P. G.; Fralick, G.; Thomas, V.; Liu, C. C.; Wu, W. H.; Ward, B.; Makel, D.

    2002-01-01

    Aerospace applications require the development of chemical sensors with capabilities beyond those of commercially available sensors. In particular, factors such as minimal sensor size, weight, and power consumption are particularly important. Development areas which have potential aerospace applications include launch vehicle leak detection, engine health monitoring, fire detection, and environmental monitoring. Sensor development for these applications is based on progress in three types of technology: 1) Micromachining and microfabrication (Microsystem) technology to fabricate miniaturized sensors. 2) The use of nanocrystalline materials to develop sensors with improved stability combined with higher sensitivity. 3) The development of high temperature semiconductors, especially silicon carbide. However, due to issues of selectivity and cross-sensitivity, individual sensors are limited in the amount of information that they can provide in environments that contain multiple chemical species. Thus, sensor arrays are being developed to address detection needs in such multi-species environments. This paper discusses the needs of space applications as well as the point-contact sensor technology and sensor arrays being developed to address these needs. Sensors to measure hydrogen, hydrocarbons, hydrazine, nitrogen oxides (NO,), carbon monoxide, oxygen, and carbon dioxide are being developed as well as arrays for leak, fire, and emissions detection. Demonstrations of the technology will also be discussed. It is concluded that microfabricated sensor technology has significant potential for use in a range of aerospace applications.

  9. Membrane gas sensors for fermentation monitoring

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mandenius, C F

    1987-12-01

    Results of a study on membrane gas sensors are presented to show their general applicability to fermentation monitoring of volatiles, such as alcohols, organic acids and aldehydes under various process and reactor conditions. Permeable silicone (Noax AB) and teflon (fluorcarbon AB) are tested as material for a gas sensor. The silicone tubing method is mainly used and ethanolic fermentation is performed in the study. Investigation is made to determine the dependence of the sensitivity of the sensors on the temperature, pH, concentration and other properties of fermentation liquid. The effect of temperature on the ethanol response is investigated in the temperature range of 7-50/sup 0/C to reveal that the response time decreases while the sensor's sensitivity increases with an increasing temperature. Comparison among methanol, ethyl acetate, acetaldehyde and ethanol is made with respect to the effect of their concentration on the sensitivity of a sensor. Results of a three-month measurement with the sensor immersed in fermentation liquid are compared with those of GC analysis to investigate the correlation between the sensor's sensitivity and GC analysis data. (11 figs, 17 refs)

  10. Natural hydrocarbon seeps observation with underwater gliders and UV fluorescence sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rochet, V.

    2016-02-01

    Hydrocarbons may leak to the near-surface from subsurface accumulations, from mature source rock, or by buoyancy along major cross-strata routes. The presence of migrating near-surface hydrocarbons can provide strong evidence for the presence of a working petroleum system, as well as valuable information on source, maturity, and migration pathways. Detection and characterization of hydrocarbons in the water column may then help to de-risk hydrocarbon plays at a very preliminary stage of an exploration program. In order to detect hydrocarbons in the water column, an underwater glider survey was conducted in an offshore frontier area. Driven by buoyancy variation, underwater gliders enable collecting data autonomously along the water column for weeks to months. Underwater gliders are regularly piloted from shore by satellite telemetry and do not require a surface supervising vessel resulting in substantial operational costs savings. The data compiled, over 700m depth of the water column, included temperature, salinity, pressure, dissolved oxygen and hydrocarbon components (phenanthrene and naphthalene) measured by "MINIFLUO" sensors to particularly target representative crude oil compounds Two gliders were deployed at sea, one from coast in shallow water and the other one offshore on the survey area. Both accurately squared the survey area following pre-defined lines and cross lines. Data files were transmitted by satellite telemetry in near real time during the performance of the mission for real time observations and appropriate re-positioning of the gliders. Using rechargeable underwater gliders increased reliability reducing the risk of leakage and associated logistics during operation at sea. Despite strong evidences of seabed seepages such as pockmarks, faults, etc, over the area of interest, no hydrocarbon indices were detected in the water column, which was confirmed later by seabed sample analysis. The use of glider platforms for hydrocarbon detection has

  11. Electrospray-printed nanostructured graphene oxide gas sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Anthony P.; Velásquez-García, Luis F.

    2015-12-01

    We report low-cost conductometric gas sensors that use an ultrathin film made of graphene oxide (GO) nanoflakes as transducing element. The devices were fabricated by lift-off metallization and near-room temperature, atmospheric pressure electrospray printing using a shadow mask. The sensors are sensitive to reactive gases at room temperature without requiring any post heat treatment, harsh chemical reduction, or doping with metal nanoparticles. The sensors’ response to humidity at atmospheric pressure tracks that of a commercial sensor, and is linear with changes in humidity in the 10%-60% relative humidity range while consuming recipes yielded nearly identical response characteristics, suggesting that intrinsic properties of the film control the sensing mechanism. The gas sensors successfully detected ammonia at concentrations down to 500 ppm (absolute partial pressure of ˜5 × 10-4 T) at ˜1 T pressure, room temperature conditions. The sensor technology can be used in a great variety of applications including air conditioning and sensing of reactive gas species in vacuum lines and abatement systems.

  12. Integrated Microfluidic Gas Sensors for Water Monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, L.; Sniadecki, N.; DeVoe, D. L.; Beamesderfer, M.; Semancik, S.; DeVoe, D. L.

    2003-01-01

    A silicon-based microhotplate tin oxide (SnO2) gas sensor integrated into a polymer-based microfluidic system for monitoring of contaminants in water systems is presented. This device is designed to sample a water source, control the sample vapor pressure within a microchannel using integrated resistive heaters, and direct the vapor past the integrated gas sensor for analysis. The sensor platform takes advantage of novel technology allowing direct integration of discrete silicon chips into a larger polymer microfluidic substrate, including seamless fluidic and electrical interconnects between the substrate and silicon chip.

  13. Psychosocial risks and hydrocarbon leaks : an exploration of their relationship in the Norwegian oil and gas industry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bergh, L.I.V.; Ringstad, A.J.; Leka, S.; Zwetsloot, G.I.J.M.

    2014-01-01

    Hydrocarbon leaks have a major accident potential in the oil and gas industry. Over the years the oil and gas industry in Norway has worked hard to find means to prevent hydrocarbon leaks and is today able to report significant progress. In this context, the exploration of accidents in light of

  14. Self-Test Procedures for Gas Sensors Embedded in Microreactor Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helwig, Andreas; Hackner, Angelika; Zappa, Dario; Sberveglieri, Giorgio

    2018-01-01

    Metal oxide (MOX) gas sensors sensitively respond to a wide variety of combustible, explosive and poisonous gases. However, due to the lack of a built-in self-test capability, MOX gas sensors have not yet been able to penetrate safety-critical applications. In the present work we report on gas sensing experiments performed on MOX gas sensors embedded in ceramic micro-reaction chambers. With the help of an external micro-pump, such systems can be operated in a periodic manner alternating between flow and no-flow conditions, thus allowing repetitive measurements of the sensor resistances under clean air, R0, and under gas exposure, Rgas, to be obtained, even under field conditions. With these pairs of resistance values, eventual drifts in the sensor baseline resistance can be detected and drift-corrected values of the relative resistance response Resp=(R0−Rgas)/R0 can be determined. Residual poisoning-induced changes in the relative resistance response can be detected by reference to humidity measurements taken with room-temperature-operated capacitive humidity sensors which are insensitive to the poisoning processes operative on heated MOX gas sensors. PMID:29401673

  15. Self-Test Procedures for Gas Sensors Embedded in Microreactor Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helwig, Andreas; Hackner, Angelika; Müller, Gerhard; Zappa, Dario; Sberveglieri, Giorgio

    2018-02-03

    Metal oxide (MOX) gas sensors sensitively respond to a wide variety of combustible, explosive and poisonous gases. However, due to the lack of a built-in self-test capability, MOX gas sensors have not yet been able to penetrate safety-critical applications. In the present work we report on gas sensing experiments performed on MOX gas sensors embedded in ceramic micro-reaction chambers. With the help of an external micro-pump, such systems can be operated in a periodic manner alternating between flow and no-flow conditions, thus allowing repetitive measurements of the sensor resistances under clean air, R 0 , and under gas exposure, R g a s , to be obtained, even under field conditions. With these pairs of resistance values, eventual drifts in the sensor baseline resistance can be detected and drift-corrected values of the relative resistance response R e s p = ( R 0 - R g a s ) / R 0 can be determined. Residual poisoning-induced changes in the relative resistance response can be detected by reference to humidity measurements taken with room-temperature-operated capacitive humidity sensors which are insensitive to the poisoning processes operative on heated MOX gas sensors.

  16. DNA sensor cGAS-mediated immune recognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pengyan Xia

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The host takes use of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs to defend against pathogen invasion or cellular damage. Among microorganism-associated molecular patterns detected by host PRRs, nucleic acids derived from bacteria or viruses are tightly supervised, providing a fundamental mechanism of host defense. Pathogenic DNAs are supposed to be detected by DNA sensors that induce the activation of NFκB or TBK1-IRF3 pathway. DNA sensor cGAS is widely expressed in innate immune cells and is a key sensor of invading DNAs in several cell types. cGAS binds to DNA, followed by a conformational change that allows the synthesis of cyclic guanosine monophosphate–adenosine monophosphate (cGAMP from adenosine triphosphate and guanosine triphosphate. cGAMP is a strong activator of STING that can activate IRF3 and subsequent type I interferon production. Here we describe recent progresses in DNA sensors especially cGAS in the innate immune responses against pathogenic DNAs.

  17. Solid-State Gas Sensors: Sensor System Challenges in the Civil Security Domain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller, Gerhard; Hackner, Angelika; Beer, Sebastian; Göbel, Johann

    2016-01-20

    The detection of military high explosives and illicit drugs presents problems of paramount importance in the fields of counter terrorism and criminal investigation. Effectively dealing with such threats requires hand-portable, mobile and affordable instruments. The paper shows that solid-state gas sensors can contribute to the development of such instruments provided the sensors are incorporated into integrated sensor systems, which acquire the target substances in the form of particle residue from suspect objects and which process the collected residue through a sequence of particle sampling, solid-vapor conversion, vapor detection and signal treatment steps. Considering sensor systems with metal oxide gas sensors at the backend, it is demonstrated that significant gains in sensitivity, selectivity and speed of response can be attained when the threat substances are sampled in particle as opposed to vapor form.

  18. An optical fiber sensor for hydrocarbons detection in pipelines; Sensor a fibra otica para deteccao de hidrocarbonetos em oleodutos

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Klemba, Francelli; Kamikawachi, Ricardo Canute; Mueller, Marcia; Kalinowski, Hypolito Jose; Fabris, Jose Luis [Centro Federal de Educacao Tecnologica do Parana (CEFET-PR), Curitiba, PR (Brazil)

    2004-07-01

    In this work we describe the use of long period gratings in optical fibers as a sensor device in the detection of hydrocarbons that flow in pipelines. In the experiments samples of alcohol, gasoline, turpentine, thinner, kerosene and diesel were used. Due to the different refractive index of these substances there was a shift in the wavelength of the attenuation peak of the grating, which initially in the air was 1544 nm, allowing the construction and calibration of a sensor device. The response time of the sensor was 3 seconds for the different samples used. The long period grating was produced through the technique of electric arc discharge with the aid of a fusion splicer machine. (author)

  19. Gas sensor with multiple internal reference electrodes and sensing electrodes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2016-01-01

    The invention relates to a potentiometric gas sensor, or potentiometric gas detection element, with multiple internal reference electrodes and multiple sensing electrodes for determining the concentrations of gas components in a gaseous mixture. The sensor for gas detection comprises: a solid...

  20. Advances in Hydrogen, Carbon Dioxide, and Hydrocarbon Gas Sensor Technology Using GaN and ZnO-Based Devices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jenshan Lin

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we review our recent results in developing gas sensors for hydrogen using various device structures, including ZnO nanowires and GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs. ZnO nanowires are particularly interesting because they have a large surface area to volume ratio, which will improve sensitivity, and because they operate at low current levels, will have low power requirements in a sensor module. GaN-based devices offer the advantage of the HEMT structure, high temperature operation, and simple integration with existing fabrication technology and sensing systems. Improvements in sensitivity, recoverability, and reliability are presented. Also reported are demonstrations of detection of other gases, including CO2 and C2H4 using functionalized GaN HEMTs. This is critical for the development of lab-on-a-chip type systems and can provide a significant advance towards a market-ready sensor application.

  1. Advances in Hydrogen, Carbon Dioxide, and Hydrocarbon Gas Sensor Technology Using GaN and ZnO-Based Devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Travis; Ren, Fan; Pearton, Stephen; Kang, Byoung Sam; Wang, Hung-Ta; Chang, Chih-Yang; Lin, Jenshan

    2009-01-01

    In this paper, we review our recent results in developing gas sensors for hydrogen using various device structures, including ZnO nanowires and GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs). ZnO nanowires are particularly interesting because they have a large surface area to volume ratio, which will improve sensitivity, and because they operate at low current levels, will have low power requirements in a sensor module. GaN-based devices offer the advantage of the HEMT structure, high temperature operation, and simple integration with existing fabrication technology and sensing systems. Improvements in sensitivity, recoverability, and reliability are presented. Also reported are demonstrations of detection of other gases, including CO(2) and C(2)H(4) using functionalized GaN HEMTs. This is critical for the development of lab-on-a-chip type systems and can provide a significant advance towards a market-ready sensor application.

  2. First Fifty Years of Chemoresistive Gas Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giovanni Neri

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The first fifty years of chemoresistive sensors for gas detection are here reviewed, focusing on the main scientific and technological innovations that have occurred in the field over the course of these years. A look at advances made in fundamental and applied research and leading to the development of actual high performance chemoresistive devices is presented. The approaches devoted to the synthesis of novel semiconducting materials with unprecedented nanostructure and gas-sensing properties have been also presented. Perspectives on new technologies and future applications of chemoresistive gas sensors have also been highlighted.

  3. Gas Sensors Based on Semiconducting Nanowire Field-Effect Transistors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ping Feng

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available One-dimensional semiconductor nanostructures are unique sensing materials for the fabrication of gas sensors. In this article, gas sensors based on semiconducting nanowire field-effect transistors (FETs are comprehensively reviewed. Individual nanowires or nanowire network films are usually used as the active detecting channels. In these sensors, a third electrode, which serves as the gate, is used to tune the carrier concentration of the nanowires to realize better sensing performance, including sensitivity, selectivity and response time, etc. The FET parameters can be modulated by the presence of the target gases and their change relate closely to the type and concentration of the gas molecules. In addition, extra controls such as metal decoration, local heating and light irradiation can be combined with the gate electrode to tune the nanowire channel and realize more effective gas sensing. With the help of micro-fabrication techniques, these sensors can be integrated into smart systems. Finally, some challenges for the future investigation and application of nanowire field-effect gas sensors are discussed.

  4. Test Structures for Rapid Prototyping of Gas and Pressure Sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buehler, M.; Cheng, L. J.; Martin, D.

    1996-01-01

    A multi-project ceramic substrate was used in developing a gas sensor and pressure sensor. The ceramic substrate cantained 36 chips with six variants including sensors, process control monitors, and an interconnect ship. Tha gas sensor is being developed as an air quality monitor and the pressure gauge as a barometer.

  5. Functionalized Ga2O3 nanowires as active material in room temperature capacitance-based gas sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazeina, Lena; Perkins, F Keith; Bermudez, Victor M; Arnold, Stephen P; Prokes, S M

    2010-08-17

    We report the first evidence for functionalization of Ga(2)O(3) nanowires (NWs), which have been incorporated as the active material in room temperature capacitance gas-sensing devices. An adsorbed layer of pyruvic acid (PA) was successfully formed on Ga(2)O(3) NWs by simple room temperature vapor transport, which was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The effect of the adsorbed PA on the surface properties was demonstrated by the change in the response of the NW gas-sensing devices. Results indicate that the adsorption of PA reduced the sensitivity of the Ga(2)O(3) NW device to common hydrocarbons such as nitromethane and acetone while improving the response to triethylamine by an order of magnitude. Taking into account the simplicity of this functionalization together with the ease of producing these capacitance-based gas-sensing devices, this approach represents a viable technique for sensor development.

  6. Electrospray-printed nanostructured graphene oxide gas sensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taylor, Anthony P; Velásquez-García, Luis F

    2015-01-01

    We report low-cost conductometric gas sensors that use an ultrathin film made of graphene oxide (GO) nanoflakes as transducing element. The devices were fabricated by lift-off metallization and near-room temperature, atmospheric pressure electrospray printing using a shadow mask. The sensors are sensitive to reactive gases at room temperature without requiring any post heat treatment, harsh chemical reduction, or doping with metal nanoparticles. The sensors’ response to humidity at atmospheric pressure tracks that of a commercial sensor, and is linear with changes in humidity in the 10%–60% relative humidity range while consuming <6 μW. Devices with GO layers printed by different deposition recipes yielded nearly identical response characteristics, suggesting that intrinsic properties of the film control the sensing mechanism. The gas sensors successfully detected ammonia at concentrations down to 500 ppm (absolute partial pressure of ∼5 × 10"−"4 T) at ∼1 T pressure, room temperature conditions. The sensor technology can be used in a great variety of applications including air conditioning and sensing of reactive gas species in vacuum lines and abatement systems. (paper)

  7. Combustion Sensors: Gas Turbine Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Human, Mel

    2002-01-01

    This report documents efforts to survey the current research directions in sensor technology for gas turbine systems. The work is driven by the current and future requirements on system performance and optimization. Accurate real time measurements of velocities, pressure, temperatures, and species concentrations will be required for objectives such as combustion instability attenuation, pollutant reduction, engine health management, exhaust profile control via active control, etc. Changing combustor conditions - engine aging, flow path slagging, or rapid maneuvering - will require adaptive responses; the effectiveness of such will be only as good as the dynamic information available for processing. All of these issues point toward the importance of continued sensor development. For adequate control of the combustion process, sensor data must include information about the above mentioned quantities along with equivalence ratios and radical concentrations, and also include both temporal and spatial velocity resolution. Ultimately these devices must transfer from the laboratory to field installations, and thus must become low weight and cost, reliable and maintainable. A primary conclusion from this study is that the optics-based sensor science will be the primary diagnostic in future gas turbine technologies.

  8. THE GAS SENSORS BASED ON ZINC OXIDE (THE REVIEW)

    OpenAIRE

    Bugayova, M. E.; Koval, V. M.; Lashkarev, G. V.; Lazorenko, V. I.; Karpina, V. A.; Khranovskyy, V. D.

    2017-01-01

    The wide range of gas sensor application, in particular, in a mining industry for detection of outflow of gases, the control of gas emissions over an atmosphere at the industrial enterprises, in housing and communal services, in home appliances makes actual the review. As the systematized analysis of gas sensor based on ZnO has not being carried out — this work is of interest for development of chemical sensors based on zinc compound with high sensitivity, selectivity and stability. The resis...

  9. Solid-State Gas Sensors: Sensor System Challenges in the Civil Security Domain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gerhard Müller

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The detection of military high explosives and illicit drugs presents problems of paramount importance in the fields of counter terrorism and criminal investigation. Effectively dealing with such threats requires hand-portable, mobile and affordable instruments. The paper shows that solid-state gas sensors can contribute to the development of such instruments provided the sensors are incorporated into integrated sensor systems, which acquire the target substances in the form of particle residue from suspect objects and which process the collected residue through a sequence of particle sampling, solid-vapor conversion, vapor detection and signal treatment steps. Considering sensor systems with metal oxide gas sensors at the backend, it is demonstrated that significant gains in sensitivity, selectivity and speed of response can be attained when the threat substances are sampled in particle as opposed to vapor form.

  10. Selectivity enhancement of indium-doped SnO2 gas sensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salehi, A.

    2002-01-01

    Indium doping was used to enhance the selectivity of SnO 2 gas sensor. Both indium-doped and undoped SnO 2 gas sensors fabricated with different deposition techniques were investigated. The changes in the sensitivity of the sensors caused by selective gases (hydrogen and wood smoke) ranging from 500 to 3000 ppm were measured at different temperatures from 50 to 300 deg. C. The sensitivity peaks of the samples exhibit different values for selective gases with a response time of approximately 0.5 s. Thermally evaporated indium-doped SnO 2 gas sensor shows a considerable increase in the sensitivity peak of 27% in response to wood smoke, whereas it shows a sensitivity peak of 7% to hydrogen. This is in contrast to the sputter deposited indium-doped SnO 2 gas sensor, which exhibits a much lower sensitivity peak of approximately 2% to hydrogen and wood smoke compared to undoped SnO 2 gas sensors fabricated by chemical vapor deposition and spray pyrolysis. Scanning electron microscopy shows that different deposition techniques result in different porosity of the films. It is observed that the thermally evaporated indium-doped SnO 2 gas sensor shows high porosity, while the sputtered sample exhibits almost no porosity

  11. Geochemical characteristics of natural gas in the hydrocarbon accumulation history, and its difference among gas reservoirs in the Upper Triassic formation of Sichuan Basin, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peng Wang

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The analysis of hydrocarbon generation, trap formation, inclusion homogenization temperature, authigenic illite dating, and ESR dating were used to understand the history of hydrocarbon accumulation and its difference among gas reservoirs in the Upper Triassic formation of Sichuan Basin. The results show the hydrocarbon accumulation mainly occurred during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods; they could also be classified into three stages: (1 early hydrocarbon generation accumulation stage, (2 mass hydrocarbon generation accumulation stage before the Himalayan Epoch, (3 and parts of hydrocarbon adjustment and re-accumulation during Himalayan Epoch. The second stage is more important than the other two. The Hydrocarbon accumulation histories are obviously dissimilar in different regions. In western Sichuan Basin, the gas accumulation began at the deposition period of member 5 of Xujiahe Formation, and mass accumulation occurred during the early Middle Jurassic up to the end of the Late Cretaceous. In central Sichuan Basin, the accumulation began at the early Late Jurassic, and the mass accumulation occurred from the middle Early Cretaceous till the end of the Late Cretaceous. In southern Sichuan Basin, the accumulation began at the middle Late Jurassic, and the mass accumulation occurred from the middle of the Late Cretaceous to the end of the Later Cretaceous. The accumulation history of the western Sichuan Basin is the earliest, and the southern Sichuan Basin is the latest. This paper will help to understand the accumulation process, accumulation mechanism, and gas reservoir distribution of the Triassic gas reservoirs in the Sichuan Basin better. Meanwhile, it is found that the authigenic illite in the Upper Triassic formation of Sichuan Basin origin of deep-burial and its dating is a record of the later accumulation. This suggests that the illite dating needs to fully consider illite origin; otherwise the dating results may not accurately

  12. Characterization of gas sensors for measurement of unburned gases in small district heating furnaces; Karaktaerisering av gassensorer foer maetning av ofoerbraenda aemnen i naervaermecentraler

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eskilsson, David; Roennbaeck, Marie [Swedish National Testing and Research Inst., Boraas (Sweden)

    2004-11-01

    Small district heating boilers are often equipped with a simple O{sub 2}-gauge (lambda sensor) that controls the air supply. There is a great need in small furnaces of continuous measurements of several gas components such as CO, THC and NO{sub x} by simple and cheap technique. Recently, new types of cheap gas sensors have been developed which can be suitable. These gas sensors measure the amount of unburned species (sum of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and hydrogen). The objective with this project has been to characterise several gas sensors for unburnt in order to evaluate if they are suitable for combustion control and surveillance of small district heating furnaces. In this work three different gas sensors have been characterised. The sensors were characterised in the laboratory where they were exposed for mixtures of pure gases. The sensors were mounted inside the flue gas channel from a small district heating furnace during 3 months in order to estimate the sensors robustness and the character of the signal in flue gas. The tests with pure gases show that all sensors also reacts for other components besides CO and THC. It is mainly the oxygen concentrations that affect the sensors characteristics but also an altered humidity is important. Measurements in the small district heating furnace showed that none of the sensors was able to measure correctly when mounted directly in the flue gas channel (in situ). The in situ sensors are covered with fly ash and the fly ash also slowly destroys the sensors. Sensors mounted after a filter (exposed for a particle free flue gas) work satisfactory. All of the tested sensors, mounted after a filter, follow the changes in CO concentration well. Some of the sensors are capable of detecting CO as low as 15 ppm. But the accuracy of how well the sensors are able to detect CO varies from sensor to sensor. The measurements also show that even if the sensor is able to follow the changes in CO concentration, the ground signal of

  13. Flow-through Fourier transform infrared sensor for total hydrocarbons determination in water.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pérez-Palacios, David; Armenta, Sergio; Lendl, Bernhard

    2009-09-01

    A new flow-through Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) sensor for oil in water analysis based on solid-phase spectroscopy on octadecyl (C18) silica particles has been developed. The C18 non-polar sorbent is placed inside the sensor and is able to retain hydrocarbons from water samples. The system does not require the use of chlorinated solvents, reducing the environmental impact, and the minimal sample handling stages serve to ensure sample integrity whilst reducing exposure of the analyst to any toxic hydrocarbons present within the samples. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra were recorded by co-adding 32 scans at a resolution of 4 cm(-1) and the band located at 1462 cm(-1) due to the CH(2) bending was integrated from 1475 to 1450 cm(-1) using a baseline correction established between 1485 and 1440 cm(-1) using the areas as analytical signal. The technique, which provides a limit of detection (LOD) of 22 mg L(-1) and a precision expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD) lower than 5%, is considerably rapid and allows for a high level of automation.

  14. Gas Sensors Based on Molecular Imprinting Technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yumin; Zhang, Jin; Liu, Qingju

    2017-07-04

    Molecular imprinting technology (MIT); often described as a method of designing a material to remember a target molecular structure (template); is a technique for the creation of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) with custom-made binding sites complementary to the target molecules in shape; size and functional groups. MIT has been successfully applied to analyze; separate and detect macromolecular organic compounds. Furthermore; it has been increasingly applied in assays of biological macromolecules. Owing to its unique features of structure specificity; predictability; recognition and universal application; there has been exploration of the possible application of MIPs in the field of highly selective gas sensors. In this present study; we outline the recent advances in gas sensors based on MIT; classify and introduce the existing molecularly imprinted gas sensors; summarize their advantages and disadvantages; and analyze further research directions.

  15. Nanowire-based gas sensors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chen, X.; Wong, C.K.Y.; Yuan, C.A.; Zhang, G.

    2013-01-01

    Gas sensors fabricated with nanowires as the detecting elements are powerful due to their many improved characteristics such as high surface-to-volume ratios, ultrasensitivity, higher selectivity, low power consumption, and fast response. This paper gives an overview on the recent process of the

  16. Low Power Greenhouse Gas Sensors for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David J. Lary

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available We demonstrate compact, low power, lightweight laser-based sensors for measuring trace gas species in the atmosphere designed specifically for electronic unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV platforms. The sensors utilize non-intrusive optical sensing techniques to measure atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations with unprecedented vertical and horizontal resolution (~1 m within the planetary boundary layer. The sensors are developed to measure greenhouse gas species including carbon dioxide, water vapor and methane in the atmosphere. Key innovations are the coupling of very low power vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs to low power drive electronics and sensitive multi-harmonic wavelength modulation spectroscopic techniques. The overall mass of each sensor is between 1–2 kg including batteries and each one consumes less than 2 W of electrical power. In the initial field testing, the sensors flew successfully onboard a T-Rex Align 700E robotic helicopter and showed a precision of 1% or less for all three trace gas species. The sensors are battery operated and capable of fully automated operation for long periods of time in diverse sensing environments. Laser-based trace gas sensors for UAVs allow for high spatial mapping of local greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmospheric boundary layer where land/atmosphere fluxes occur. The high-precision sensors, coupled to the ease-of-deployment and cost effectiveness of UAVs, provide unprecedented measurement capabilities that are not possible with existing satellite-based and suborbital aircraft platforms.

  17. Development of a new method for hydrogen isotope analysis of trace hydrocarbons in natural gas samples

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xibin Wang

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available A new method had been developed for the analysis of hydrogen isotopic composition of trace hydrocarbons in natural gas samples by using solid phase microextraction (SPME combined with gas chromatography-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/IRMS. In this study, the SPME technique had been initially introduced to achieve the enrichment of trace content of hydrocarbons with low abundance and coupled to GC/IRMS for hydrogen isotopic analysis. The main parameters, including the equilibration time, extraction temperature, and the fiber type, were systematically optimized. The results not only demonstrated that high extraction yield was true but also shows that the hydrogen isotopic fractionation was not observed during the extraction process, when the SPME device fitted with polydimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzene/carbon molecular sieve (PDMS/DVB/CAR fiber. The applications of SPME-GC/IRMS method were evaluated by using natural gas samples collected from different sedimentary basins; the standard deviation (SD was better than 4‰ for reproducible measurements; and also, the hydrogen isotope values from C1 to C9 can be obtained with satisfying repeatability. The SPME-GC/IRMS method fitted with PDMS/DVB/CAR fiber is well suited for the preconcentration of trace hydrocarbons, and provides a reliable hydrogen isotopic analysis for trace hydrocarbons in natural gas samples.

  18. A Smart Gas Sensor Insensitive to Humidity and Temperature Variations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hajmirzaheydarali, Mohammadreza; Ghafarinia, Vahid

    2011-01-01

    The accuracy of the quantitative sensing of volatile organic compounds by chemoresistive gas sensors suffers from the fluctuations in the background atmospheric conditions. This is caused by the drift-like terms introduced in the responses by these instabilities, which should be identified and compensated. Here, a mathematical model is presented for a specific chemoresistive gas sensor, which facilitates these identification and compensation processes. The resistive gas sensor was considered as a multi-input-single-output system. Along with the steady state value of the measured sensor resistance, the ambient humidity and temperature are the inputs to the system, while the concentration level of the target gas is the output. The parameters of the model were calculated based on the experimental database. The model was simulated by the utilization of an artificial neural network. This was connected to the sensor and could deliver the correct contamination level upon receiving the measured gas response, ambient humidity and temperature.

  19. Corroles-Porphyrins: A Teamwork for Gas Sensor Arrays

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosamaria Capuano

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Porphyrins provide an excellent material for chemical sensors, and they have been used for sensing species both in air and solution. In the gas phase, the broad selectivity of porphyrins is largely dependant on molecular features, such as the metal ion complexed at the core of the aromatic ring and the peripheral substituents. Although these features have been largely exploited to design gas sensor arrays, so far, little attention has been devoted to modify the sensing properties of these macrocycles by variation of the molecular aromatic ring. In this paper, the gas sensing properties of a porphyrin analog, the corrole, are studied in comparison with those of the parent porphyrin. Results show that changes in the aromatic ring have important consequences on the sensitivity and selectivity of the sensors and that porphyrins and corroles can positively cooperate to enhance the performance of sensor arrays.

  20. Pollution Monitoring System Using Gas Sensor based on Wireless Sensor Network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Udin Harun Al Rasyid

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Carbon monoxide (CO and carbon dioxide (CO2 gases are classified as colorless and odorless gas so we need special tools to monitor their concentration in the air. Concentration of air pollution of CO and CO2 that are high in the air will give serious effects for health status. CO is a poisonous gas that damages the circulation of oxygen in the blood when inhaled, while CO2 is one of the gases that causes global warming. In this paper, we developed an integrated pollution monitoring (IPOM system to monitor the concentration of air pollution. This research implemented three sensor nodes (end-device which each node contains CO and CO2 sensors on the gas sensors board to perform sensing from the environment. Furthermore, the data taken from the environment by the sensor will be sent to the meshlium gateway using IEEE 802.15.4 Zigbee communications and processed by the gateway in order to be sent to the computer server. The data is stored in meshlium gateway using MySQL database as a backup, and it will be synchronized to the MySQL database in the computer server. We provide services for public to access the information in database server through a desktop and website application.

  1. 21 CFR 870.4410 - Cardiopulmonary bypass in-line blood gas sensor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Cardiopulmonary bypass in-line blood gas sensor... Cardiopulmonary bypass in-line blood gas sensor. (a) Identification. A cardiopulmonary bypass in-line blood gas sensor is a transducer that measures the level of gases in the blood. (b) Classification. Class II...

  2. Gas-phase polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in vehicle exhaust: A method for collection and analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seigl, W.O.; Chladek, E.

    1990-01-01

    Gas-phase polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are emitted at low levels in vehicle exhaust compared to other hydrocarbon emissions. A method has been developed involving the trapping of gas phase emissions on Tenax, a macrorecticular porous polymer, followed by thermal desorption onto a capillary gas chromatography column. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was used for the chemical analysis. A detection limit of 0.05 ng was achieved for several gas-phase PAH. This high sensitivity enables the speciation and quantitation of gas-phase PAH collected from a dilution tube during standard driving (test) cycles. The method was demonstrated for the analysis of 9 PAH in the exhaust from a 1987 vehicle (with and without catalyst) during the hot start transient phase of the EPA urban dynamometer driving schedule. The PAH measured include naphthalene, 2-methyl- and 1-methylnaphthalene, biphenyl, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene and pyrene. The four most abundant PAH observed are naphthalene, 2-methyl and 1-methylnaphthalene, and biphenyl, in that order

  3. H2-rich and Hydrocarbon Gas Recovered in a Deep Precambrian Well in Northeastern Kansas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Newell, K. David; Doveton, John H.; Merriam, Daniel F.; Lollar, Barbara Sherwood; Waggoner, William M.; Magnuson, L. Michael

    2007-01-01

    In late 2005 and early 2006, the WTW Operating, LLC (W.T.W. Oil Co., Inc.) no. 1 Wilson well (T.D. = 5772 ft; 1759.3 m) was drilled for 1826 ft (556.6 m) into Precambrian basement underlying the Forest City Basin in northeastern Kansas. Approximately 4500 of the 380,000 wells drilled in Kansas penetrate Precambrian basement. Except for two previous wells drilled into the arkoses and basalts of the 1.1-Ga Midcontinent Rift and another well drilled in 1929 in basement on the Nemaha Uplift east of the Midcontinent Rift, this well represents the deepest penetration into basement rocks in the state to date. Granite is the typical lithology observed in wells that penetrate the Precambrian in the northern Midcontinent. Although no cores were taken to definitively identify lithologies, well cuttings and petrophysical logs indicate that this well encountered basement metamorphic rocks consisting of schist, gneiss, and amphibolitic gneiss, all cut by aplite dikes.The well was cased and perforated in the Precambrian, and then acidized. After several days of swabbing operations, the well produced shows of low-Btu gas, dominated by the non-flammable component gases of nitrogen (20%), carbon dioxide (43%), and helium (1%). Combustible components include methane (26%), hydrogen (10%), and higher molecular-weight hydrocarbons (1%). Although Coveney and others [Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists Bull., v. 71, no, 1, p. 39-48, 1987] identified H 2 -rich gas in two wells located close to the Midcontinent Rift in eastern Kansas, this study indicates that high levels of H 2 may be a more widespread phenomenon than previously thought. Unlike previous results, the gases in this study have a significant component of hydrocarbon gas, as well as H 2 , N 2 , and CO 2 . Although redox reactions between iron-bearing minerals and groundwater are a possible source of H 2 in the Precambrian basement rocks, the hydrocarbon gas does not exhibit the characteristics typically associated with proposed

  4. Ether gas-sensor based on Au nanoparticles-decorated ZnO microstructures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roberto López

    Full Text Available An ether gas-sensor was fabricated based on gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs decorated zinc oxide microstructures (ZnO-MS. Scanning electron microscope (SEM and high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM measurements were performed to study morphological and structural properties, respectively, of the ZnO-MS. The gas sensing response was evaluated in a relatively low temperature regime, which ranged between 150 and 250 °C. Compared with a sensor fabricated from pure ZnO-MS, the sensor based on Au-NPs decorated ZnO-MS showed much better ether gas response at the highest working temperature. In fact, pure ZnO-MS based sensor only showed a weak sensitivity of about 25%. The improvement of the ether gas response for sensor fabricated with Au-NPs decorated ZnO-MS was attributed to the catalytic activity of the Au-NPs. Keywords: ZnO microstructures, Au nanoparticles, Ether, Gas sensor

  5. Data-driven modeling of nano-nose gas sensor arrays

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alstrøm, Tommy Sonne; Larsen, Jan; Nielsen, Claus Højgård

    2010-01-01

    We present a data-driven approach to classification of Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) sensor data. The sensor is a nano-nose gas sensor that detects concentrations of analytes down to ppm levels using plasma polymorized coatings. Each sensor experiment takes approximately one hour hence...... the number of available training data is limited. We suggest a data-driven classification model which work from few examples. The paper compares a number of data-driven classification and quantification schemes able to detect the gas and the concentration level. The data-driven approaches are based on state...

  6. Data–driven modeling of nano-nose gas sensor arrays

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alstrøm, Tommy Sonne; Larsen, Jan; Nielsen, Claus Højgård

    2010-01-01

    We present a data-driven approach to classification of Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) sensor data. The sensor is a nano-nose gas sensor that detects concentrations of analytes down to ppm levels using plasma polymorized coatings. Each sensor experiment takes approximately one hour hence...... the number of available training data is limited. We suggest a data-driven classification model which work from few examples. The paper compares a number of data-driven classification and quantification schemes able to detect the gas and the concentration level. The data-driven approaches are based on state...

  7. Advancement of Miniature Optic Gas Sensor (MOGS) Probe Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chullen, Cinda

    2015-01-01

    Advancement of Miniature Optic Gas Sensor (MOGS) Probe Technology" project will investigate newly developed optic gas sensors delivered from a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II effort. A ventilation test rig will be designed and fabricated to test the sensors while integrated with a Suited Manikin Test Apparatus (SMTA). Once the sensors are integrated, a series of test points will be completed to verify that the sensors can withstand Advanced Suit Portable Life Support System (PLSS) environments and associated human metabolic profiles for changes in pressure and levels of Oxygen (ppO2), carbon dioxide (ppCO2), and humidity (ppH2O).

  8. Solid State Gas Sensor Research in Germany – a Status Report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Udo Weimar

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available This status report overviews activities of the German gas sensor research community. It highlights recent progress in the field of potentiometric, amperometric, conductometric, impedimetric, and field effect-based gas sensors. It is shown that besides step-by-step improvements of conventional principles, e.g. by the application of novel materials, novel principles turned out to enable new markets. In the field of mixed potential gas sensors, novel materials allow for selective detection of combustion exhaust components. The same goal can be reached by using zeolites for impedimetric gas sensors. Operando spectroscopy is a powerful tool to learn about the mechanisms in n-type and in p-type conductometric sensors and to design knowledge-based improved sensor devices. Novel deposition methods are applied to gain direct access to the material morphology as well as to obtain dense thick metal oxide films without high temperature steps. Since conductometric and impedimetric sensors have the disadvantage that a current has to pass the gas sensitive film, film morphology, electrode materials, and geometrical issues affect the sensor signal. Therefore, one tries to measure directly the Fermi level position either by measuring the gas-dependent Seebeck coefficient at high temperatures or at room temperature by applying a modified miniaturized Kelvin probe method, where surface adsorption-based work function changes drive the drain-source current of a field effect transistor.

  9. Indoor air quality inspection and analysis system based on gas sensor array

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Xiang; Wang, Mingjiang; Fan, Binwen

    2017-08-01

    A detection and analysis system capable of measuring the concentration of four major gases in indoor air is designed. It uses four gas sensors constitute a gas sensor array, to achieve four indoor gas concentration detection, while the detection of data for further processing to reduce the cross-sensitivity between the gas sensor to improve the accuracy of detection.

  10. Sensing characteristics of nanocrystalline bismuth oxide clad-modified fiber optic gas sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manjula, M.; Karthikeyan, B.; Sastikumar, D.

    2017-08-01

    Gas sensing properties of nanocrystalline bismuth oxide clad - modified fiber optic sensor is reported for ammonia, ethanol, methanol and acetone gasses at room temperature. The output of sensor increases or decreases for certain gasses when the concentration of the gas is increased. The sensor exhibits high response and good selectivity to methanol gas. Time response characteristics of the sensor are also reported.

  11. Hydrocarbon phenotyping of algal species using pyrolysis-gas chromatography mass spectrometry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kothari Shankar L

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Biofuels derived from algae biomass and algae lipids might reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Existing analytical techniques need to facilitate rapid characterization of algal species by phenotyping hydrocarbon-related constituents. Results In this study, we compared the hydrocarbon rich algae Botryococcus braunii against the photoautotrophic model algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii using pyrolysis-gas chromatography quadrupole mass spectrometry (pyGC-MS. Sequences of up to 48 dried samples can be analyzed using pyGC-MS in an automated manner without any sample preparation. Chromatograms of 30-min run times are sufficient to profile pyrolysis products from C8 to C40 carbon chain length. The freely available software tools AMDIS and SpectConnect enables straightforward data processing. In Botryococcus samples, we identified fatty acids, vitamins, sterols and fatty acid esters and several long chain hydrocarbons. The algae species C. reinhardtii, B. braunii race A and B. braunii race B were readily discriminated using their hydrocarbon phenotypes. Substructure annotation and spectral clustering yielded network graphs of similar components for visual overviews of abundant and minor constituents. Conclusion Pyrolysis-GC-MS facilitates large scale screening of hydrocarbon phenotypes for comparisons of strain differences in algae or impact of altered growth and nutrient conditions.

  12. Optimized Feature Extraction for Temperature-Modulated Gas Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Vergara

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available One of the most serious limitations to the practical utilization of solid-state gas sensors is the drift of their signal. Even if drift is rooted in the chemical and physical processes occurring in the sensor, improved signal processing is generally considered as a methodology to increase sensors stability. Several studies evidenced the augmented stability of time variable signals elicited by the modulation of either the gas concentration or the operating temperature. Furthermore, when time-variable signals are used, the extraction of features can be accomplished in shorter time with respect to the time necessary to calculate the usual features defined in steady-state conditions. In this paper, we discuss the stability properties of distinct dynamic features using an array of metal oxide semiconductors gas sensors whose working temperature is modulated with optimized multisinusoidal signals. Experiments were aimed at measuring the dispersion of sensors features in repeated sequences of a limited number of experimental conditions. Results evidenced that the features extracted during the temperature modulation reduce the multidimensional data dispersion among repeated measurements. In particular, the Energy Signal Vector provided an almost constant classification rate along the time with respect to the temperature modulation.

  13. Ce doped NiO nanoparticles as selective NO2 gas sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gawali, Swati R.; Patil, Vithoba L.; Deonikar, Virendrakumar G.; Patil, Santosh S.; Patil, Deepak R.; Patil, Pramod S.; Pant, Jayashree

    2018-03-01

    Metal oxide gas sensors are promising portable gas detection devices because of their advantages such as low cost, easy production and compact size. The performance of such sensors is strongly dependent on material properties such as morphology, structure and doping. In the present study, we report the effect of cerium (Ce) doping on nickel oxide (NiO) nano-structured thin film sensors towards various gases. Bare NiO and Ce doped NiO nanoparticles (Ce:NiO) were synthesized by sol-gel method. To understand the effect of Ce doping in nickel oxide, various molar percentages of Ce with respect to nickel were incorporated. The structure, phase, morphology and band-gap energy of as-synthesized nanoparticles were studied by XRD, SEM, EDAX and UV-vis spectroscopy. Thin film gas sensors of all the samples were prepared and subjected to various gases such as LPG, NH3, CH3COCH3 and NO2. A systematic and comparative study reveals an enhanced gas sensing performance of Ce:NiO sensors towards NO2 gas. The maximum sensitivity for NO2 gas is around 0.719% per ppm at moderate operating temperature of 150 °C for 0.5% Ce:NiO thin film gas sensor. The enhanced gas sensing performance for Ce:NiO is attributed to the distortion of crystal lattice caused by doping of Ce into NiO.

  14. Method and apparatus for real-time measurement of fuel gas compositions and heating values

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zelepouga, Serguei; Pratapas, John M.; Saveliev, Alexei V.; Jangale, Vilas V.

    2016-03-22

    An exemplary embodiment can be an apparatus for real-time, in situ measurement of gas compositions and heating values. The apparatus includes a near infrared sensor for measuring concentrations of hydrocarbons and carbon dioxide, a mid infrared sensor for measuring concentrations of carbon monoxide and a semiconductor based sensor for measuring concentrations of hydrogen gas. A data processor having a computer program for reducing the effects of cross-sensitivities of the sensors to components other than target components of the sensors is also included. Also provided are corresponding or associated methods for real-time, in situ determination of a composition and heating value of a fuel gas.

  15. Chemical discrimination in turbulent gas mixtures with MOX sensors validated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fonollosa, Jordi; Rodríguez-Luján, Irene; Trincavelli, Marco; Vergara, Alexander; Huerta, Ramón

    2014-10-16

    Chemical detection systems based on chemo-resistive sensors usually include a gas chamber to control the sample air flow and to minimize turbulence. However, such a kind of experimental setup does not reproduce the gas concentration fluctuations observed in natural environments and destroys the spatio-temporal information contained in gas plumes. Aiming at reproducing more realistic environments, we utilize a wind tunnel with two independent gas sources that get naturally mixed along a turbulent flow. For the first time, chemo-resistive gas sensors are exposed to dynamic gas mixtures generated with several concentration levels at the sources. Moreover, the ground truth of gas concentrations at the sensor location was estimated by means of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. We used a support vector machine as a tool to show that chemo-resistive transduction can be utilized to reliably identify chemical components in dynamic turbulent mixtures, as long as sufficient gas concentration coverage is used. We show that in open sampling systems, training the classifiers only on high concentrations of gases produces less effective classification and that it is important to calibrate the classification method with data at low gas concentrations to achieve optimal performance.

  16. Method and apparatus for continuously detecting and monitoring the hydrocarbon dew-point of gas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boyle, G.J.; Pritchard, F.R.

    1987-08-04

    This patent describes a method and apparatus for continuously detecting and monitoring the hydrocarbon dew-point of a gas. A gas sample is supplied to a dew-point detector and the temperature of a portion of the sample gas stream to be investigated is lowered progressively prior to detection until the dew-point is reached. The presence of condensate within the flowing gas is detected and subsequently the supply gas sample is heated to above the dew-point. The procedure of cooling and heating the gas stream continuously in a cyclical manner is repeated.

  17. SnO2/PPy Screen-Printed Multilayer CO2 Gas Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S.A. WAGHULEY

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available Tin dioxide (SnO2 plays a dominant role in solid state gas sensors and exhibit sensitivity towards oxidizing and reducing gases by a variation of its electrical properties. The electrical conducting polymer-polypyrrole (PPy has high anisotropy of electrical conduction and used as a gas sensor. SnO2/PPy multilayer, pure SnO2, pure PPy sensors were prepared by screen-printing method on Al2O3 layer followed by glass substrate. The sensors were used for different concentration (ppm of CO2 gas investigation at room temperature (303 K. The sensitivity of SnO2/PPy multilayer sensor was found to be higher, compared with pure SnO2 and pure PPy sensors. The multilayer sensor exhibited improved stability. The response and recovery time of multilayer sensor were found to be ~2 min and ~10 min respectively.

  18. Novel gas sensors based on carbon nanotube networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sayago, I; Aleixandre, M; Horrillo, M C; Fernandez, M J; Gutierrez, J; Terrado, E; Lafuente, E; Maser, W K; Benito, A M; Martinez, M T; Munoz, E; Urriolabeitia, E P; Navarro, R

    2008-01-01

    Novel resistive gas sensors based on single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) networks as the active sensing element nave been investigated for gas detection. SWNTs networks were fabricated by airbrushing on alumina substrates. As-produced- and Pd-decorated SWNT materials were used as sensitive layers for the detection of NO 2 and H 2 , respectively. The studied sensors provided good response to NO 2 and H 2 as well as excellent selectivities to interfering gases.

  19. The Precise Mechanisms of a High-Speed Ultrasound Gas Sensor and Detecting Human-Specific Lung Gas Exchange

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hideki Toda

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we propose and develop a new real-time human respiration process analysis method using a high-time-sampling gas concentration sensor based on ultrasound. A unique point about our proposed gas concentration sensor is its 1 kHz gas concentration sampling speed. This figure could not have been attained by previously proposed gas concentration measurement methods such as InfraRed, semiconductor gas sensors, or GC-MS, because the gas analysis speeds were a maximum of a few hundred milliseconds. First, we describe the proposed new ultrasound sound speed measurement method and the signal processing, and present the measurement circuit diagram. Next, we analyse the human respiration gas variation patterns of five healthy subjects using a newly developed gas-mask-type respiration sensor. This reveals that the rapid gas exchange from H2O to CO2 contains air specific to the human being. In addition, we also measured medical symptoms in subjects suffering from asthma, hyperventilation and bronchial asthma. The millisecond level high-speed analysis of the human respiration process will be useful for the next generation of healthcare, rehabilitation and sports science technology.

  20. Novel bacterial gas sensor proteins with transition metal-containing prosthetic groups as active sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aono, Shigetoshi

    2012-04-01

    Gas molecules function as signaling molecules in many biological regulatory systems responsible for transcription, chemotaxis, and other complex physiological processes. Gas sensor proteins play a crucial role in regulating such biological systems in response to gas molecules. New sensor proteins that sense oxygen or nitric oxide have recently been found, and they have been characterized by X-ray crystallographic and/or spectroscopic analysis. It has become clear that the interaction between a prosthetic group and gas molecules triggers dynamic structural changes in the protein backbone when a gas sensor protein senses gas molecules. Gas sensor proteins employ novel mechanisms to trigger conformational changes in the presence of a gas. In gas sensor proteins that have iron-sulfur clusters as active sites, the iron-sulfur clusters undergo structural changes, which trigger a conformational change. Heme-based gas sensor proteins reconstruct hydrogen-bonding networks around the heme and heme-bound ligand. Gas sensor proteins have two functional states, on and off, which are active and inactive, respectively, for subsequent signal transduction in response to their physiological effector molecules. To fully understand the structure-function relationships of gas sensor proteins, it is vital to perform X-ray crystal structure analyses of full-length proteins in both the on and off states.

  1. Tailoring gas-phase CO2 electroreduction selectivity to hydrocarbons at Cu nanoparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merino-Garcia, I.; Albo, J.; Irabien, A.

    2018-01-01

    Copper-based surfaces appear as the most active catalysts for CO2 electroreduction to hydrocarbons, even though formation rates and efficiencies still need to be improved. The aim of the present work is to evaluate the continuous gas-phase CO2 electroreduction to hydrocarbons (i.e. ethylene and methane) at copper nanoparticulated-based surfaces, paying attention to particle size influence (ranging from 25-80 nm) on reaction productivity, selectivity, and Faraday efficiency (FE) for CO2 conversion. The effect of the current density and the presence of a microporous layer within the working electrode are then evaluated. Copper-based gas diffusion electrodes are prepared by airbrushing the catalytic ink onto carbon supports, which are then coupled to a cation exchange membrane (Nafion) in a membrane electrode assembly. The results show that the use of smaller copper nanoparticles (25 nm) leads to a higher ethylene production (1148 μmol m-2 s-1) with a remarkable high FE (92.8%), at the same time, diminishing the competitive hydrogen evolution reaction in terms of FE. This work demonstrates the importance of nanoparticle size on reaction selectivity, which may be of help to design enhanced electrocatalytic materials for CO2 valorization to hydrocarbons.

  2. PALLADIUM DOPED TIN OXIDE BASED HYDROGEN GAS SENSORS FOR SAFETY APPLICATIONS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kasthurirengan, S.; Behera, Upendra; Nadig, D. S.

    2010-01-01

    Hydrogen is considered to be a hazardous gas since it forms a flammable mixture between 4 to 75% by volume in air. Hence, the safety aspects of handling hydrogen are quite important. For this, ideally, highly selective, fast response, small size, hydrogen sensors are needed. Although sensors based on different technologies may be used, thin-film sensors based on palladium (Pd) are preferred due to their compactness and fast response. They detect hydrogen by monitoring the changes to the electrical, mechanical or optical properties of the films. We report the development of Pd-doped tin-oxide based gas sensors prepared on thin ceramic substrates with screen printed platinum (Pt) contacts and integrated nicrome wire heaters. The sensors are tested for their performances using hydrogen-nitrogen gas mixtures to a maximum of 4%H 2 in N 2 . The sensors detect hydrogen and their response times are less than a few seconds. Also, the sensor performance is not altered by the presence of helium in the test gas mixtures. By the above desired performance characteristics, field trials of these sensors have been undertaken. The paper presents the details of the sensor fabrication, electronic circuits, experimental setup for evaluation and the test results.

  3. Application of a sensor array based on capillary-attached conductive gas sensors for odor identification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bahraminejad, Behzad; Basri, Shahnor; Isa, Maryam; Hambali, Zarida

    2010-01-01

    An electronic nose based on an array of capillary-attached conductive gas sensors was fabricated. The identification ability of the developed structure was investigated by employing different categories of simple and complex odor databases. Feature data sets were generated from the dynamic and steady state responses of the sensor array to the applied odor databases. Combinations of different feature extraction and classification methods were used to detect target gases. Validation of each technique was evaluated. Achievements of the study proved high classification rates of the fabricated e-nose in odor identification. It was indicated that gas identification is possible by applying the early selected portion of transient responses of the developed sensor array. The ability of the mentioned structure in analyzing gas mixtures was also investigated. The results presented high accuracy in the classification of gas mixtures

  4. Silicon microring refractometric sensor for atmospheric CO(2) gas monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mi, Guangcan; Horvath, Cameron; Aktary, Mirwais; Van, Vien

    2016-01-25

    We report a silicon photonic refractometric CO(2) gas sensor operating at room temperature and capable of detecting CO(2) gas at atmospheric concentrations. The sensor uses a novel functional material layer based on a guanidine polymer derivative, which is shown to exhibit reversible refractive index change upon absorption and release of CO(2) gas molecules, and does not require the presence of humidity to operate. By functionalizing a silicon microring resonator with a thin layer of the polymer, we could detect CO(2) gas concentrations in the 0-500ppm range with a sensitivity of 6 × 10(-9) RIU/ppm and a detection limit of 20ppm. The microring transducer provides a potential integrated solution in the development of low-cost and compact CO(2) sensors that can be deployed as part of a sensor network for accurate environmental monitoring of greenhouse gases.

  5. Solid electrolyte gas sensors based on cyclic voltammetry with one active electrode

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jasinski, G; Jasinski, P, E-mail: gregor@biomed.eti.pg.gda.pl [Gdansk University of Technology, Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunication and Informatics, Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdansk (Poland)

    2011-10-29

    Solid state gas sensors are cost effective, small, rugged and reliable. Typically electrochemical solid state sensors operate in either potentiometric or amperometric mode. However, a lack of selectivity is sometimes a shortcoming of such sensors. It seems that improvements of selectivity can be obtained in case of the electrocatalytic sensors, which operate in cyclic voltammetry mode. Their working principle is based on acquisition of an electric current, while voltage ramp is applied to the sensor. The current-voltage response depends in a unique way on the type and concentration of ambient gas. Most electrocatalytic sensors have symmetrical structure. They are in a form of pellets with two electrodes placed on their opposite sides. Electrochemical reactions occur simultaneously on both electrodes. In this paper results for sensors with only one active electrode exposed to ambient gas are presented. The other electrode was isolated from ambient gas with dielectric sealing. This sensor construction allows application of advanced measuring procedures, which permit sensor regeneration acceleration. Experiments were conducted on Nasicon sensors. Properties of two sensors, one with one active electrode and second with symmetrical structure, used for the detection of mixtures of NO{sub 2} and synthetic air are compared.

  6. A physicochemical mechanism of chemical gas sensors using an AC analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moon, Jaehyun; Park, Jin-Ah; Lee, Su-Jae; Lee, Jeong-Ik; Zyung, Taehyong; Shin, Eui-Chol; Lee, Jong-Sook

    2013-06-21

    Electrical modeling of the chemical gas sensors was successfully applied to TiO2 nanofiber gas sensors by developing an equivalent circuit model where the junction capacitance as well as the resistance can be separated from the comparable stray capacitance. The Schottky junction impedance exhibited a characteristic skewed arc described by a Cole-Davidson function, and the variation of the fit and derived parameters with temperature, bias, and NO2 gas concentration indicated definitely a physicochemical sensing mechanism based on the Pt|TiO2 Schottky junctions against the conventional supposition of the enhanced sensitivity in nanostructured gas sensors with high grain boundary/surface area. Analysis on a model Pt|TiO2|Pt structure also confirmed the characteristic impedance response of TiO2 nanofiber sensors.

  7. MEMS device for mass market gas and chemical sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kinkade, Brian R.; Daly, James T.; Johnson, Edward A.

    2000-08-01

    Gas and chemical sensors are used in many applications. Industrial health and safety monitors allow companies to meet OSHA requirements by detecting harmful levels of toxic or combustible gases. Vehicle emissions are tested during annual inspections. Blood alcohol breathalizers are used by law enforcement. Refrigerant leak detection ensures that the Earth's ozone layer is not being compromised. Industrial combustion emissions are also monitored to minimize pollution. Heating and ventilation systems watch for high levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) to trigger an increase in fresh air exchange. Carbon monoxide detectors are used in homes to prevent poisoning from poor combustion ventilation. Anesthesia gases are monitored during a patients operation. The current economic reality is that two groups of gas sensor technologies are competing in two distinct existing market segments - affordable (less reliable) chemical reaction sensors for consumer markets and reliable (expensive) infrared (IR) spectroscopic sensors for industrial, laboratory, and medical instrumentation markets. Presently high volume mass-market applications are limited to CO detectros and on-board automotive emissions sensors. Due to reliability problems with electrochemical sensor-based CO detectors there is a hesitancy to apply these sensors in other high volume applications. Applications such as: natural gas leak detection, non-invasive blood glucose monitoring, home indoor air quality, personal/portable air quality monitors, home fire/burnt cooking detector, and home food spoilage detectors need a sensor that is a small, efficient, accurate, sensitive, reliable, and inexpensive. Connecting an array of these next generation gas sensors to wireless networks that are starting to proliferate today creates many other applications. Asthmatics could preview the air quality of their destinations as they venture out into the day. HVAC systems could determine if fresh air intake was actually better than the air

  8. Analytical method validation of GC-FID for the simultaneous measurement of hydrocarbons (C2-C4 in their gas mixture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oman Zuas

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available An accurate gas chromatography coupled to a flame ionization detector (GC-FID method was validated for the simultaneous analysis of light hydrocarbons (C2-C4 in their gas mixture. The validation parameters were evaluated based on the ISO/IEC 17025 definition including method selectivity, repeatability, accuracy, linearity, limit of detection (LOD, limit of quantitation (LOQ, and ruggedness. Under the optimum analytical conditions, the analysis of gas mixture revealed that each target component was well-separated with high selectivity property. The method was also found to be precise and accurate. The method linearity was found to be high with good correlation coefficient values (R2 ≥ 0.999 for all target components. It can be concluded that the GC-FID developed method is reliable and suitable for determination of light C2-C4 hydrocarbons (including ethylene, propane, propylene, isobutane, and n-butane in their gas mixture. The validated method has successfully been applied to the estimation of hydrocarbons light C2-C4 hydrocarbons in natural gas samples, showing high performance repeatability with relative standard deviation (RSD less than 1.0% and good selectivity with no interference from other possible components could be observed.

  9. Thermosensitive gas flow sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berlicki, T.; Osadnik, S.; Prociow, E.

    1997-01-01

    Results of investigations on thermal gas flow sensor have been presented. The sensor consists of three thin film resistors Si+Ta. The circuit was designed in the form of two bridges; one of them serves for measurement of the heater temperature, the second one for the measurement of temperature difference of peripheral resistors. The measurement of output voltage versus the rate of nitrogen flow at various power levels dissipated at the heater and various temperatures have been made. The measurements were carried out in three versions; (a) at constant temperature of the heater, (b) at constant power dissipated in the heater, controlled by the power of the heater, (c) at constant temperature of the heater controlled by the power dissipated in the peripheral resistors of the sensor. Due to measurement range it is advantageous to stabilize the temperature of the heater, especially by means of the power supplied to the peripheral resistors. In this case the wider measurement range can be obtained. (author)

  10. Sales gas hydrocarbon dew point control with a refrigeration plant; Konditionierung des Kohlenwasserstofftaupunktes im Verkaufsgas mittels einer Kaelteanlage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Konieczny, J.; Scsepka, H. [OMV Aktiengesellschaft, Exploration and Production, Gaenserndorf (Austria)

    2004-11-01

    A new refrigeration plant was put on stream in the gas plant Aderklaa, Austria in the fall 2003. The quality criteria inherent to hydrocarbon dew point of the sales gas have already been accomplished. The contract (Allgemeinen Netzzugangsbedingungen) defines the hydrocarbon dew point at the value of 0 C with a pressure ranging 0-70 bar(g). Process facilities are a gas/gas-heat exchanger and a low-temperature-separator flanged to the chiller. A propane cycle produces the required cooling energy. The propane cycle consists of two propane compressors, one of them as back up, a condenser, an accumulator and an evaporator. About 50,000 m{sup 3} (V{sub n}) sales gas per hour are produced at a working pressure of 65 bar(g). Process gas coming from the sweetening plant Aderklaa I is lowered to a temperature of -14 C, where approx. 250 litres liquid hydrocarbons per hour are separated and saved. When the refrigeration plant was designed, attention was given to the operating costs to keep them low. This could be achieved by maximising surface area for heat transfer in the gas/gas-heat exchanger. After commissioning and start-up, full operability of the new plant was tested and documented. The pre-set project goals were accomplished, with respect to both the technical point of view and the economic aspects. (orig.)

  11. Acoustic sensor for in-pile fuel rod fission gas release measurement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fourmentel, D.; Villard, J. F.; Ferrandis, J. Y.; Augereau, F.; Rosenkrantz, E.; Dierckx, M.

    2009-01-01

    We have developed a specific acoustic sensor to improve the knowledge of fission gas release in Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) fuel rods when irradiated in materials testing reactors. In order to perform experimental programs related to the study of the fission gas release kinetics, the CEA (French Nuclear Energy Commission) acquired the ability to equip a pre-irradiated PWR fuel rod with three sensors, allowing the simultaneous on-line measurements of the following parameters: - fuel temperature with a centre-line thermocouple type C, - internal pressure with a specific counter-pressure sensor, - fraction of fission gas released in the fuel rod with an innovative acoustic sensor. The third detector is the subject of this paper. This original acoustic sensor has been designed to measure the molar mass and pressure of the gas contained in the fuel rod plenum. For in-pile instrumentation, the fraction of fission gas, such as Krypton and Xenon, in Helium, can be deduced online from this measurement. The principle of this acoustical sensor is the following: a piezoelectric transducer generates acoustic waves in a cavity connected to the fuel rod plenum. The acoustic waves are propagated and reflected in this cavity and then detected by the transducer. The data processing of the signal gives the velocity of the acoustic waves and their amplitude, which can be related respectively to the molar mass and to the pressure of the gas. The piezoelectric material of this sensor has been qualified in nuclear conditions (gamma and neutron radiations). The complete sensor has also been specifically designed to be implemented in materials testing reactors conditions. For this purpose some technical points have been studied in details: - fixing of the piezoelectric sample in a reliable way with a suitable signal transmission, - size of the gas cavity to avoid any perturbation of the acoustic waves, - miniaturization of the sensor because of narrow in-pile experimental devices

  12. Functionalised zinc oxide nanowire gas sensors: Enhanced NO(2) gas sensor response by chemical modification of nanowire surfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waclawik, Eric R; Chang, Jin; Ponzoni, Andrea; Concina, Isabella; Zappa, Dario; Comini, Elisabetta; Motta, Nunzio; Faglia, Guido; Sberveglieri, Giorgio

    2012-01-01

    Surface coating with an organic self-assembled monolayer (SAM) can enhance surface reactions or the absorption of specific gases and hence improve the response of a metal oxide (MOx) sensor toward particular target gases in the environment. In this study the effect of an adsorbed organic layer on the dynamic response of zinc oxide nanowire gas sensors was investigated. The effect of ZnO surface functionalisation by two different organic molecules, tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (THMA) and dodecanethiol (DT), was studied. The response towards ammonia, nitrous oxide and nitrogen dioxide was investigated for three sensor configurations, namely pure ZnO nanowires, organic-coated ZnO nanowires and ZnO nanowires covered with a sparse layer of organic-coated ZnO nanoparticles. Exposure of the nanowire sensors to the oxidising gas NO(2) produced a significant and reproducible response. ZnO and THMA-coated ZnO nanowire sensors both readily detected NO(2) down to a concentration in the very low ppm range. Notably, the THMA-coated nanowires consistently displayed a small, enhanced response to NO(2) compared to uncoated ZnO nanowire sensors. At the lower concentration levels tested, ZnO nanowire sensors that were coated with THMA-capped ZnO nanoparticles were found to exhibit the greatest enhanced response. ΔR/R was two times greater than that for the as-prepared ZnO nanowire sensors. It is proposed that the ΔR/R enhancement in this case originates from the changes induced in the depletion-layer width of the ZnO nanoparticles that bridge ZnO nanowires resulting from THMA ligand binding to the surface of the particle coating. The heightened response and selectivity to the NO(2) target are positive results arising from the coating of these ZnO nanowire sensors with organic-SAM-functionalised ZnO nanoparticles.

  13. Oxidation of Hydrocarbons on the Surface of Tin Dioxide Chemical Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Izabela Polowczyk

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents the results of our investigation on the effect of the molecular structure of organic vapors on the characteristics of resistive chemical gas sensors. The sensors were based on tin dioxide and prepared by means of thick film technology. The electrical and catalytic examinations showed that the abstraction of two hydrogen atoms from the organic molecule and formation of a water in result of reaction with a chemisorbed oxygen ion, determine the rate of oxidation reactions, and thus the sensor performance. The rate of the process depends on the order of carbon atoms and Lewis acidity of the molecule. Therefore, any modification of the surface centers of a sensor material, modifies not only the sensor sensitivity, but also its selectivity.

  14. Long-Term Stability of Polymer-Coated Surface Transverse Wave Sensors for the Detection of Organic Solvent Vapors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stahl, Ullrich; Voigt, Achim; Dirschka, Marian; Barié, Nicole; Richter, Christiane; Waldbaur, Ansgar; Gruhl, Friederike J; Rapp, Bastian E; Rapp, Michael; Länge, Kerstin

    2017-11-03

    Arrays with polymer-coated acoustic sensors, such as surface acoustic wave (SAW) and surface transverse wave (STW) sensors, have successfully been applied for a variety of gas sensing applications. However, the stability of the sensors' polymer coatings over a longer period of use has hardly been investigated. We used an array of eight STW resonator sensors coated with different polymers. This sensor array was used at semi-annual intervals for a three-year period to detect organic solvent vapors of three different chemical classes: a halogenated hydrocarbon (chloroform), an aliphatic hydrocarbon (octane), and an aromatic hydrocarbon (xylene). The sensor signals were evaluated with regard to absolute signal shifts and normalized signal shifts leading to signal patterns characteristic of the respective solvent vapors. No significant time-related changes of sensor signals or signal patterns were observed, i.e., the polymer coatings kept their performance during the course of the study. Therefore, the polymer-coated STW sensors proved to be robust devices which can be used for detecting organic solvent vapors both qualitatively and quantitatively for several years.

  15. Method of Generating Hydrocarbon Reagents from Diesel, Natural Gas and Other Logistical Fuels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herling, Darrell R [Richland, WA; Aardahl, Chris L [Richland, WA; Rozmiarek, Robert T [Middleton, WI; Rappe, Kenneth G [Richland, WA; Wang, Yong [Richland, WA; Holladay, Jamelyn D [Kennewick, WA

    2008-10-14

    The present invention provides a process for producing reagents for a chemical reaction by introducing a fuel containing hydrocarbons into a flash distillation process wherein the fuel is separated into a first component having a lower average molecular weight and a second component having a higher average molecular weight. The first component is then reformed to produce synthesis gas wherein the synthesis gas is reacted catalytically to produce the desire reagent.

  16. SnO2 Nanostructure as Pollutant Gas Sensors: Synthesis, Sensing Performances, and Mechanism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brian Yuliarto

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available A significant amount of pollutants is produced from factories and motor vehicles in the form of gas. Their negative impact on the environment is well known; therefore detection with effective gas sensors is important as part of pollution prevention efforts. Gas sensors use a metal oxide semiconductor, specifically SnO2 nanostructures. This semiconductor is interesting and worthy of further investigation because of its many uses, for example, as lithium battery electrode, energy storage, catalyst, and transistor, and has potential as a gas sensor. In addition, there has to be a discussion of the use of SnO2 as a pollutant gas sensor especially for waste products such as CO, CO2, SO2, and NOx. In this paper, the development of the fabrication of SnO2 nanostructures synthesis will be described as it relates to the performances as pollutant gas sensors. In addition, the functionalization of SnO2 as a gas sensor is extensively discussed with respect to the theory of gas adsorption, the surface features of SnO2, the band gap theory, and electron transfer.

  17. Potential use of gas sensors in beef manure nutrient content ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The purpose of this study was to develop a gas sensor array to estimate the manure nutrient contents. Three metal-oxide gas sensors including methane, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide were used. Forty manure samples were collected from four beef operations in Southwest North Dakota. Manure samples were sent to be ...

  18. Measuring Trace Hydrocarbons in Silanes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lesser, L. A.

    1984-01-01

    Technique rapid and uses standard analytical equipment. Silane gas containing traces of hydrocarbons injected into carrier gas of moist nitrogen having about 0.2 percent water vapor. Carrier, water and silane pass through short column packed with powdered sodium hydroxide which combines moisture and silane to form nonvolatile sodium silicate. Carrier gas free of silane but containing nonreactive hydrocarbons, pass to silica-gel column where chromatographic separation takes place. Hydrocarbons measured by FID.

  19. Analysis of Simulated Output Characteristics of Gas Sensor Based on Graphene Nanoribbon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Mahmoudi

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This work presents simulated output characteristics of gas sensor transistors based on graphene nanoribbon (GNRFET. The device studied in this work is a new generation of gas sensing devices, which are easy to use, ultracompact, ultrasensitive, and highly selective. We will explain how the exposure to the gas changes the conductivity of graphene nanoribbon. The equations of the GNRFET gas sensor model include the Poisson equation in the weak nonlocality approximation with proposed sensing parameters. As we have developed this model as a platform for a gas detection sensor, we will analyze the current-voltage characteristics after exposure of the GNRFET nanosensor device to NH3 gas. A sensitivity of nearly 2.7% was indicated in our sensor device after exposure of 1 ppm of NH3. The given results make GNRFET the right candidate for use in gas sensing/measuring appliances. Thus, we will investigate the effect of the channel length on the ON- and OFF-current.

  20. Nanostructured ZnO films for potential use in LPG gas sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Latyshev, V. M.; Berestok, T. O.; Opanasyuk, A. S.; Kornyushchenko, A. S.; Perekrestov, V. I.

    2017-05-01

    The aim of the work was to obtain ZnO nanostructures with heightened surface area and to study relationship between formation method and gas sensor properties towards propane-butane mixture (LPG). In order to synthesize ZnO nanostructures chemical and physical formation methods have been utilized. The first one was chemical bath deposition technology and the second one magnetron sputtering of Zn followed by oxidation. Optimal method and technological parameters corresponding to formation of material with the highest sensor response have been determined experimentally. Dynamical gas sensor response at different temperature values and dependencies of the sensor sensitivity on the temperature at different LPG concentrations in air have been investigated. It has been found, that sensor response depends on the sample morphology and has the highest value for the structure consisting of thin nanowires. The factors that lead to the decrease in the gas sensor operating temperature have been determined.

  1. Analysis of nanowire transistor based nitrogen dioxide gas sensor – A simulation study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gaurav Saxena

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Sensors sensitivity, selectivity and stability has always been a prime design concern for gas sensors designers. Modeling and simulation of gas sensors aids the designers in improving their performance. In this paper, different routes for the modeling and simulation of a semiconducting gas sensor is presented. Subsequently, by employing one of the route, the response of Zinc Oxide nanowire transistor towards nitrogen dioxide ambient is simulated. In addition to the sensing mechanism, simulation study of gas species desorption by applying a recovery voltage is also presented.

  2. Study on the inside gas flow visualization of oxygen sensor cover; Kashika ni yoru O2 sensor cover nai no gas nagare hyoka

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hocho, S; Mitsuishi, Y; Inagaki, M [Nippon Soken, Inc., Tokyo (Japan); Hamaguchi, S; Mizusawa, K [Toyota Motor Corp., Aichi (Japan)

    1997-10-01

    In order to make clear the difference of the response time between the oxygen sensors with different protection covers, we visualized gas flow inside of sensor covers by means of two experimental methods: One is `Smoke Suspension Method` using liquid paraffin vapor as the smoke. With smoke suspension method, we detected the streamlines inside of the covers. The other is `Color Reaction Method` using the reaction of phenolphthalein and NH3 gas. With color reaction method, we confirmed the streamline inside of the cover and furthermore detected the difference of the response time of each sensor. 3 refs., 7 figs., 1 tab.

  3. Chemoresistive gas sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirschfeld, T.B.

    1987-06-23

    A chemoresistive gas sensor is provided which has improved sensitivity. A layer of organic semiconductor is disposed between two electrodes which, in turn, are connected to a voltage source. High conductivity material is dispersed within the layer of organic semiconductor in the form of very small particles, or islands. The average interisland spacing is selected so that the predominant mode of current flow is by way of electron funneling. Adsorption of gaseous contaminant onto the layer of organic semiconductor modulates the tunneling current in a quantitative manner. 2 figs.

  4. Application of Ionic Liquids in Amperometric Gas Sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gębicki, Jacek; Kloskowski, Adam; Chrzanowski, Wojciech; Stepnowski, Piotr; Namiesnik, Jacek

    2016-01-01

    This article presents an analysis of available literature data on metrological parameters of the amperometric gas sensors containing ionic liquids as an electrolyte. Four mechanism types of signal generation in amperometric sensors with ionic liquid are described. Moreover, this article describes the influence of selected physico-chemical properties of the ionic liquids on the metrological parameters of these sensors. Some metrological parameters are also compared for amperometric sensors with GDE and SPE electrodes and with ionic liquids for selected analytes.

  5. Highly versatile fiber-based optical Fabry-Pérot gas sensor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jing; Sun, Yuze; Fan, Xudong

    2009-02-16

    We develop a versatile, compact, and sensitive fiber-based optical Fabry-Pérot (FP) gas sensor. The sensor probe is composed of a silver layer and a vapor-sensitive polymer layer that are sequentially deposited on the cleaved fiber endface, thus forming an FP cavity. The interference spectrum resulting from the reflected light at the silver-polymer and polymer-air interfaces changes when the polymer is exposed to gas analytes. This structure enables using any polymer regardless of the polymer refractive index (RI), which significantly enhances the sensor versatility. In experiments, we use polyethylene glycol (PEG) 400 (RI=1.465-1.469) and Norland Optical Adhesive (NOA) 81 (RI=1.53-1.56) as the gas sensing polymer and show drastically different sensor response to hexanol, methanol, and acetone. The estimated sensitivity for methanol vapor is 3.5 pm/ppm and 0.1 pm/ppm for PEG 400 and NOA 81, respectively, with a detection limit on the order of 1-10 ppm. Gas sensing for the analytes delivered in both continuous flow mode and pulsed mode is demonstrated.

  6. Silicon Carbide-Based Hydrogen Gas Sensors for High-Temperature Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sangchoel Kim

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available We investigated SiC-based hydrogen gas sensors with metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS structure for high temperature process monitoring and leak detection applications in fields such as the automotive, chemical and petroleum industries. In this work, a thin tantalum oxide (Ta2O5 layer was exploited with the purpose of sensitivity improvement, because tantalum oxide has good stability at high temperature with high permeability for hydrogen gas. Silicon carbide (SiC was used as a substrate for high-temperature applications. We fabricated Pd/Ta2O5/SiC-based hydrogen gas sensors, and the dependence of their I-V characteristics and capacitance response properties on hydrogen concentrations were analyzed in the temperature range from room temperature to 500 °C. According to the results, our sensor shows promising performance for hydrogen gas detection at high temperatures.

  7. Steady-state modelling of the universal exhaust gas oxygen (UEGO) sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Collings, N; Hegarty, K; Ramsander, T

    2012-01-01

    The universal exhaust gas oxygen (UEGO) sensor is a well-established device which was developed for the measurement of relative air fuel ratio in internal combustion engines. There is, however, little information available which allows for the prediction of the UEGO's behaviour when exposed to arbitrary gas mixtures, pressures and temperatures. Here we present a steady-state model for the sensor, based on a solution of the Stefan–Maxwell equation, and which includes a momentum balance. The response of the sensor is dominated by a diffusion barrier, which controls the rate of diffusion of gas species between the exhaust and a cavity. Determination of the diffusion barrier characteristics, especially the mean pore size, porosity and tortuosity, is essential for the purposes of modelling, and a measurement technique based on identification of the sensor pressure giving zero temperature sensitivity is shown to be a convenient method of achieving this. The model, suitably calibrated, is shown to make good predictions of sensor behaviour for large variations of pressure, temperature and gas composition. (paper)

  8. Characterization and calibration of gas sensor systems at ppb level—a versatile test gas generation system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leidinger, Martin; Schultealbert, Caroline; Neu, Julian; Schütze, Andreas; Sauerwald, Tilman

    2018-01-01

    This article presents a test gas generation system designed to generate ppb level gas concentrations from gas cylinders. The focus is on permanent gases and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for applications like indoor and outdoor air quality monitoring or breath analysis. In the design and the setup of the system, several issues regarding handling of trace gas concentrations have been considered, addressed and tested. This concerns not only the active fluidic components (flow controllers, valves), which have been chosen specifically for the task, but also the design of the fluidic tubing regarding dead volumes and delay times, which have been simulated for the chosen setup. Different tubing materials have been tested for their adsorption/desorption characteristics regarding naphthalene, a highly relevant gas for indoor air quality monitoring, which has generated high gas exchange times in a previous gas mixing system due to long time adsorption/desorption effects. Residual gas contaminations of the system and the selected carrier air supply have been detected and quantified using both an analytical method (GC-MS analysis according to ISO 16000-6) and a metal oxide semiconductor gas sensor, which detected a maximum contamination equivalent to 28 ppb of carbon monoxide. A measurement strategy for suppressing even this contamination has been devised, which allows the system to be used for gas sensor and gas sensor system characterization and calibration in the low ppb concentration range.

  9. Real-time drilling mud gas monitoring for qualitative evaluation of hydrocarbon gas composition during deep sea drilling in the Nankai Trough Kumano Basin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammerschmidt, Sebastian B; Wiersberg, Thomas; Heuer, Verena B; Wendt, Jenny; Erzinger, Jörg; Kopf, Achim

    2014-01-01

    Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 338 was the second scientific expedition with D/V Chikyu during which riser drilling was conducted as part of the Nankai Trough Seismogenic Zone Experiment. Riser drilling enabled sampling and real-time monitoring of drilling mud gas with an onboard scientific drilling mud gas monitoring system ("SciGas"). A second, independent system was provided by Geoservices, a commercial mud logging service. Both systems allowed the determination of (non-) hydrocarbon gas, while the SciGas system also monitored the methane carbon isotope ratio (δ(13)CCH4). The hydrocarbon gas composition was predominated by methane (> 1%), while ethane and propane were up to two orders of magnitude lower. δ(13)CCH4 values suggested an onset of thermogenic gas not earlier than 1600 meter below seafloor. This study aims on evaluating the onboard data and subsequent geological interpretations by conducting shorebased analyses of drilling mud gas samples. During shipboard monitoring of drilling mud gas the SciGas and Geoservices systems recorded up to 8.64% and 16.4% methane, respectively. Ethane and propane concentrations reached up to 0.03 and 0.013%, respectively, in the SciGas system, but 0.09% and 0.23% in the Geoservices data. Shorebased analyses of discrete samples by gas chromatography showed a gas composition with ~0.01 to 1.04% methane, 2 - 18 ppmv ethane, and 2 - 4 ppmv propane. Quadruple mass spectrometry yielded similar results for methane (0.04 to 4.98%). With δD values between -171‰ and -164‰, the stable hydrogen isotopic composition of methane showed little downhole variability. Although the two independent mud gas monitoring systems and shorebased analysis of discrete gas sample yielded different absolute concentrations they all agree well with respect to downhole variations of hydrocarbon gases. The data point to predominantly biogenic methane sources but suggest some contribution from thermogenic sources at depth, probably due

  10. Planar Laser-Based QEPAS Trace Gas Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yufei Ma

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available A novel quartz enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS trace gas detection scheme is reported in this paper. A cylindrical lens was employed for near-infrared laser focusing. The laser beam was shaped as a planar line laser between the gap of the quartz tuning fork (QTF prongs. Compared with a spherical lens-based QEPAS sensor, the cylindrical lens-based QEPAS sensor has the advantages of easier laser beam alignment and a reduction of stringent stability requirements. Therefore, the reported approach is useful in long-term and continuous sensor operation.

  11. Compact portable QEPAS multi-gas sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Lei; Kosterev, Anatoliy A.; Thomazy, David; Tittel, Frank K.

    2011-01-01

    A quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) based multi-gas sensor was developed to quantify concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen cyanide (HCN), hydrogen chloride (HCl), and carbon dioxide (CO2) in ambient air. The sensor consists of a compact package of dimensions 25cm x 25cm x 10cm and was designed to operate at atmospheric pressure. The HCN, CO2, and HCl measurement channels are based on cw, C-band telecommunication-style packaged, fiber-coupled diode lasers, while the CO channel uses a TO can-packaged Sb diode laser as an excitation source. Moreover, the sensor incorporates rechargeable batteries and can operate on batteries for at least 8 hours. It can also operate autonomously or interact with another device (such as a computer) via a RS232 serial port. Trace gas detection limits of 7.74ppm at 4288.29cm-1 for CO, 450ppb at 6539.11 cm-1 for HCN, 1.48ppm at 5739.26 cm-1 for HCl and 97ppm at 6361.25 cm-1 for CO2 for a 1sec average time, were demonstrated.

  12. The genetic source and timing of hydrocarbon formation in gas hydrate reservoirs in Green Canyon, Block GC955

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, M. T.; Darrah, T.; Cook, A.; Sawyer, D.; Phillips, S.; Whyte, C. J.; Lary, B. A.

    2017-12-01

    Although large volumes of gas hydrates are known to exist along continental slopes and below permafrost, their role in the energy sector and the global carbon cycle remains uncertain. Investigations regarding the genetic source(s) (i.e., biogenic, thermogenic, mixed sources of hydrocarbon gases), the location of hydrocarbon generation, (whether hydrocarbons formed within the current reservoir formations or underwent migration), rates of clathrate formation, and the timing of natural gas formation/accumulation within clathrates are vital to evaluate economic potential and enhance our understanding of geologic processes. Previous studies addressed some of these questions through analysis of conventional hydrocarbon molecular (C1/C2+) and stable isotopic (e.g., δ13C-CH4, δ2H-CH4, δ13C-CO2) composition of gases, water chemistry and isotopes (e.g., major and trace elements, δ2H-H2O, δ18O-H2O), and dissolved inorganic carbon (δ13C-DIC) of natural gas hydrate systems to determine proportions of biogenic and thermogenic gas. However, the effects from contributions of mixing, transport/migration, methanogenesis, and oxidation in the subsurface can complicate the first-order application of these techniques. Because the original noble gas composition of a fluid is preserved independent of microbial activity, chemical reactions, or changes in oxygen fugacity, the integration of noble gas data can provide both a geochemical fingerprint for sources of fluids and an additional insight as to the uncertainty between effects of mixing versus post-genetic modification. Here, we integrate inert noble gases (He, Ne, Ar, and associated isotopes) with these conventional approaches to better constrain the source of gas hydrate formation and the residence time of fluids (porewaters and natural gases) using radiogenic 4He ingrowth techniques in cores from two boreholes collected as part of the University of Texas led UT-GOM2-01 drilling project. Pressurized cores were extracted from

  13. Petroleum hydrocarbons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Farrington, J.W.; Teal, J.M.; Parker, P.L.

    1976-01-01

    Methods for analysis of petroleum hydrocarbons in marine samples are presented. Types of hydrocarbons present and their origins are discussed. Principles and methods of analysis are outlined. Infrared spectrometry, uv spectrometry, gas chromatography, mass spectroscopy, and carbon 14 measurements are described

  14. Performance studies of an IR fiber optic sensor for chlorinated hydrocarbons in water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goebel, R.; Krska, R.; Neal, S.; Kellner, R.

    1994-01-01

    Chlorinated hydrocarbons (CHCs) were monitored using a recently presented infrared fiber-optic physico-chemical sensor consisting of an MIR transparent, polymer coated, silver halide fiber coupled to a commercial FTIR spectrometer. The aim of this study was to test the performance of this new fiber optic sensing device with respect to temperature dependence, simultaneous detection of several CHCs, sensitivity and dynamic response behavior. In addition the diffusion process of the CHCs into the polymer was analyzed in order to better understand and evaluate the obtained results. During the investigation of the temperature dependence of the sensor response to real trend could be observed in the temperature range of 0 to 22 C. The dynamic response of the sensor is in the minute range when experiencing an increase in concentration of the analyte while with a decrease in concentration, the response is relatively slow. The sensor enabled the detection of 10 environmentally relevant CHCs at concentrations of 1 to 50 ppm. The simulation of the experimental diffusion data revealed Fick's 1st law diffusion for CHCs into the polymer layers. Finally the sensing device was validated with head spacegas chromatography (HSGC) analyses and showed good agreement with these already established methods. This work shows the great potential of IR fiber optic sensors as early warning systems for a variety of CHCs in water (''threshold alarm sensor'') (orig.)

  15. Flexible Graphene-Based Wearable Gas and Chemical Sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Eric; Meyyappan, M; Nalwa, Hari Singh

    2017-10-11

    Wearable electronics is expected to be one of the most active research areas in the next decade; therefore, nanomaterials possessing high carrier mobility, optical transparency, mechanical robustness and flexibility, lightweight, and environmental stability will be in immense demand. Graphene is one of the nanomaterials that fulfill all these requirements, along with other inherently unique properties and convenience to fabricate into different morphological nanostructures, from atomically thin single layers to nanoribbons. Graphene-based materials have also been investigated in sensor technologies, from chemical sensing to detection of cancer biomarkers. The progress of graphene-based flexible gas and chemical sensors in terms of material preparation, sensor fabrication, and their performance are reviewed here. The article provides a brief introduction to graphene-based materials and their potential applications in flexible and stretchable wearable electronic devices. The role of graphene in fabricating flexible gas sensors for the detection of various hazardous gases, including nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), ammonia (NH 3 ), hydrogen (H 2 ), hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), and humidity in wearable technology, is discussed. In addition, applications of graphene-based materials are also summarized in detecting toxic heavy metal ions (Cd, Hg, Pb, Cr, Fe, Ni, Co, Cu, Ag), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including nitrobenzene, toluene, acetone, formaldehyde, amines, phenols, bisphenol A (BPA), explosives, chemical warfare agents, and environmental pollutants. The sensitivity, selectivity and strategies for excluding interferents are also discussed for graphene-based gas and chemical sensors. The challenges for developing future generation of flexible and stretchable sensors for wearable technology that would be usable for the Internet of Things (IoT) are also highlighted.

  16. On-chip growth of semiconductor metal oxide nanowires for gas sensors: A review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chu Manh Hung

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Semiconductor metal oxide nanowires (SMO-NWs show great potential for novel gas sensor applications because of their distinct properties, such as a high surface area to volume aspect ratio, high crystallinity and perfect pathway for electron transfer (length of NW. SMO-NW sensors can be configured as resistors or field-effect transistors for gas detection and different configurations, such as a single NW, multiple NWs, and networked NW films, have been established. Surface-functionalizing NWs with catalyst elements and self-heating NWs provide additional advantages for highly selective and low-power consumption gas sensors. However, an appropriate design of SMO-NWs is of practical importance in enhancing the gas-sensing performance of SMO-NW sensors. The on-chip growth of SMO-NWs possesses many advantages which can thus be effectively used for the large-scale fabrication of SMO-NW sensors with improved gas response and stability. This review aims to provide up-to-date information on the on-chip fabrication of SnO2, ZnO, WO3, CuO, and other SMO-NW sensors. It also discusses a variety of promising approaches that help advance the on-chip fabrication of SMO-NW-based gas sensors and other NW-based devices.

  17. Supercooled liquid vapour pressures and related thermodynamic properties of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons determined by gas chromatography

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Haftka, J.J.H.; Parsons, J.R.; Govers, H.A.J.

    2006-01-01

    A gas chromatographic method using Kovats retention indices has been applied to determine the liquid vapour pressure (P-i), enthalpy of vaporization (Delta H-i) and difference in heat capacity between gas and liquid phase (Delta C-i) for a group of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). This group

  18. Exploitation of Unique Properties of Zeolites in the Development of Gas Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prabir K. Dutta

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available The unique properties of microporous zeolites, including ion-exchange properties, adsorption, molecular sieving, catalysis, conductivity have been exploited in improving the performance of gas sensors. Zeolites have been employed as physical and chemical filters to improve the sensitivity and selectivity of gas sensors. In addition, direct interaction of gas molecules with the extraframework cations in the nanoconfined space of zeolites has been explored as a basis for developing new impedance-type gas/vapor sensors. In this review, we summarize how these properties of zeolites have been used to develop new sensing paradigms. There is a considerable breadth of transduction processes that have been used for zeolite incorporated sensors, including frequency measurements, optical and the entire gamut of electrochemical measurements. It is clear from the published literature that zeolites provide a route to enhance sensor performance, and it is expected that commercial manifestation of some of the approaches discussed here will take place. The future of zeolite-based sensors will continue to exploit its unique properties and use of other microporous frameworks, including metal organic frameworks. Zeolite composites with electronic materials, including metals will lead to new paradigms in sensing. Use of nano-sized zeolite crystals and zeolite membranes will enhance sensor properties and make possible new routes of miniaturized sensors.

  19. Development of a detection sensor for lethal H2S gas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Young-Ho; Kim, Yong-Jae; Lee, Chang-Seop

    2012-07-01

    The gas which may be lethal to human body with short-term exposure in common industrial fields or workplaces in LAB may paralyze the olfactory sense and impose severe damages to central nervous system and lung. This study is concerned with the gas sensor which allows individuals to avoid the toxic gas that may be generated in the space with residues of organic wastes under 50 degrees C or above. This study investigates response and selectivity of the sensor to hydrogen sulfide gas with operating temperatures and catalysts. The thick-film semiconductor sensor for hydrogen sulfide gas detection was fabricated WO3/SnO2 prepared by sol-gel and precipitation methods. The nanosized SnO2 powder mixed with the various metal oxides (WO3, TiO2, and ZnO) and doped with transition metals (Au, Ru, Pd Ag and In). Particle sizes, specific surface areas and phases of sensor materials were investigated by SEM, BET and XRD analyses. The metal-WO3/SnO2 thick films were prepared by screen-printing method. The measured response to hydrogen sulfide gas is defined as the ratio (Ra/R,) of the resistance of WO3ISnO2 film in air to the resistance of WO3/SnO2 film in a hydrogen sulfide gas. It was shown that the highest response and selectivity of the sensor for hydrogen sulfide by doping with 1 wt% Ru and 10 wt% WO3 to SnO2 at the optimum operating temperature of 200 degrees C.

  20. Process for recovery of liquid hydrocarbons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Millar, J.F.; Cockshott, J.E.

    1978-04-11

    Methane is recovered as a gas for discharge to a pipeline from a gas stream containing methane and heavier hydrocarbons, principally ethane and propane. Separation is accomplished by condensing the heavier hydrocarbons and distilling the methane therefrom. A liquid product (LPG) comprising the heavier hydrocarbons is subsequently recovered and transferred to storage. Prior to being discharged to a pipeline, the recovered methane gas is compressed and in undergoing compression the gas is heated. The heat content of the gas is employed to reboil the refrigerant in an absorption refrigeration unit. The refrigeration unit is used to cool the LPG prior to its storage.

  1. Oil shale, shale oil, shale gas and non-conventional hydrocarbons

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clerici A.

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In recent years there has been a world “revolution” in the field of unconventional hydrocarbon reserves, which goes by the name of “shale gas”, gas contained inside clay sediments micropores. Shale gas finds particular development in the United States, which are now independent of imports and see a price reduction to less than one third of that in Europe. With the high oil prices, in addition to the non-conventional gas also “oil shales” (fine-grained sedimentary rocks that contain a large amount of organic material to be used both to be directly burned or to extract liquid fuels which go under the name of shale oil, extra heavy oils and bitumen are becoming an industrial reality. Both unconventional gas and oil reserves far exceed in the world the conventional oil and gas reserves, subverting the theory of fossil fuels scarcity. Values and location of these new fossil reserves in different countries and their production by comparison with conventional resources are presented. In view of the clear advantages of unconventional fossil resources, the potential environmental risks associated with their extraction and processing are also highlighted.

  2. Nanostructured Gas Sensors for Health Care: An Overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaushik, Ajeet; Kumar, Rajesh; Jayant, Rahul Dev; Nair, Madhavan

    2015-01-01

    Nanostructured platforms have been utilized for fabrication of small, sensitive and reliable gas sensing devices owing to high functionality, enhanced charge transport and electro-catalytic property. As a result of globalization, rapid, sensitive and selective detection of gases in environment is essential for health care and security. Nonmaterial such as metal, metal oxides, organic polymers, and organic-inorganic hybrid nanocomposites exhibit interesting optical, electrical, magnetic and molecular properties, and hence are found potential gas sensing materials. Morphological, electrical, and optical properties of such nanostructures can be tailored via controlling the precursor concentration and synthesis conditions resulting to achieve desired sensing. This review presents applications of nano-enabling gas sensors to detect gases for environment monitoring. The recent update, challenges, and future vision for commercial applications of such sensor are also described here. PMID:26491544

  3. Optical Graphene Gas Sensors Based on Microfibers: A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu Wu

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Graphene has become a bridge across optoelectronics, mechanics, and bio-chemical sensing due to its unique photoelectric characteristics. Moreover, benefiting from its two-dimensional nature, this atomically thick film with full flexibility has been widely incorporated with optical waveguides such as fibers, realizing novel photonic devices including polarizers, lasers, and sensors. Among the graphene-based optical devices, sensor is one of the most important branch, especially for gas sensing, as rapid progress has been made in both sensing structures and devices in recent years. This article presents a comprehensive and systematic overview of graphene-based microfiber gas sensors regarding many aspects including sensing principles, properties, fabrication, interrogating and implementations.

  4. Flow injection gas chromatography with sulfur chemiluminescence detection for the analysis of total sulfur in complex hydrocarbon matrixes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hua, Yujuan; Hawryluk, Myron; Gras, Ronda; Shearer, Randall; Luong, Jim

    2018-01-01

    A fast and reliable analytical technique for the determination of total sulfur levels in complex hydrocarbon matrices is introduced. The method employed flow injection technique using a gas chromatograph as a sample introduction device and a gas phase dual-plasma sulfur chemiluminescence detector for sulfur quantification. Using the technique described, total sulfur measurement in challenging hydrocarbon matrices can be achieved in less than 10 s with sample-to-sample time ideal for fast analysis or trace sulfur analysis. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  5. Utilizing the response patterns of a temperature modulated chemoresistive gas sensor for gas diagnosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amini, Amir; Ghafarinia, Vahid

    2011-01-01

    The observed features in the temporal response patterns of a temperature-modulated chemoresistive gas sensor were used for gas diagnosis. The patterns were recorded for clean air and air contaminated with different levels of some volatile organic compounds while a staircase heating voltage waveform had been applied to the microheater of a tin oxide gas sensor that modulated its operating temperature. Combining the steady-state and transient parameters of the recorded responses in the 50-400 deg. C range resulted in discriminatory feature vectors which were utilized for contaminant classification. The information content of these feature vectors was proved sufficient for discrimination of methanol, ethanol, 1-butanol, and acetone contaminations in a wide concentration range.

  6. Utilizing the response patterns of a temperature modulated chemoresistive gas sensor for gas diagnosis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Amini, Amir [Jannatabad College, Sama Organization, Islamic Azad University, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Ghafarinia, Vahid, E-mail: amir.amini.elec@gmail.com, E-mail: ghafarinia@ee.kntu.ac.ir [Electrical Engineering Department, K. N. Toosi University of Technology, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2011-02-15

    The observed features in the temporal response patterns of a temperature-modulated chemoresistive gas sensor were used for gas diagnosis. The patterns were recorded for clean air and air contaminated with different levels of some volatile organic compounds while a staircase heating voltage waveform had been applied to the microheater of a tin oxide gas sensor that modulated its operating temperature. Combining the steady-state and transient parameters of the recorded responses in the 50-400 deg. C range resulted in discriminatory feature vectors which were utilized for contaminant classification. The information content of these feature vectors was proved sufficient for discrimination of methanol, ethanol, 1-butanol, and acetone contaminations in a wide concentration range.

  7. MULTICOMPONENT DETERMINATION OF CHLORINATED HYDROCARBONS USING A REACTION-BASED CHEMICAL SENSOR .2. CHEMICAL SPECIATION USING MULTIVARIATE CURVE RESOLUTION

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tauler, R.; Smilde, A. K.; HENSHAW, J. M.; BURGESS, L. W.; KOWALSKI, B. R.

    1994-01-01

    A new multivariate curve resolution method that can extract analytical information from UV/visible spectroscopic data collected from a reaction-based chemical sensor is proposed. The method is demonstrated with the determination of mixtures of chlorinated hydrocarbons by estimating the kinetic and

  8. THIN FILM-BASED SENSOR FOR MOTOR VEHICLE EXHAUST GAS, NH3, AND CO DETECTION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Sujarwata

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available A copper phthalocyanine (CuPc thin film based gas sensor with FET structure and channel length 100 μm has been prepared by VE method and lithography technique to detect NH3, motor cycle exhaust gases and CO. CuPc material layer was deposited on SiO2 by the vacuum evaporator (VE method at room temperature and pressure of 8 x10-4 Pa. The stages of manufacturing gas sensor were Si/SiO2 substrate blenching with ethanol in an ultrasonic cleaner, source, and drain electrodes deposition on the substrate by using a vacuum evaporator, thin film deposition between the source/drain and gate deposition. The sensor response times to NH3, motorcycle exhaust gases and CO were 75 s, 135 s, and 150, respectively. The recovery times were 90 s, 150 s and 225, respectively. It is concluded that the CuPc thin film-based gas sensor with FET structure is the best sensor to detect the NH3 gas.Sensor gas berbasis film tipis copper phthalocyanine (CuPc berstruktur FET dengan panjang channel 100 μm telah dibuatdengan metode VE dan teknik lithography untuk mendeteksi NH3 gas buang kendaraan bermotor dan CO. Lapisan bahan CuPc dideposisikan pada permukaan silikon dioksida (SiO2 dengan metode vacuum evaporator (VE pada temperatur ruang dengan tekanan 8 x10-4 Pa. Tahapan pembuatan sensor gas adalah pencucian substrat Si/SiO2 dengan etanol dalam ultrasonic cleaner, deposisi elektroda source dan drain di atas substrat dengan metode vacuum evaporator, deposisi film tipis diantara source/drain dan deposisi gate. Waktu tanggap sensor terhadap NH3, gas buang kendaraan bermotor dan CO berturut-turut adalah 75 s, 135 s,dan 150 s. Waktu pemulihan berturut-turut adalah 90 s, 150 s,dan 225 s. Disimpulkan bahwa sensor gas berstruktur FET berbasis film tipis CuPc merupakan sensor paling baik untuk mendeteksi adanya gas NH3.

  9. Origin and in situ concentrations of hydrocarbons in the Kumano forearc basin from drilling mud gas monitoring during IODP NanTroSEIZE Exp. 319

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wiersberg, Thomas; Schleicher, Anja M.; Horiguchi, Keika; Doan, Mai-Linh; Eguchi, Nobuhisa; Erzinger, Jörg

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Exp. 319 of IODP was the first cruise in the history of scientific ocean drilling with drilling mud gas monitoring. • Hydrocarbons were the only formation-derived gases identified in drilling mud. • Chemical and isotopic compositions of hydrocarbons exhibit a microbial origin. • Absolute CH 4 concentrations in the formation reaching up to 24 L gas /L sediment . - Abstract: NanTroSEIZE Exp. 319 of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) was the first cruise in the history of scientific ocean drilling with drilling mud circulation through a riser. Drilling mud was pumped through the drill string and returned to the drill ship through the riser pipe during drilling of hole C0009A from 703 to 1604 mbsf (meter below sea floor) and hole enlargement from 703 to 1569 mbsf. During riser drilling, gas from returning drilling mud was continuously extracted, sampled and analyzed in real time to reveal information on the gas composition and gas concentrations at depth. Hydrocarbons were the only formation-derived gases identified in drilling mud and reached up to 14 vol.% of methane and 48 ppmv of ethane. The chemical and isotopic compositions of hydrocarbons exhibit a microbial origin. Hydrocarbons released from drilling mud and cuttings correlate with visible allochthonous material (wood, lignite) in drilling cuttings. At greater depth, addition of small but increasing amounts of hydrocarbons probably from low-temperature thermal degradation of organic matter is indicated. The methane content is also tightly correlated with several intervals of low Poisson’s ratio from Vp/Vs observed in sonic velocity logs, suggesting that the gas is situated in the pore space of the rock as free gas. The gas concentrations in the formation, determined from drilling mud gas monitoring, reaching up to 24 L gas /L sediment for methane in hole C0009A, in line with gas concentrations from interpreted downhole sonic logs

  10. Development and Application of Microfabricated Chemical Gas Sensors For Aerospace Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter, G. W.; Neudeck, P. G.; Fralick, G.; Thomas, V.; Liu, C. C.; Wu, Q. H.; Sawayda, M. S.; Jin, A.; Hammond, J.; Makel, D.; hide

    1990-01-01

    Aerospace applications require the development of chemical sensors with capabilities beyond those of commercially available sensors. In particular, factors such as minimal sensor size, weight, and power consumption are particularly important. Development areas which have potential aerospace applications include launch vehicle leak detection, engine health monitoring and control, and fire detection. Sensor development for these applications is based on progress in three types of technology: 1) Micromachining and microfabrication (Microsystem) technology to fabricate miniaturized sensors. 2) The use of nanocrystalline materials to develop sensors with improved stability combined with higher sensitivity. 3) The development of high temperature semiconductors, especially silicon carbide. Sensor development for each application involves its own challenges in the fields of materials science and fabrication technology. This paper discusses the needs of space applications and the point-contact sensor technology being developed to address these needs. Sensors to measure hydrogen, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides (Nox, carbon monoxide, oxygen, and carbon dioxide are being developed. A description is given of each sensor type and its present stage of development. Demonstration and application these sensor technologies will be described. The demonstrations range from use of a microsystem based hydrogen sensor on the Shuttle to engine demonstration of a nanocrystalline based sensor for NO, detection. It is concluded that microfabricated sensor technology has significant potential for use in a range of aerospace applications.

  11. Bedside arterial blood gas monitoring system using fluorescent optical sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartnik, Daniel J.; Rymut, Russell A.

    1995-05-01

    We describe a bedside arterial blood gas (ABG) monitoring system which uses fluorescent optical sensors in the measurement of blood pH, PCO2 and PO2. The Point-of-Care Arterial Blood Gas Monitoring System consists of the SensiCathTM optical sensor unit manufactured by Optical Sensors Incorporated and the TramTM Critical Care Monitoring System with ABG Module manufactured by Marquette Electronics Incorporated. Current blood gas measurement techniques require a blood sample to be removed from the patient and transported to an electrochemical analyzer for analysis. The ABG system does not require removal of blood from the patient or transport of the sample. The sensor is added to the patient's existing arterial line. ABG measurements are made by drawing a small blood sample from the arterial line in sufficient quantity to ensure an undiluted sample at the sensor. Measurements of pH, PCO2 and PO2 are made within 60 seconds. The blood is then returned to the patient, the line flushed and results appear on the bedside monitor. The ABG system offers several advantages over traditional electrochemical analyzers. Since the arterial line remains closed during the blood sampling procedure the patient's risk of infection is reduced and the caregiver's exposure to blood is eliminated. The single-use, disposable sensor can be measure 100 blood samples over 72 hours after a single two-point calibration. Quality Assurance checks are also available and provide the caregiver the ability to assess system performance even after the sensor is patient attached. The ABG module integrates with an existing bedside monitoring system. This allows ABG results to appear on the same display as ECG, respiration, blood pressure, cardiac output, SpO2, and other clinical information. The small module takes up little space in the crowded intensive care unit. Performance studies compare the ABG system with an electrochemical blood gas analyzer. Study results demonstrated accurate and precise blood

  12. Preliminary Geospatial Analysis of Arctic Ocean Hydrocarbon Resources

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Long, Philip E.; Wurstner, Signe K.; Sullivan, E. C.; Schaef, Herbert T.; Bradley, Donald J.

    2008-10-01

    Ice coverage of the Arctic Ocean is predicted to become thinner and to cover less area with time. The combination of more ice-free waters for exploration and navigation, along with increasing demand for hydrocarbons and improvements in technologies for the discovery and exploitation of new hydrocarbon resources have focused attention on the hydrocarbon potential of the Arctic Basin and its margins. The purpose of this document is to 1) summarize results of a review of published hydrocarbon resources in the Arctic, including both conventional oil and gas and methane hydrates and 2) develop a set of digital maps of the hydrocarbon potential of the Arctic Ocean. These maps can be combined with predictions of ice-free areas to enable estimates of the likely regions and sequence of hydrocarbon production development in the Arctic. In this report, conventional oil and gas resources are explicitly linked with potential gas hydrate resources. This has not been attempted previously and is particularly powerful as the likelihood of gas production from marine gas hydrates increases. Available or planned infrastructure, such as pipelines, combined with the geospatial distribution of hydrocarbons is a very strong determinant of the temporal-spatial development of Arctic hydrocarbon resources. Significant unknowns decrease the certainty of predictions for development of hydrocarbon resources. These include: 1) Areas in the Russian Arctic that are poorly mapped, 2) Disputed ownership: primarily the Lomonosov Ridge, 3) Lack of detailed information on gas hydrate distribution, and 4) Technical risk associated with the ability to extract methane gas from gas hydrates. Logistics may control areas of exploration more than hydrocarbon potential. Accessibility, established ownership, and leasing of exploration blocks may trump quality of source rock, reservoir, and size of target. With this in mind, the main areas that are likely to be explored first are the Bering Strait and Chukchi

  13. A Miniaturized Optical Sensor with Integrated Gas Cell

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ayerden, N.P.; Ghaderi, M.; De Graaf, G.; Wolffenbuttel, R.F.

    2015-01-01

    The design, fabrication and characterization of a highly integrated optical gas sensor is presented. The gas cell takes up most of the space in a microspectrometer and is the only component that has so far not been miniaturized. Using the tapered resonator cavity of a linear variable optical filter

  14. The features of oil & gas complex's strategic management and hydrocarbon products transportation at developing marine oil & gas fields in Arctic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fadeev А. М.

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper considers some theoretical and practical issues of strategic management of oil and gas complex at the development of hydrocarbon resources in the Arctic offshore. The analysis of existing approaches in process and project management of oil and gas complex has been carried out taking into account characteristics of offshore projects in the Arctic zone. Considerable attention has been paid to the history and evolution of strategic management as an economic category, functional areas of strategic management at different levels of management have been proposed. The analysis of existing scientific works dedicated to the projects on the Arctic shelf, has shown insufficient development of the strategic management's theory and practice. In particular, the biggest part of the scientific studies is focused on studying issues of the management at the corporate level, at the same time questions at the level of the oil and gas complex are not considered. In existing studies, the project and process approaches to management are often opposed to each other, and according to the authors it is incorrect in relation to the management of the oil and gas complex on the Arctic shelf. The oil and gas complex is a complex and multilevel system that implements unprecedentedly difficult projects in terms of technology. The beginning of hydrocarbon production on the Arctic shelf is inextricably linked with the transportation of extracted raw materials to the processing and marketing sites; it complements the strategic management of the oil and gas complex by the features of organizing efficient transport and logistics solutions.

  15. Mechanical Drawing of Gas Sensors on Paper

    OpenAIRE

    Esser, Birgit; Mirica, Katherine; Weis, Jonathan Garrett; Schnorr, Jan Markus; Swager, Timothy Manning

    2012-01-01

    This communication describes a simple solvent-free method for fabricating chemoresistive gas sensors on the surface of paper. The method involves mechanical abrasion of compressed powders of sensing materials on the fibers of cellulose. We illustrate this approach by depositing conductive layers of several forms of carbon (e.g., single-walled carbon nanotubes [SWCNTs], multi-walled carbon nanotubes, and graphite) on the surface of different papers (Figure 1, Figure S1). The resulting sensors ...

  16. Some technical subjects on production of hydrocarbon fuel from synthetic gas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Suzuki, Takashi

    1987-06-20

    Since fuel oil meeting the requirements of current petroleum products can be produced by SASOL F-T synthetic process, the manufacturing process of hydrocarbon fuel oil from the coal-derived synthesis gas, downstream processes are being successively investigated. Mobile M-gasoline, MTG, process which produces gasoline from the natural gas-derived synthesis gas through methanol went into commercial operation in New Zealand in 1986. Although the gasoline suffices the quality of commercial gasoline by both fixed bed and fluidized bed systems, the price and service life of catalyst and control of by-product durene must be improved. Any STG processes have not been completed yet and the yield and quality of gasoline are inferior to those of gasoline produced by the MTG process. Applying two-stage process, the STG process will be more economically effective.(21 refs, 4 figs, 10 tabs)

  17. Recent Developments in 2D Nanomaterials for Chemiresistive-Type Gas Sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Seon-Jin; Kim, Il-Doo

    2018-03-01

    Two-dimensional (2D) nanostructures are gaining tremendous interests due to the fascinating physical, chemical, electrical, and optical properties. Recent advances in 2D nanomaterials synthesis have contributed to optimization of various parameters such as physical dimension and chemical structure for specific applications. In particular, development of high performance gas sensors is gaining vast importance for real-time and on-site environmental monitoring by detection of hazardous chemical species. In this review, we comprehensively report recent achievements of 2D nanostructured materials for chemiresistive-type gas sensors. Firstly, the basic sensing mechanism is described based on charge transfer behavior between gas species and 2D nanomaterials. Secondly, diverse synthesis strategies and characteristic gas sensing properties of 2D nanostructures such as graphene, metal oxides, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), metal organic frameworks (MOFs), phosphorus, and MXenes are presented. In addition, recent trends in synthesis of 2D heterostructures by integrating two different types of 2D nanomaterials and their gas sensing properties are discussed. Finally, this review provides perspectives and future research directions for gas sensor technology using various 2D nanomaterials.

  18. Recent Developments in 2D Nanomaterials for Chemiresistive-Type Gas Sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Seon-Jin; Kim, Il-Doo

    2018-05-01

    Two-dimensional (2D) nanostructures are gaining tremendous interests due to the fascinating physical, chemical, electrical, and optical properties. Recent advances in 2D nanomaterials synthesis have contributed to optimization of various parameters such as physical dimension and chemical structure for specific applications. In particular, development of high performance gas sensors is gaining vast importance for real-time and on-site environmental monitoring by detection of hazardous chemical species. In this review, we comprehensively report recent achievements of 2D nanostructured materials for chemiresistive-type gas sensors. Firstly, the basic sensing mechanism is described based on charge transfer behavior between gas species and 2D nanomaterials. Secondly, diverse synthesis strategies and characteristic gas sensing properties of 2D nanostructures such as graphene, metal oxides, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), metal organic frameworks (MOFs), phosphorus, and MXenes are presented. In addition, recent trends in synthesis of 2D heterostructures by integrating two different types of 2D nanomaterials and their gas sensing properties are discussed. Finally, this review provides perspectives and future research directions for gas sensor technology using various 2D nanomaterials.

  19. Chasing Sources and Transports of Methane Plumes in the Northern Gulf of Mexico Using In Situ Sensors on Untethered Landers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martens, C. S.; Mendlovitz, H.; Seim, H.; Lapham, L.; Magen, C.; Joye, S. B.; MacDonald, I. R.; Asper, V. L.; Diercks, A. R.

    2016-02-01

    In situ time-series measurements of light hydrocarbons, oxygen, temperature and bottom currents from landers and elevators in the benthic boundary layer (BBL) at multiple sites in the northern Gulf of Mexico reveal spatial and temporal variability in methane concentrations controlled by horizontal advection of methane-rich plumes originating from nearby natural oil and gas seeps. Multi-sensor systems deployed for several weeks within 1m of the seafloor at depths from 882 to 1622m revealed methane concentrations ranging from near atmospheric saturation (gas chromatography. Continuous laser sensor methane measurements from mini-landers deployed in September 2015 at our Horn Dome and Bush Hill sites featuring numerous gas seeps revealed methane concentrations ranging from data within the BBL and friction layer from untethered platforms provides important new opportunities for monitoring the impacts of natural seeps and accidental hydrocarbon releases. The instrumented approaches we have developed to simultaneously monitor methane sources and physical processes controlling plume development and transport will enable more effective responses to further accidental hydrocarbon releases.

  20. Detection of radiation-induced hydrocarbons in irradiated fish and prawns by means of on-line coupled liquid chromatography-gas chromatography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schulzki, G.; Spiegelberg, A.; Bogl, K.W.; Schreiberg, G.A.

    1997-01-01

    Radiation-induced hydrocarbons were analyzed in a fatty (halibut) and a lean fish (cod) as well as in a prawn species by on-line coupled liquid chromatography (LC) -gas chromatography (GC) combined with mass spectrometry. In irradiated halibut which is known to contain mainly saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, all expected radiolytic alkanes, alkenes, and alkadienes could be detected. The yields of the C(n-1) and C(n-2:1) hydrocarbons were comparable to those found in irradiated lipids of terrestrial animals and plants. However, in cod and prawns which contain high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), the C(n-1) hydrocarbons were found in concentrations which were up to 10 times higher whereas the C(n-2:1) products were again comparable to those of terrestrial animals and plants. The identification of radiation-induced hydrocarbons in fish lipids was achieved by transfer of the hydrocarbons from the LC column to the gas chromatographic column in fractions differing in their degree of unsaturation. For the first time, radiation-induced hydrocarbons with more than four double bonds generated from polyunsaturated fatty acids (20:4 omega 6 and 20:5 omega 3) could be identified

  1. A smart microelectromechanical sensor and switch triggered by gas

    KAUST Repository

    Bouchaala, Adam M.; Jaber, Nizar; Shekhah, Osama; Chernikova, Valeriya; Eddaoudi, Mohamed; Younis, Mohammad I.

    2016-01-01

    device based on a single microstructure. Specifically, we demonstrate a smart resonant gas (mass) sensor, which in addition to being capable of quantifying the amount of absorbed gas, can be autonomously triggered as an electrical switch upon exceeding a

  2. Magnesium ferrite nanoparticles: a rapid gas sensor for alcohol

    Science.gov (United States)

    Godbole, Rhushikesh; Rao, Pratibha; Bhagwat, Sunita

    2017-02-01

    Highly porous spinel MgFe2O4 nanoparticles with a high specific surface area have been successfully synthesized by a sintering free auto-combustion technique and characterized for their structural and surface morphological properties using XRD, BET, TEM and SEM techniques. Their sensing properties to alcohol vapors viz. ethanol and methanol were investigated. The site occupation of metal ions was investigated by VSM. The as-synthesized sample shows the formation of sponge-like porous material which is necessary for gas adsorption. The gas sensing characteristics were obtained by measuring the gas response as a function of operating temperature, concentration of the gas, and the response-recovery time. The response of magnesium ferrite to ethanol and methanol vapors was compared and it was revealed that magnesium ferrite is more sensitive and selective to ethanol vapor. The sensor operates at a substantially low vapor concentration of about 1 ppm of alcohol vapors, exhibits fantastic response reproducibility, long term reliability and a very fast response and recovery property. Thus the present study explored the possibility of making rapidly responding alcohol vapor sensor based on magnesium ferrite. The sensing mechanism has been discussed in co-relation with magnetic and morphological properties. The role of occupancy of Mg2+ ions in magnesium ferrite on its gas sensing properties has also been studied and is found to influence the response of magnesium ferrite ethanol sensor.

  3. Highly selective gas sensor arrays based on thermally reduced graphene oxide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lipatov, Alexey; Varezhnikov, Alexey; Wilson, Peter; Sysoev, Victor; Kolmakov, Andrei; Sinitskii, Alexander

    2013-06-21

    The electrical properties of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) have been previously shown to be very sensitive to surface adsorbates, thus making rGO a very promising platform for highly sensitive gas sensors. However, poor selectivity of rGO-based gas sensors remains a major problem for their practical use. In this paper, we address the selectivity problem by employing an array of rGO-based integrated sensors instead of focusing on the performance of a single sensing element. Each rGO-based device in such an array has a unique sensor response due to the irregular structure of rGO films at different levels of organization, ranging from nanoscale to macroscale. The resulting rGO-based gas sensing system could reliably recognize analytes of nearly the same chemical nature. In our experiments rGO-based sensor arrays demonstrated a high selectivity that was sufficient to discriminate between different alcohols, such as methanol, ethanol and isopropanol, at a 100% success rate. We also discuss a possible sensing mechanism that provides the basis for analyte differentiation.

  4. Advances in SAW gas sensors based on the condensate-adsorption effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jiuling; Wang, Wen; Li, Shunzhou; Liu, Minghua; He, Shitang

    2011-01-01

    A surface-acoustic-wave (SAW) gas sensor with a low detection limit and fast response for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) based on the condensate-adsorption effect detection is developed. In this sensor a gas chromatography (GC) column acts as the separator element and a dual-resonator oscillator acts as the detector element. Regarding the surface effective permittivity method, the response mechanism analysis, which relates the condensate-adsorption effect, is performed, leading to the sensor performance prediction prior to fabrication. New designs of SAW resonators, which act as feedback of the oscillator, are devised in order to decrease the insertion loss and to achieve single-mode control, resulting in superior frequency stability of the oscillator. Based on the new phase modulation approach, excellent short-term frequency stability (±3 Hz/s) is achieved with the SAW oscillator by using the 500 MHz dual-port resonator as feedback element. In a sensor experiment investigating formaldehyde detection, the implemented SAW gas sensor exhibits an excellent threshold detection limit as low as 0.38 pg.

  5. Approach for Self-Calibrating CO₂ Measurements with Linear Membrane-Based Gas Sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lazik, Detlef; Sood, Pramit

    2016-11-17

    Linear membrane-based gas sensors that can be advantageously applied for the measurement of a single gas component in large heterogeneous systems, e.g., for representative determination of CO₂ in the subsurface, can be designed depending on the properties of the observation object. A resulting disadvantage is that the permeation-based sensor response depends on operating conditions, the individual site-adapted sensor geometry, the membrane material, and the target gas component. Therefore, calibration is needed, especially of the slope, which could change over several orders of magnitude. A calibration-free approach based on an internal gas standard is developed to overcome the multi-criterial slope dependency. This results in a normalization of sensor response and enables the sensor to assess the significance of measurement. The approach was proofed on the example of CO₂ analysis in dry air with tubular PDMS membranes for various CO₂ concentrations of an internal standard. Negligible temperature dependency was found within an 18 K range. The transformation behavior of the measurement signal and the influence of concentration variations of the internal standard on the measurement signal were shown. Offsets that were adjusted based on the stated theory for the given measurement conditions and material data from the literature were in agreement with the experimentally determined offsets. A measurement comparison with an NDIR reference sensor shows an unexpectedly low bias (sensor response, and comparable statistical uncertainty.

  6. A Robust and Low-Complexity Gas Recognition Technique for On-Chip Tin-Oxide Gas Sensor Array

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farid Flitti

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Gas recognition is a new emerging research area with many civil, military, and industrial applications. The success of any gas recognition system depends on its computational complexity and its robustness. In this work, we propose a new low-complexity recognition method which is tested and successfully validated for tin-oxide gas sensor array chip. The recognition system is based on a vector angle similarity measure between the query gas and the representatives of the different gas classes. The latter are obtained using a clustering algorithm based on the same measure within the training data set. Experimented results on our in-house gas sensors array show more than 98% of correct recognition. The robustness of the proposed method is tested by recognizing gas measurements with simulated drift. Less than 1% of performance degradation is noted at the worst case scenario which represents a significant improvement when compared to the current state-of-the-art.

  7. Sensor Selection for Aircraft Engine Performance Estimation and Gas Path Fault Diagnostics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simon, Donald L.; Rinehart, Aidan W.

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents analytical techniques for aiding system designers in making aircraft engine health management sensor selection decisions. The presented techniques, which are based on linear estimation and probability theory, are tailored for gas turbine engine performance estimation and gas path fault diagnostics applications. They enable quantification of the performance estimation and diagnostic accuracy offered by different candidate sensor suites. For performance estimation, sensor selection metrics are presented for two types of estimators including a Kalman filter and a maximum a posteriori estimator. For each type of performance estimator, sensor selection is based on minimizing the theoretical sum of squared estimation errors in health parameters representing performance deterioration in the major rotating modules of the engine. For gas path fault diagnostics, the sensor selection metric is set up to maximize correct classification rate for a diagnostic strategy that performs fault classification by identifying the fault type that most closely matches the observed measurement signature in a weighted least squares sense. Results from the application of the sensor selection metrics to a linear engine model are presented and discussed. Given a baseline sensor suite and a candidate list of optional sensors, an exhaustive search is performed to determine the optimal sensor suites for performance estimation and fault diagnostics. For any given sensor suite, Monte Carlo simulation results are found to exhibit good agreement with theoretical predictions of estimation and diagnostic accuracies.

  8. MAPLE activities and applications in gas sensors

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Jelínek, Miroslav; Remsa, Jan; Kocourek, Tomáš; Kubešová, B.; Schůrek, J.; Myslík, V.

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 105, č. 3 (2011), 643-649 ISSN 0947-8396 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100522 Keywords : MAPLE * gas sensors * biomedicine * thin films Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 1.630, year: 2011

  9. Converting high boiling hydrocarbons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Terrisse, H; DuFour, L

    1929-02-12

    A process is given for converting high boiling hydrocarbons into low boiling hydrocarbons, characterized in that the high boiling hydrocarbons are heated to 200 to 500/sup 0/C in the presence of ferrous chloride and of such gases as hydrogen, water gas, and the like gases under a pressure of from 5 to 40 kilograms per square centimeter. The desulfurization of the hydrocarbons occurs simultaneously.

  10. Chemical Gas Sensors for Aeronautic and Space Applications 2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter, G. W.; Chen, L. Y.; Neudeck, P. G.; Knight, D.; Liu, C. C.; Wu, Q. H.; Zhou, H. J.; Makel, D.; Liu, M.; Rauch, W. A.

    1998-01-01

    Aeronautic and Space applications require the development of chemical sensors with capabilities beyond those of commercially available sensors. Areas of most interest include launch vehicle safety monitoring emission monitoring and fire detection. This paper discusses the needs of aeronautic and space applications and the point-contact sensor technology being developed to address these needs. The development of these sensor is based on progress two types of technology: 1) Micro-machining and micro-fabrication technology to fabricate miniaturized sensors. 2) The development of high temperature semiconductors, especially silicon carbide. Sensor development for each application involves its own challenges in the fields of materials science and fabrication technology. The number of dual-use commercial applications of this micro-fabricated gas sensor technology make this area of sensor development a field of significant interest.

  11. Chemical Gas Sensors for Aeronautics and Space Applications III

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter, G. W.; Neudeck, P. G.; Chen, L. Y.; Liu, C. C.; Wu, Q. H.; Sawayda, M. S.; Jin, Z.; Hammond, J.; Makel, D.; Liu, M.; hide

    1999-01-01

    Aeronautic and space applications require the development of chemical sensors with capabilities beyond those of commercially available sensors. Areas of interest include launch vehicle safety monitoring, emission monitoring, and fire detection. This paper discusses the needs of aeronautic and space applications and the point-contact sensor technology being developed to address these needs. The development of these sensors is based on progress in two types of technology: 1) Micromachining and microfabrication technology to fabricate miniaturized sensors. 2) The development of high temperature semiconductors, especially silicon carbide. Sensor development for each application involves its own challenges in the fields of materials science and fabrication technology. The number of dual-use commercial applications of this microfabricated gas sensor technology make this area of sensor development a field of significant interest.

  12. The impact of water and hydrocarbon concentration on the sensitivity of a polymer-based quartz crystal microbalance sensor for organic compounds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pejcic, Bobby; Crooke, Emma; Doherty, Cara M.; Hill, Anita J.; Myers, Matthew; Qi, Xiubin; Ross, Andrew

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → The response of a polymer coated QCM sensor is affected by water soaking time. → Polymer-water interfacial processes influence the QCM sensitivity for hydrocarbons. → The QCM sensitivity of high Tg polymer films is affected by plasticization processes. - Abstract: Long-term environmental monitoring of organic compounds in natural waters requires sensors that respond reproducibly and linearly over a wide concentration range, and do not degrade with time. Although polymer coated piezoelectric based sensors have been widely used to detect hydrocarbons in aqueous solution, very little information exists regarding their stability and suitability over extended periods in water. In this investigation, the influence of water aging on the response of various polymer membranes [polybutadiene (PB), polyisobutylene (PIB), polystyrene (PS), polystyrene-co-butadiene (PSB)] was studied using the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). QCM measurements revealed a modest increase in sensitivity towards toluene for PB and PIB membranes at concentrations above 90 ppm after aging in water for 4 days. In contrast, the sensitivity of PS and PSB coated QCM sensors depended significantly on the toluene concentration and increased considerably at concentrations above 90 ppm after aging in water for 4 days. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) showed that there is a change in the sorption mechanism at higher toluene levels for PS and PSB. Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) studies were performed to investigate the free volume properties of all polymers and to monitor any changes in the free volume size and distribution due to water and toluene exposure. The PALS did not detect any considerable variation in the free volume properties of the polymer films as a function of solution composition and soaking time, implying that viscoelastic and/or interfacial processes (i.e. surface area changes) are probably responsible

  13. Application of Gas Sensor Arrays in Assessment of Wastewater Purification Effects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Łukasz Guz

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available A gas sensor array consisting of eight metal oxide semiconductor (MOS type gas sensors was evaluated for its ability for assessment of the selected wastewater parameters. Municipal wastewater was collected in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP in a primary sedimentation tank and was treated in a laboratory-scale sequential batch reactor (SBR. A comparison of the gas sensor array (electronic nose response to the standard physical-chemical parameters of treated wastewater was performed. To analyze the measurement results, artificial neural networks were used. E-nose—gas sensors array and artificial neural networks proved to be a suitable method for the monitoring of treated wastewater quality. Neural networks used for data validation showed high correlation between the electronic nose readouts and: (I chemical oxygen demand (COD (r = 0.988; (II total suspended solids (TSS (r = 0.938; (III turbidity (r = 0.940; (IV pH (r = 0.554; (V nitrogen compounds: N-NO3 (r = 0.958, N-NO2 (r = 0.869 and N-NH3 (r = 0.978; (VI and volatile organic compounds (VOC (r = 0.987. Good correlation of the abovementioned parameters are observed under stable treatment conditions in a laboratory batch reactor.

  14. Novel techniques for characterization of hydrocarbon emission sources in the Barnett Shale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nathan, Brian Joseph

    Changes in ambient atmospheric hydrocarbon concentrations can have both short-term and long-term effects on the atmosphere and on human health. Thus, accurate characterization of emissions sources is critically important. The recent boom in shale gas production has led to an increase in hydrocarbon emissions from associated processes, though the exact extent is uncertain. As an original quantification technique, a model airplane equipped with a specially-designed, open-path methane sensor was flown multiple times over a natural gas compressor station in the Barnett Shale in October 2013. A linear optimization was introduced to a standard Gaussian plume model in an effort to determine the most probable emission rate coming from the station. This is shown to be a suitable approach given an ideal source with a single, central plume. Separately, an analysis was performed to characterize the nonmethane hydrocarbons in the Barnett during the same period. Starting with ambient hourly concentration measurements of forty-six hydrocarbon species, Lagrangian air parcel trajectories were implemented in a meteorological model to extend the resolution of these measurements and achieve domain-fillings of the region for the period of interest. A self-organizing map (a type of unsupervised classification) was then utilized to reduce the dimensionality of the total multivariate set of grids into characteristic one-dimensional signatures. By also introducing a self-organizing map classification of the contemporary wind measurements, the spatial hydrocarbon characterizations are analyzed for periods with similar wind conditions. The accuracy of the classification is verified through assessment of observed spatial mixing ratio enhancements of key species, through site-comparisons with a related long-term study, and through a random forest analysis (an ensemble learning method of supervised classification) to determine the most important species for defining key classes. The hydrocarbon

  15. Application of Notched Long-Period Fiber Grating Based Sensor for CO2 Gas Sensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Chao-Wei; Chiang, Chia-Chin

    2016-01-01

    An inductively coupled plasma etching process to fabricate notched long-period fiber gratings for CO2 gas sensing is proposed in this article. In the gas sensing test, the 15% mixed CO2 gas was used for characterization of CO2 adsorption by the amine-modified nanoporous silica foams of the notched long-period fiber grating sensor. The results shows the spectra were changed with the CO2 gas flow within 13 min. During the absorption process, the transmission of the resonant dip was decreased by 2.884 dB. Therefore, the proposed notched long-period fiber grating gas sensor shows good performance and is suitable as a gas sensor for monitoring the CO2 adsorption process.

  16. Perancangan Sistem Pemantauan Gas dan Peringatan pada Ruangan melalui Jaringan Nirkabel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gunawan Kunto Bhasworo

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Udara adalah suatu campuran gas yang terdapat pada  lapisan yang mengelilingi bumi. Gas CO merupakan salah satu gas yang mengandung  zat yang tidak baik yang tidak dapat ditangkap oleh panca indera, gas tersebut bersifat membunuh makhluk hidup termasuk manusia. Hidrogen sulfida  (H2S adalah gas yang tidak berwarna, beracun, mudah terbakar dan berbau seperti telur busuk. . Konsentrasi H2S dalam jumlah yang rendah, dapat membahayakan keselamatan manusia. Dalam konsentrasi 100 PPM dapat menyebabkan kematian dalam waktu 2-5 menit. Tidak kalah berbahayanya adalah hydrocarbon gas exploison atau ledakan yang diakibatkan kebocoran LPG (metana pada ruang tertutup. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk merancang dan mengimplementasikan sebuah sistem pemantau gas dan peringatan pada ruangan melalui jaringan nirkabel. Dengan menggabungkan PC (Personal Computer, Arduino, Arduino Wifi shield, Router, LCD (Liquid Crystal Display, Buzzer serta sensor gas TGS 2620 dan 2602 serta 2442 yang merupakan sensor-sensor dengan sensitivitas yang tinggi terhadap gas LPG (metana dan H2S serta CO dengan konsumsi daya rendah. Di peroleh sistem pemantau gas dan peringatan pada ruangan melalui jaringan nirkabel yang dapat mendeteksi dan memberikan peringatan apabila ada gas-gas berbahaya CO, H2S dan LPG (metana

  17. Analisis Pengaruh Konsentrasi Gas LPG Menggunakan Sensor TGS 2610 Berbasis Mikrokontroler AVR ATMega8535

    OpenAIRE

    Nurhalimah

    2011-01-01

    Telah dilakukan analisis kuantitatif gas dalam LPG. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengukur konsentrasi gas LPG terhadap sensor. Metoda yang digunakan untuk mengukur konsentrasi gas LPG yaitu sensor gas semikonduktor jenis TGS 2610 keluaran Figaro yang digunakan untuk mendeteksi keberadaan gas. Sementara yang menjadi pusat pengendalian dari seluruh alat yang dirancang digunakan mikrokontroler AVR ATMega8535. Selain itu sistem yang dirancang dilengkapi LCD sebagai tampilan nilai konsentrasi ga...

  18. Evaluation of the condensation potential of hydrocarbon fluids in the national gas pipeline system; establishing of adequate operational schemes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pineda Gomez, Cesar Augusto; Arenas Mantilla, Oscar Armando; Santos Santos, Nicolas

    2007-01-01

    For transporting industry of natural gas by pipeline systems, it's vital to guarantee the integrity of their lines, in order to decrease operational costs and prevent accidents that may damaging against people's safety, the environment or the infrastructure itself. in this paper it's presented the principal compounds from o technical study about principal net and its distribution branches to municipalities of the National System Transport of Natural Gas pointed by the Colombian Natural Gas Company - ECOGAS, (specifically the Cusiana - Porvenir - La Belleza, La Belleza - Cogua, La Belleza - Vasconia, Vasconia - Neiva and Vasconia - Cali gas lines, (see Figure 1). The principal objective is evaluate the possible condensation of hydrocarbons fluids inside gas lines, due to compositional characteristics of the gas, the different topographical conditions along the gas line route and the actual and future operational conditions to be implemented in the system. The evaluation performed over this gas streams, generates transcendental information in the creation of safe operational limits that minimizing the existence of obstacle problems and damages over pipeline systems and process equipment, due to the presence of liquid hydrocarbons inside these flow lines. This article has been prepared in four sections in order to guarantee easy access to each one of the steps involved in the study. Section one presents the compositional and thermodynamic analysis of feeding gas streams; in section two, its presented the required information for modeling gas lines with definition of the gas pipeline numerical simulation model in stable state; section three presents the sensitivity analysis for gas variation upon loading gas composition at the inlet point of the system, variation of the operational conditions (flow, pressure and gas temperature) and environment temperatures for the different inlet points (branches) with verification of compliance of the Unique Transport Regulation

  19. Facile Fabrication of Multi-hierarchical Porous Polyaniline Composite as Pressure Sensor and Gas Sensor with Adjustable Sensitivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Xiao-Xiao; Li, Jin-Tao; Jia, Xian-Sheng; Tong, Lu; Wang, Xiao-Xiong; Zhang, Jun; Zheng, Jie; Ning, Xin; Long, Yun-Ze

    2017-08-01

    A multi-hierarchical porous polyaniline (PANI) composite which could be used in good performance pressure sensor and adjustable sensitivity gas sensor has been fabricated by a facile in situ polymerization. Commercial grade sponge was utilized as a template scaffold to deposit PANI via in situ polymerization. With abundant interconnected pores throughout the whole structure, the sponge provided sufficient surface for the growth of PANI nanobranches. The flexible porous structure helped the composite to show high performance in pressure detection with fast response and favorable recoverability and gas detection with adjustable sensitivity. The sensing mechanism of the PANI/sponge-based flexible sensor has also been discussed. The results indicate that this work provides a feasible approach to fabricate efficient sensors with advantages of low cost, facile preparation, and easy signal collection.

  20. Shallow Gas Migration along Hydrocarbon Wells-An Unconsidered, Anthropogenic Source of Biogenic Methane in the North Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vielstädte, Lisa; Haeckel, Matthias; Karstens, Jens; Linke, Peter; Schmidt, Mark; Steinle, Lea; Wallmann, Klaus

    2017-09-05

    Shallow gas migration along hydrocarbon wells constitutes a potential methane emission pathway that currently is not recognized in any regulatory framework or greenhouse gas inventory. Recently, the first methane emission measurements at three abandoned offshore wells in the Central North Sea (CNS) were conducted showing that considerable amounts of biogenic methane originating from shallow gas accumulations in the overburden of deep reservoirs were released by the boreholes. Here, we identify numerous wells poking through shallow gas pockets in 3-D seismic data of the CNS indicating that about one-third of the wells may leak, potentially releasing a total of 3-17 kt of methane per year into the North Sea. This poses a significant contribution to the North Sea methane budget. A large fraction of this gas (∼42%) may reach the atmosphere via direct bubble transport (0-2 kt yr -1 ) and via diffusive exchange of methane dissolving in the surface mixed layer (1-5 kt yr -1 ), as indicated by numerical modeling. In the North Sea and in other hydrocarbon-prolific provinces of the world shallow gas pockets are frequently observed in the sedimentary overburden and aggregate leakages along the numerous wells drilled in those areas may be significant.

  1. Fast response time alcohol gas sensor using nanocrystalline F ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    been used in gas sensor applications, i.e. adsorption ability, catalytic ... sity, as well as grain boundary alteration (Yamazoe 1991;. 521 ... oxide surface using a catalyst layer or gas filter layer. Shukla .... mobility and sheet resistance were measured using resisti- .... ation considerably reduces the conversion efficiency in flat.

  2. A flexible, transparent and high-performance gas sensor based on layer-materials for wearable technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Zhaoqiang; Yao, Jiandong; Wang, Bing; Yang, Guowei

    2017-10-01

    Gas sensors play a vital role among a wide range of practical applications. Recently, propelled by the development of layered materials, gas sensors have gained much progress. However, the high operation temperature has restricted their further application. Herein, via a facile pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method, we demonstrate a flexible, transparent and high-performance gas sensor made of highly-crystalline indium selenide (In2Se3) film. Under UV-vis-NIR light or even solar energy activation, the constructed gas sensors exhibit superior properties for detecting acetylene (C2H2) gas at room temperature. We attribute these properties to the photo-induced charger transfer mechanism upon C2H2 molecule adsorption. Moreover, no apparent degradation in the device properties is observed even after 100 bending cycles. In addition, we can also fabricate this device on rigid substrates, which is also capable to detect gas molecules at room temperature. These results unambiguously distinguish In2Se3 as a new candidate for future application in monitoring C2H2 gas at room temperature and open up new opportunities for developing next generation full-spectrum activated gas sensors.

  3. Signal processing circuitry for CMOS-based SAW gas sensors with low power and area

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohd-Yasin, F.; Tye, K.F.; Reaz, M.B.I.

    2009-06-01

    The design and development of interface circuitries for CMOS-based SAW gas sensor is presented in this paper. The SAW gas sensor devices typically run at RF, requiring most designs to have complex signal conditioning circuitry. The proposed approach attempts to design a simple architecture with reduced power consumption. The SAW gas sensors operate at 354MHz. Simulation data show that the interface circuitries are ten times smaller with lower power supply, comparing to existing work. (author)

  4. Gas Detection Instrument Based on Wireless Sensor Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ANSONG FENG

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The wireless sensor network is used to simulate poisonous gas generating system in the Fire-Fighting Simulated Training System. In the paper, we use the wireless signal to simulate the poisonous gas source and use received signal strength indicator (RSSI to simulate the distance between the fireman and the gas source. The gas detection instrument samples the temperature and sphygmus of the trainee and uses the wireless signal as poisonous gas signal. When the trainee enters into the poisonous gas area, the gas detection instrument warns with sound and light and sends the type, density value, the location of the poisonous gas and vital signs of the trainee to host. The paper discusses the software and hardware design of the gas detection instrument. The system has been used to the several of Fire-Fighting training systems.

  5. Development of Fabric-Based Chemical Gas Sensors for Use as Wearable Electronic Noses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thara Seesaard

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Novel gas sensors embroidered into fabric substrates based on polymers/ SWNT-COOH nanocomposites were proposed in this paper, aiming for their use as a wearable electronic nose (e-nose. The fabric-based chemical gas sensors were fabricated by two main processes: drop coating and embroidery. Four potential polymers (PVC, cumene-PSMA, PSE and PVP/functionalized-SWCNT sensing materials were deposited onto interdigitated electrodes previously prepared by embroidering conductive thread on a fabric substrate to make an optimal set of sensors. After preliminary trials of the obtained sensors, it was found that the sensors yielded a electrical resistance in the region of a few kilo-Ohms. The sensors were tested with various volatile compounds such as ammonium hydroxide, ethanol, pyridine, triethylamine, methanol and acetone, which are commonly found in the wastes released from the human body. These sensors were used to detect and discriminate between the body odors of different regions and exist in various forms such as the urine, armpit and exhaled breath odor. Based on a simple pattern recognition technique, we have shown that the proposed fabric-based chemical gas sensors can discriminate the human body odor from two persons.

  6. Development of fabric-based chemical gas sensors for use as wearable electronic noses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seesaard, Thara; Lorwongtragool, Panida; Kerdcharoen, Teerakiat

    2015-01-16

    Novel gas sensors embroidered into fabric substrates based on polymers/ SWNT-COOH nanocomposites were proposed in this paper, aiming for their use as a wearable electronic nose (e-nose). The fabric-based chemical gas sensors were fabricated by two main processes: drop coating and embroidery. Four potential polymers (PVC, cumene-PSMA, PSE and PVP)/functionalized-SWCNT sensing materials were deposited onto interdigitated electrodes previously prepared by embroidering conductive thread on a fabric substrate to make an optimal set of sensors. After preliminary trials of the obtained sensors, it was found that the sensors yielded a electrical resistance in the region of a few kilo-Ohms. The sensors were tested with various volatile compounds such as ammonium hydroxide, ethanol, pyridine, triethylamine, methanol and acetone, which are commonly found in the wastes released from the human body. These sensors were used to detect and discriminate between the body odors of different regions and exist in various forms such as the urine, armpit and exhaled breath odor. Based on a simple pattern recognition technique, we have shown that the proposed fabric-based chemical gas sensors can discriminate the human body odor from two persons.

  7. Response mechanism for surface acoustic wave gas sensors based on surface-adsorption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jiansheng; Lu, Yanyan

    2014-04-16

    A theoretical model is established to describe the response mechanism of surface acoustic wave (SAW) gas sensors based on physical adsorption on the detector surface. Wohljent's method is utilized to describe the relationship of sensor output (frequency shift of SAW oscillator) and the mass loaded on the detector surface. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) formula and its improved form are introduced to depict the adsorption behavior of gas on the detector surface. By combining the two methods, we obtain a theoretical model for the response mechanism of SAW gas sensors. By using a commercial SAW gas chromatography (GC) analyzer, an experiment is performed to measure the frequency shifts caused by different concentration of dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP). The parameters in the model are given by fitting the experimental results and the theoretical curve agrees well with the experimental data.

  8. Hydrocarbon-Rich Groundwater above Shale-Gas Formations: A Karoo Basin Case Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eymold, William K; Swana, Kelley; Moore, Myles T; Whyte, Colin J; Harkness, Jennifer S; Talma, Siep; Murray, Ricky; Moortgat, Joachim B; Miller, Jodie; Vengosh, Avner; Darrah, Thomas H

    2018-03-01

    Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have enhanced unconventional hydrocarbon recovery but raised environmental concerns related to water quality. Because most basins targeted for shale-gas development in the USA have histories of both active and legacy petroleum extraction, confusion about the hydrogeological context of naturally occurring methane in shallow aquifers overlying shales remains. The Karoo Basin, located in South Africa, provides a near-pristine setting to evaluate these processes, without a history of conventional or unconventional energy extraction. We conducted a comprehensive pre-industrial evaluation of water quality and gas geochemistry in 22 groundwater samples across the Karoo Basin, including dissolved ions, water isotopes, hydrocarbon molecular and isotopic composition, and noble gases. Methane-rich samples were associated with high-salinity, NaCl-type groundwater and elevated levels of ethane, 4 He, and other noble gases produced by radioactive decay. This endmember displayed less negative δ 13 C-CH 4 and evidence of mixing between thermogenic natural gases and hydrogenotrophic methane. Atmospheric noble gases in the methane-rich samples record a history of fractionation during gas-phase migration from source rocks to shallow aquifers. Conversely, methane-poor samples have a paucity of ethane and 4 He, near saturation levels of atmospheric noble gases, and more negative δ 13 C-CH 4 ; methane in these samples is biogenic and produced by a mixture of hydrogenotrophic and acetoclastic sources. These geochemical observations are consistent with other basins targeted for unconventional energy extraction in the USA and contribute to a growing data base of naturally occurring methane in shallow aquifers globally, which provide a framework for evaluating environmental concerns related to unconventional energy development (e.g., stray gas). © 2018, National Ground Water Association.

  9. Progress in the development of semiconducting metal oxide gas sensors: a review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moseley, Patrick T

    2017-01-01

    Since the first suggestion, during the 1950s, that high-surface-area metal oxides could be used as conductometric gas sensors enormous efforts have been made to enhance both the selectivity and the sensitivity of such devices, and to reduce their operational power requirements. This development has involved the exploration of response mechanisms, the selection of the most appropriate oxide compositions, the fabrication of two-phase ‘hetero-structures’, the addition of metallic catalyst particles and the optimisation of the manner in which the materials are presented to the gas—the structure and the nanostructure of the sensing elements. Far more of the scientific literature has been devoted to seeking such improvements in metal oxide gas sensors than has been directed at all other solid-state gas sensors together. Recent progress in the research and development of metal oxide gas sensor technology is surveyed in this invited review. The advances that have been made are quite spectacular and the results of individual pieces of work are drawn together here so that trends can be seen. Emerging features include: the significance of n-type/p-type switching, the enhancement of sensing performance of materials through the incorporation of secondary components and the advantages of interrogating sensors with alternating current rather than direct current. (topical review)

  10. Gas sensor based on photoconductive electrospun titania nanofibres operating at room temperature

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zampetti, E., E-mail: emiliano.zampetti@artov.imm.cnr.it; Macagnano, A.; Bearzotti, A. [Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto per la Microelettronica e Microsistemi (CNR IMM) (Italy)

    2013-04-15

    An important drawback of semiconductor gas sensors is their operating temperature that needs the use of heaters. To overcome this problem a prototyping sensor using titania nanofibres (with an average diameter of 50 nm) as sensitive membrane were fabricated by electrospinning directly on the transducer of the sensor. Exploiting the effect of titania photoconductivity, resistance variations upon gas interaction under continuous irradiation of ultra violet light were measured at room temperature. The resistive sensor response was evaluated towards ammonia, nitrogen dioxide and humidity. The sensor exhibited a higher response to ammonia than to nitrogen dioxide, especially for concentrations larger than 100 ppb. For 200 ppb of ammonia and nitrogen dioxide, the responses were {approx}2.8 and 1.5 %, respectively.

  11. Optical Breath Gas Sensor for Extravehicular Activity Application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, William R.; Casias, Miguel E.; Vakhtin, Andrei B.; Pilgrim, Jeffrey S.; Chullen, Cinda; Falconi, Eric A.; McMillin, Summer

    2013-01-01

    The function of the infrared gas transducer used during extravehicular activity in the current space suit is to measure and report the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the ventilation loop. The next generation portable life support system (PLSS) requires next generation CO2 sensing technology with performance beyond that presently in use on the Space Shuttle/International Space Station extravehicular mobility unit (EMU). Accommodation within space suits demands that optical sensors meet stringent size, weight, and power requirements. A laser diode spectrometer based on wavelength modulation spectroscopy is being developed for this purpose by Vista Photonics, Inc. Two prototype devices were delivered to NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) in September 2011. The sensors incorporate a laser diode-based CO2 channel that also includes an incidental water vapor (humidity) measurement and a separate oxygen channel using a vertical cavity surface emitting laser. Both prototypes are controlled digitally with a field-programmable gate array/microcontroller architecture. The present development extends and upgrades the earlier hardware to the Advanced PLSS 2.0 test article being constructed and tested at JSC. Various improvements to the electronics and gas sampling are being advanced by this project. The combination of low power electronics with the performance of a long wavelength laser spectrometer enables multi-gas sensors with significantly increased performance over that presently offered in the EMU.

  12. Construction of MoS2/Si nanowire array heterojunction for ultrahigh-sensitivity gas sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Di; Lou, Zhenhua; Wang, Yuange; Xu, Tingting; Shi, Zhifeng; Xu, Junmin; Tian, Yongtao; Li, Xinjian

    2017-10-01

    Few-layer MoS2 thin films were synthesized by a two-step thermal decomposition process. In addition, MoS2/Si nanowire array (SiNWA) heterojunctions exhibiting excellent gas sensing properties were constructed and investigated. Further analysis reveals that such MoS2/SiNWA heterojunction devices are highly sensitive to nitric oxide (NO) gas under reverse voltages at room temperature (RT). The gas sensor demonstrated a minimum detection limit of 10 ppb, which represents the lowest value obtained for MoS2-based sensors, as well as an ultrahigh response of 3518% (50 ppm NO, ˜50% RH), with good repeatability and selectivity of the MoS2/SiNWA heterojunction. The sensing mechanisms were also discussed. The performance of the MoS2/SiNWA heterojunction gas sensors is superior to previous results, revealing that they have great potential in applications relating to highly sensitive gas sensors.

  13. Palladium Gate All Around - Hetero Dielectric -Tunnel FET based highly sensitive Hydrogen Gas Sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madan, Jaya; Chaujar, Rishu

    2016-12-01

    The paper presents a novel highly sensitive Hetero-Dielectric-Gate All Around Tunneling FET (HD-GAA-TFET) based Hydrogen Gas Sensor, incorporating the advantages of band to band tunneling (BTBT) mechanism. Here, the Palladium supported silicon dioxide is used as a sensing media and sensing relies on the interaction of hydrogen with Palladium-SiO2-Si. The high surface to volume ratio in the case of cylindrical GAA structure enhances the fortuities for surface reactions between H2 gas and Pd, and thus improves the sensitivity and stability of the sensor. Behaviour of the sensor in presence of hydrogen and at elevated temperatures is discussed. The conduction path of the sensor which is dependent on sensors radius has also been varied for the optimized sensitivity and static performance analysis of the sensor where the proposed design exhibits a superior performance in terms of threshold voltage, subthreshold swing, and band to band tunneling rate. Stability of the sensor with respect to temperature affectability has also been studied, and it is found that the device is reasonably stable and highly sensitive over the bearable temperature range. The successful utilization of HD-GAA-TFET in gas sensors may open a new door for the development of novel nanostructure gas sensing devices.

  14. Cr2O3 nanoparticle-functionalized WO3 nanorods for ethanol gas sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Seungbok; Bonyani, Maryam; Sun, Gun-Joo; Lee, Jae Kyung; Hyun, Soong Keun; Lee, Chongmu

    2018-02-01

    Pristine WO3 nanorods and Cr2O3-functionalized WO3 nanorods were synthesized by the thermal evaporation of WO3 powder in an oxidizing atmosphere, followed by spin-coating of the nanowires with Cr2O3 nanoparticles and thermal annealing in an oxidizing atmosphere. Scanning electron microscopy was used to examine the morphological features and X-ray diffraction was used to study the crystallinity and phase formation of the synthesized nanorods. Gas sensing tests were performed at different temperatures in the presence of test gases (ethanol, acetone, CO, benzene and toluene). The Cr2O3-functionalized WO3 nanorods sensor showed a stronger response to these gases relative to the pristine WO3 nanorod sensor. In particular, the response of the Cr2O3-functionalized WO3 nanorods sensor to 200 ppm ethanol gas was 5.58, which is approximately 4.4 times higher that of the pristine WO3 nanorods sensor. Furthermore, the Cr2O3-functionalized WO3 nanorods sensor had a shorter response and recovery time. The pristine WO3 nanorods had no selectivity toward ethanol gas, whereas the Cr2O3-functionalized WO3 nanorods sensor showed good selectivity toward ethanol. The gas sensing mechanism of the Cr2O3-functionalized WO3 nanorods sensor toward ethanol is discussed in detail.

  15. Assessment of natural hydrocarbon bioremediation at two gas condensate production sites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barker, G.W.; Raterman, K.T.; Fisher, J.B.; Corgan, J.M.; Trent, G.L.; Brown, D.R.; Sublette, K.L.

    1995-01-01

    Condensate liquids are present in soil and groundwater at two gas production sites in the Denver-Julesburg Basin operated by Amoco. These sites have been closely monitored since July 1993 to determine whether intrinsic aerobic or anaerobic bioremediation of hydrocarbons occurs at a sufficient rate and to an adequate endpoint to support a no-intervention decision. Groundwater monitoring and analysis of soil cores strongly suggest that intrinsic bioremediation is occurring at these sites by multiple pathways, including aerobic oxidation, Fe(III) reduction, and sulfate reduction

  16. Estimation of the limit of detection in semiconductor gas sensors through linearized calibration models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burgués, Javier; Jiménez-Soto, Juan Manuel; Marco, Santiago

    2018-07-12

    The limit of detection (LOD) is a key figure of merit in chemical sensing. However, the estimation of this figure of merit is hindered by the non-linear calibration curve characteristic of semiconductor gas sensor technologies such as, metal oxide (MOX), gasFETs or thermoelectric sensors. Additionally, chemical sensors suffer from cross-sensitivities and temporal stability problems. The application of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) recommendations for univariate LOD estimation in non-linear semiconductor gas sensors is not straightforward due to the strong statistical requirements of the IUPAC methodology (linearity, homoscedasticity, normality). Here, we propose a methodological approach to LOD estimation through linearized calibration models. As an example, the methodology is applied to the detection of low concentrations of carbon monoxide using MOX gas sensors in a scenario where the main source of error is the presence of uncontrolled levels of humidity. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. An electrochemical sensor for determining elemental iodine in gas media

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goffman, V.G.; Shaimerdinov, B.U.; Kotelkin, I.M. [Institute of New Chemical Problems, Moscow (Russian Federation)] [and others

    1993-12-01

    The possibility of using solid-electrolyte Ag, AgI/AgI/Au cells as sensors for determining the concentration of elemental iodine in gas media is investigated. It is established that the sensor parameters are independent of oxygen content and radiation dose at different relative humidities.

  18. Exhaust gas purifying system for an internal combustion engine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Minami, H; Saito, Z

    1976-10-07

    The exhaust gas purification system is a so-called three-way catalytic converter. It consists of an oxidation converter, a reduction converter, or a thermal converter. An exhaust sensor made up of an oxygen sensor, a carbon sensor, a carbon monoxide sensor, hydrocarbon sensor, or a nitrogen peroxide sensor, tests the composition of the exhaust and controls the air-fuel feed system in dependence of the exhaust mixture in such a manner that in the intake system an air-fuel mixture is taken in which the stoichiometric air-fuel relation is produced. Moreover, a thermostatically controlled air intake device is built into the fuel injection system which supplies the air of the fuel injection system with a relatively consistent temperature.

  19. Synthesis and properties of ZnO nanorods as ethanol gas sensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mirabbaszadeh, K; Mehrabian, M

    2012-01-01

    Uniform ZnO nanorods were synthesized via the sol-gel process under mild conditions in which different ZnO nanostructures have been prepared by changing the pH of growth solution. It was seen that the optimum nanorods were grown at pH 11.33. The prepared ZnO nanostructures and morphologies were characterized by x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy measurements. The ZnO one-dimensional nanostructures were found to have a wurtzite hexagonal crystalline structure and grow along the [001] direction. The optimum nanorods were about 1 μm in length and less than 100 nm in diameter. The ZnO nanostructures have been tested for different concentrations and different operating temperatures for ethanol vapor in air and the surface resistance of the sensors has been evaluated as a function of different parameters. The gas sensor fabricated from ZnO nanorods grown in solution with a special pH exhibited good performance. The sensor response to 5000 ppm ethanol was up to about 2.5 at the operating temperature of 300 °C. The differences in gas-sensing performance between the sensors were analyzed based on the defects created in the nanorods during their fast growth. The correlations between material structures and the properties of the gas sensors are discussed.

  20. Carbon-Nanotube-Based Chemical Gas Sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaul, Arunpama B.

    2010-01-01

    Conventional thermal conductivity gauges (e.g. Pirani gauges) lend themselves to applications such as leak detectors, or in gas chromatographs for identifying various gas species. However, these conventional gauges are physically large, operate at high power, and have a slow response time. A single-walled carbon-nanotube (SWNT)-based chemical sensing gauge relies on differences in thermal conductance of the respective gases surrounding the CNT as it is voltage-biased, as a means for chemical identification. Such a sensor provides benefits of significantly reduced size and compactness, fast response time, low-power operation, and inexpensive manufacturing since it can be batch-fabricated using Si integrated-circuit (IC) process technology.

  1. Fabrication of a P3HT-ZnO Nanowires Gas Sensor Detecting Ammonia Gas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chin-Guo Kuo

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available In this study, an organic-inorganic semiconductor gas sensor was fabricated to detect ammonia gas. An inorganic semiconductor was a zinc oxide (ZnO nanowire array produced by atomic layer deposition (ALD while an organic material was a p-type semiconductor, poly(3-hexylthiophene (P3HT. P3HT was suitable for the gas sensing application due to its high hole mobility, good stability, and good electrical conductivity. In this work, P3HT was coated on the zinc oxide nanowires by the spin coating to form an organic-inorganic heterogeneous interface of the gas sensor for detecting ammonia gas. The thicknesses of the P3HT were around 462 nm, 397 nm, and 277 nm when the speeds of the spin coating were 4000 rpm, 5000 rpm, and 6000 rpm, respectively. The electrical properties and sensing characteristics of the gas sensing device at room temperature were evaluated by Hall effect measurement and the sensitivity of detecting ammonia gas. The results of Hall effect measurement for the P3HT-ZnO nanowires semiconductor with 462 nm P3HT film showed that the carrier concentration and the mobility were 2.7 × 1019 cm−3 and 24.7 cm2∙V−1∙s−1 respectively. The gas sensing device prepared by the P3HT-ZnO nanowires semiconductor had better sensitivity than the device composed of the ZnO film and P3HT film. Additionally, this gas sensing device could reach a maximum sensitivity around 11.58 per ppm.

  2. Guidelines for Constructing Natural Gas and Liquid Hydrocarbon Pipelines Through Areas Prone to Landslide and Subsidence Hazards

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-01-01

    These guidelines provide recommendations for the assessment of new and existing natural gas and liquid hydrocarbon pipelines subjected to potential ground displacements resulting from landslides and subsidence. The process of defining landslide and s...

  3. Amperometric Enzyme-based Gas Sensor for Formaldehyde: Impact of Possible Interferences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ralf Moos

    2007-02-01

    Full Text Available In this work, cross-sensitivities and environmental influences on the sensitivityand the functionality of an enzyme-based amperometric sensor system for the directdetection of formaldehyde from the gas phase are studied. The sensor shows a linearresponse curve for formaldehyde in the tested range (0 - 15 vppm with a sensitivity of1.9 μA/ppm and a detection limit of about 130 ppb. Cross-sensitivities by environmentalgases like CO2, CO, NO, H2, and vapors of organic solvents like methanol and ethanol areevaluated as well as temperature and humidity influences on the sensor system. The sensorshowed neither significant signal to CO, H2, methanol or ethanol nor to variations in thehumidity of the test gas. As expected, temperature variations had the biggest influence onthe sensor sensitivity with variations in the sensor signal of up to 10 % of the signal for 5vppm CH2O in the range of 25 - 30 °C.

  4. Sensors of the gas CO in thin film of SnO{sub 2}:Cu; Sensores del gas CO en pelicula delgada de SnO{sub 2}:Cu

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tirado G, S.; Sanchez Z, F. E., E-mail: tirado@esfm.ipn.mx [IPN, Escuela Superior de Fisica y Matematicas, Unidad Profesional Adolfo Lopez Mateos, San Pedro Zacatenco, 07738 Mexico D. F. (Mexico)

    2011-10-15

    Thin films of SnO{sub 2}:Cu with different thickness, were deposited on soda-lime glass substrates and prepared by the Sol-gel process and repeated immersion. The sensor properties of these films to the gas CO for the range of 0-200 ppm in the gas concentration and operating to temperatures of 23, 100, 200, and 300 C were studied. Prepared films of pure SnO{sub 2} were modified superficially with 1, 3, 5 and 10 layers of the catalyst Cu (SnO{sub 2}:Cu) with the purpose of studying the effect on the sensor capacity of the gas CO by part of the films SnO{sub 2}:Cu. Using the changes in the electric properties of the films with the incorporation of the different copper layers and experimental conditions, the sensor modifications of the gas CO were evaluated. To complete this study, was realized a characterization of the superficial morphology of the films by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, equally was studied their structure and their electric and optical properties. (Author)

  5. A smart microelectromechanical sensor and switch triggered by gas

    KAUST Repository

    Bouchaala, Adam M.

    2016-07-05

    There is an increasing interest to realize smarter sensors and actuators that can deliver a multitude of sophisticated functionalities while being compact in size and of low cost. We report here combining both sensing and actuation on the same device based on a single microstructure. Specifically, we demonstrate a smart resonant gas (mass) sensor, which in addition to being capable of quantifying the amount of absorbed gas, can be autonomously triggered as an electrical switch upon exceeding a preset threshold of absorbed gas. Toward this, an electrostatically actuated polymer microbeam is fabricated and is then functionalized with a metal-organic framework, namely, HKUST-1. The microbeam is demonstrated to absorb vapors up to a certain threshold, after which is shown to collapse through the dynamic pull-in instability. Upon pull-in, the microstructure can be made to act as an electrical switch to achieve desirable actions, such as alarming.

  6. A smart microelectromechanical sensor and switch triggered by gas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouchaala, Adam; Jaber, Nizar; Shekhah, Osama; Chernikova, Valeriya; Eddaoudi, Mohamed; Younis, Mohammad I.

    2016-07-01

    There is an increasing interest to realize smarter sensors and actuators that can deliver a multitude of sophisticated functionalities while being compact in size and of low cost. We report here combining both sensing and actuation on the same device based on a single microstructure. Specifically, we demonstrate a smart resonant gas (mass) sensor, which in addition to being capable of quantifying the amount of absorbed gas, can be autonomously triggered as an electrical switch upon exceeding a preset threshold of absorbed gas. Toward this, an electrostatically actuated polymer microbeam is fabricated and is then functionalized with a metal-organic framework, namely, HKUST-1. The microbeam is demonstrated to absorb vapors up to a certain threshold, after which is shown to collapse through the dynamic pull-in instability. Upon pull-in, the microstructure can be made to act as an electrical switch to achieve desirable actions, such as alarming.

  7. Simulations of Propane and Butane Gas Sensor Based on Pristine Armchair Graphene Nanoribbon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rashid, Haroon; Koel, Ants; Rang, Toomas

    2018-05-01

    Over the last decade graphene and its derivatives have gained a remarkable place in research field. As silicon technology is approaching to its geometrical limits so there is a need of alternate that can replace it. Graphene has emerged as a potential candidate for future nano-electronics applications due to its exceptional and extraordinary chemical, optical, electrical and mechanical properties. Graphene based sensors have gained significance for a wide range of sensing applications like detection of biomolecules, chemicals and gas molecules. It can be easily used to make electrical contacts and manipulate them according to the requirements as compared to the other nanomaterials. The intention of the work presented in this article is to contribute in this field by simulating a novel and cheap graphene nanoribbon sensor for the household gas leakage detection. QuantumWise Atomistix (ATK) software is used for the simulations of propane and butane gas sensor. Projected device density of the states (PDDOS) and the transmission spectrum of the device in the proximity of gas molecules are calculated and discussed. The change in the electric current through the device in the presence of the gas molecules is used as a gas detection mechanism for the simulated sensor.

  8. Approach for Self-Calibrating CO2 Measurements with Linear Membrane-Based Gas Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Detlef Lazik

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Linear membrane-based gas sensors that can be advantageously applied for the measurement of a single gas component in large heterogeneous systems, e.g., for representative determination of CO2 in the subsurface, can be designed depending on the properties of the observation object. A resulting disadvantage is that the permeation-based sensor response depends on operating conditions, the individual site-adapted sensor geometry, the membrane material, and the target gas component. Therefore, calibration is needed, especially of the slope, which could change over several orders of magnitude. A calibration-free approach based on an internal gas standard is developed to overcome the multi-criterial slope dependency. This results in a normalization of sensor response and enables the sensor to assess the significance of measurement. The approach was proofed on the example of CO2 analysis in dry air with tubular PDMS membranes for various CO2 concentrations of an internal standard. Negligible temperature dependency was found within an 18 K range. The transformation behavior of the measurement signal and the influence of concentration variations of the internal standard on the measurement signal were shown. Offsets that were adjusted based on the stated theory for the given measurement conditions and material data from the literature were in agreement with the experimentally determined offsets. A measurement comparison with an NDIR reference sensor shows an unexpectedly low bias (<1% of the non-calibrated sensor response, and comparable statistical uncertainty.

  9. Pulse-driven micro gas sensor fitted with clustered Pd/SnO2 nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suematsu, Koichi; Shin, Yuka; Ma, Nan; Oyama, Tokiharu; Sasaki, Miyuki; Yuasa, Masayoshi; Kida, Tetsuya; Shimanoe, Kengo

    2015-08-18

    Real-time monitoring of specific gas concentrations with a compact and portable gas sensing device is required to sense potential health risk and danger from toxic gases. For such purposes, we developed an ultrasmall gas sensor device, where a micro sensing film was deposited on a micro heater integrated with electrodes fabricated by the microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology. The developed device was operated in a pulse-heating mode to significantly reduce the heater power consumption and make the device battery-driven and portable. Using clustered Pd/SnO2 nanoparticles, we succeeded in introducing mesopores ranging from 10 to 30 nm in the micro gas sensing film (area: ϕ 150 μm) to detect large volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The micro sensor showed quick, stable, and high sensor responses to toluene at ppm (parts per million) concentrations at 300 °C even by operating the micro heater in a pulse-heating mode where switch-on and -off cycles were repeated at one-second intervals. The high performance of the micro sensor should result from the creation of efficient diffusion paths decorated with Pd sensitizers by using the clustered Pd/SnO2 nanoparticles. Hence we demonstrate that our pulse-driven micro sensor using nanostructured oxide materials holds promise as a battery-operable, portable gas sensing device.

  10. Conversion of associated natural gas to liquid hydrocarbons. Final report, June 1, 1995--January 31, 1997

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-12-31

    The original concept envisioned for the use of Fischer-Tropsch processing (FTP) of United States associated natural gas in this study was to provide a way of utilizing gas which could not be brought to market because a pipeline was not available or for which there was no local use. Conversion of gas by FTP could provide a means of utilizing offshore associated gas which would not require installation of a pipeline or re-injection. The premium quality F-T hydrocarbons produced by conversion of the gas can be transported in the same way as the crude oil or in combination (blended) with it, eliminating the need for a separate gas transport system. FTP will produce a synthetic crude oil, thus increasing the effective size of the resource. The two conventional approaches currently used in US territory for handling of natural gas associated with crude petroleum production are re-injection and pipelining. Conversion of natural gas to a liquid product which can be transported to shore by tanker can be accomplished by FTP to produce hydrocarbons, or by conversion to chemical products such as methanol or ammonia, or by cryogenic liquefaction (LNG). This study considers FTP and briefly compares it to methanol and LNG. The Energy International Corporation cobalt catalyst, ratio adjusted, slurry bubble column F-T process was used as the basis for the study and the comparisons. An offshore F-T plant can best be accommodated by an FPSO (Floating Production, Storage, Offloading vessel) based on a converted surplus tanker, such as have been frequently used around the world recently. Other structure types used in deep water (platforms) are more expensive and cannot handle the required load.

  11. Plasma devices for hydrocarbon reformation

    KAUST Repository

    Cha, Min Suk

    2017-02-16

    Plasma devices for hydrocarbon reformation are provided. Methods of using the devices for hydrocarbon reformation are also provided. The devices can include a liquid container to receive a hydrocarbon source, and a plasma torch configured to be submerged in the liquid. The plasma plume from the plasma torch can cause reformation of the hydrocarbon. The device can use a variety of plasma torches that can be arranged in a variety of positions in the liquid container. The devices can be used for the reformation of gaseous hydrocarbons and/or liquid hydrocarbons. The reformation can produce methane, lower hydrocarbons, higher hydrocarbons, hydrogen gas, water, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, or a combination thereof.

  12. Improvement of mineral oil saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons determination in edible oil by liquid-liquid-gas chromatography with dual detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zoccali, Mariosimone; Barp, Laura; Beccaria, Marco; Sciarrone, Danilo; Purcaro, Giorgia; Mondello, Luigi

    2016-02-01

    Mineral oils, which are mainly composed of saturated hydrocarbons and aromatic hydrocarbons, are widespread food contaminants. Liquid chromatography coupled to gas chromatography with flame ionization detection represents the method of choice to determine these two families. However, despite the high selectivity of this technique, the presence of olefins (particularly squalene and its isomers) in some samples as in olive oils, does not allow the correct quantification of the mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons fraction, requiring additional off-line tools to eliminate them. In the present research, a novel on-line liquid chromatography coupled to gas chromatography method is described for the determination of hydrocarbon contamination in edible oils. Two different liquid chromatography columns, namely a silica one (to retain the bulk of the matrix) and a silver-ion one (which better retains the olefins), were coupled in series to obtain the mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons hump free of interfering peaks. Furthermore, the use of a simultaneous dual detection, flame ionization detector and triple quadrupole mass spectrometer allowed us not only to quantify the mineral oil contamination, but also to evaluate the presence of specific markers (i.e. hopanes) to confirm the petrogenic origin of the contamination. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  13. Quartz crystal microbalance gas sensor with nanocrystalline diamond sensitive layer

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Varga, Marián; Laposa, A.; Kulha, Pavel; Kroutil, J.; Husák, M.; Kromka, Alexander

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 252, č. 11 (2015), s. 2591-2597 ISSN 0370-1972 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GBP108/12/G108 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : gas sensor * nanocrystalline diamond * quartz resonator * thickness shear mode Subject RIV: JB - Sensor s, Measurment, Regulation Impact factor: 1.522, year: 2015

  14. Inhomogeneous Oxygen Vacancy Distribution in Semiconductor Gas Sensors: Formation, Migration and Determination on Gas Sensing Characteristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jianqiao; Gao, Yinglin; Wu, Xu; Jin, Guohua; Zhai, Zhaoxia; Liu, Huan

    2017-08-10

    The density of oxygen vacancies in semiconductor gas sensors was often assumed to be identical throughout the grain in the numerical discussion of the gas-sensing mechanism of the devices. In contrast, the actual devices had grains with inhomogeneous distribution of oxygen vacancy under non-ideal conditions. This conflict between reality and discussion drove us to study the formation and migration of the oxygen defects in semiconductor grains. A model of the gradient-distributed oxygen vacancy was proposed based on the effects of cooling rate and re-annealing on semiconductive thin films. The model established the diffusion equations of oxygen vacancy according to the defect kinetics of diffusion and exclusion. We described that the steady-state and transient-state oxygen vacancy distributions, which were used to calculate the gas-sensing characteristics of the sensor resistance and response to reducing gases under two different conditions. The gradient-distributed oxygen vacancy model had the applications in simulating the sensor performances, such as the power law, the grain size effect and the effect of depletion layer width.

  15. Inhomogeneous Oxygen Vacancy Distribution in Semiconductor Gas Sensors: Formation, Migration and Determination on Gas Sensing Characteristics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianqiao Liu

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The density of oxygen vacancies in semiconductor gas sensors was often assumed to be identical throughout the grain in the numerical discussion of the gas-sensing mechanism of the devices. In contrast, the actual devices had grains with inhomogeneous distribution of oxygen vacancy under non-ideal conditions. This conflict between reality and discussion drove us to study the formation and migration of the oxygen defects in semiconductor grains. A model of the gradient-distributed oxygen vacancy was proposed based on the effects of cooling rate and re-annealing on semiconductive thin films. The model established the diffusion equations of oxygen vacancy according to the defect kinetics of diffusion and exclusion. We described that the steady-state and transient-state oxygen vacancy distributions, which were used to calculate the gas-sensing characteristics of the sensor resistance and response to reducing gases under two different conditions. The gradient-distributed oxygen vacancy model had the applications in simulating the sensor performances, such as the power law, the grain size effect and the effect of depletion layer width.

  16. Semiconductor device-based sensors for gas, chemical, and biomedical applications

    CERN Document Server

    Ren, Fan

    2011-01-01

    Sales of U.S. chemical sensors represent the largest segment of the multi-billion-dollar global sensor market, which includes instruments for chemical detection in gases and liquids, biosensors, and medical sensors. Although silicon-based devices have dominated the field, they are limited by their general inability to operate in harsh environments faced with factors such as high temperature and pressure. Exploring how and why these instruments have become a major player, Semiconductor Device-Based Sensors for Gas, Chemical, and Biomedical Applications presents the latest research, including or

  17. Review of Small Commercial Sensors for Indicative Monitoring of Ambient Gas

    OpenAIRE

    ALEIXANDRE Manuel; GERBOLES Michel

    2012-01-01

    The traditional ambient gases monitor stations are expensive, big and of complex operation. So they are not suitable for a network of sensors that cover large areas. To cover large areas these traditional systems algorithms usually interpolates the measurements to calculate the gas concentrations in points far away of the physical sensors. Small commercial sensors represent a big opportunity for making sensor networks that monitor the ambient gases within large areas w...

  18. Injection halos of hydrocarbons above oil-gas fields with super-high pressures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bakhtin, V.V.

    1979-09-01

    We studied the origin of injection halos of hydrocarbons above oil-gas fields with anomalously high formation pressures (AHFP). Using fields in Azerbaydzhan and Chechen-Ingushetiya as an example, we demonstrate the effect of certain factors (in particular, faults and zones of increased macro- and micro-jointing) on the morpholoy of the halos. The intensity of micro-jointing (jointing permeability, three-dimensional density of micro-jointing) is directly connected with vertical dimensions of the halos. We measured halos based on transverse profiles across the Khayan-Kort field and studied the distribution of bitumen saturation within the injection halo. Discovery of injection halos during drilling has enabled us to improve the technology of wiring deep-seated exploratory wells for oil and gas in regions with development of AHFP.

  19. Conductivity modeling of gas sensors based on copper ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The main objective of this work is to study the electronic conductivity of copper ... applications, such as gas sensors [11 - 13], catalysts [14], solar cells [15], .... solid systems and adopted to examine the mechanism of the adsorption process [38].

  20. Potential use of gas sensors in beef manure nutrient content ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    STORAGESEVER

    2009-06-17

    Jun 17, 2009 ... manure samples were collected from four beef operations in Southwest North Dakota. Manure samples were sent to be ... cation rate at spreading time instead of waiting two or three weeks to receive the results ... Operation mechanism of metal-oxide gas sensors. The sensors used in this study were ...

  1. Can hydrocarbons entrapped in seep carbonates serve as gas geochemistry recorder?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blumenberg, Martin; Pape, Thomas; Seifert, Richard; Bohrmann, Gerhard; Schlömer, Stefan

    2018-04-01

    The geochemistry of seep gases is useful for an understanding of the local petroleum system. Here it was tested whether individual light hydrocarbons in seep gases are representatively entrapped in authigenic carbonates that formed near active seep sites. If applicable, it would be possible to extract geochemical information not only on the origin but also on the thermal maturity of the hydrocarbon source rocks from the gases entrapped in carbonates in the past. Respective data could be used for a better understanding of paleoenvironments and might directly serve as calibration point for, amongst others, petroleum system modeling. For this approach, (sub)-recent seep carbonates from the Black Sea (Paleodnjepr region and Batumi seep area), two sites of the Campeche Knoll region in the Gulf of Mexico, and the Venere mud volcano (Mediterranean Sea) were selected. These seep carbonates derive from sites for which geochemical data on the currently seeping gases exist. During treatment with phosphoric acid, methane and higher hydrocarbons were released from all carbonates, but in low concentrations. Compositional studies demonstrate that the ratio of methane to the sum of higher hydrocarbons (C1/(C2+C3)) is (partly strongly) positively biased in the entrapped gas fraction. δ13C values of C1 were determined for all samples and, for the samples from the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea, also of C2 and C3. The present dataset from six seep sites indicates that information on the seeped methane can be—although with a scatter of several permil—recorded in seep carbonate matrices, but other valuable information like the composition and δ13C of ethane and propane appears to be modified or lost during, for example, enclosure or at an early stage of diagenesis.

  2. Nano-Hydroxyapatite Thick Film Gas Sensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khairnar, Rajendra S.; Mene, Ravindra U.; Munde, Shivaji G.; Mahabole, Megha P.

    2011-01-01

    In the present work pure and metal ions (Co and Fe) doped hydroxyapatite (HAp) thick films have been successfully utilized to improve the structural, morphological and gas sensing properties. Nanocrystalline HAp powder is synthesized by wet chemical precipitation route, and ion exchange process is employed for addition of Co and Fe ions in HAp matrix. Moreover, swift heavy ion irradiation (SHI) technique is used to modify the surface of pure and metal ion exchanged HAp with various ion fluence. The structural investigation of pure and metal ion exchanged HAp thick films are carried out using X-ray diffraction and the presence of functional group is observed by means FTIR spectroscopy. Furthermore, surface morphology is visualized by means of SEM and AFM analysis. CO gas sensing study is carried out for, pure and metal ions doped, HAp thick films with detail investigation on operating temperature, response/recovery time and gas uptake capacity. The surface modifications of sensor matrix by SHI enhance the gas response, response/recovery and gas uptake capacity. The significant observation is here to note that, addition of Co and Fe in HAp matrix and surface modification by SHI improves the sensing properties of HAp films drastically resulting in gas sensing at relatively lower temperatures.

  3. Process for in-situ biodegradation of hydrocarbon contaminated soil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ely, D.L.; Heffner, D.A.

    1991-01-01

    This patent describes an in situ process for biodegrading hydrocarbons by drawing oxygen into an undisturbed hydrocarbon contaminated zone in a fluid permeable soil. It comprises: establishing a borehole extending from the earth's surface through a hydrocarbon contaminated zone having hydrocarbon degrading microbes therein; lining the borehole with a fluid impermeable liner coaxially spaced and sealingly connected to the inside surface of the borehole and extending from the earth's surface to the hydrocarbon-contaminated zone; the liner including a fluid permeable portion extending from the lower end thereof and through at least a portion of the hydrocarbon contaminated zone, fluidly connecting a source of negative pressure to the fluid impermeable line; evacuating gas from the borehole through the fluid permeable portion of the liner at a rate sufficient to draw air from the earth's surface into the hydrocarbon containing zone; and adjusting the flow rate of the evacuated gas so that the amount of hydrocarbon biodegradation therein is within 50% of the maximum hydrocarbon biodegradation rate as detected by the volume of carbon dioxide in the evacuated gas

  4. Nanowire field-effect transistors for gas sensor applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Constantinou, Marios

    Sensing BTEX (Benzene, Ethylbenzene, Toluene, Xylene) pollutants is of utmost importance to reduce health risk and ensure public safety. The lack of sensitivity and selectivity of the current gas sensors and the limited number of available technologies in the field of BTEX-sensing raises the demand for the development of high-performance gas sensors for BTEX applications. The scope of this thesis is the fabrication and characterisation of high-quality field-effect transistors (FETs), with functionalised silicon nanowires (SiNWs), for the selective sensing of benzene vs. other BTEX gases. This research addresses three main challenges in SiNW FET-sensor device development: i) controllable and reproducible assembly of high-quality SiNWs for FET sensor devices using the method of dielectrophoresis (DEP), ii) almost complete elimination of harmful hysteresis effect in the SiNW FET current-voltage characteristics induced by surface states using DMF solvent, iii) selective sensing of benzene with up to ppb range of sensitivity using calix[4]arene-derivatives. It is experimentally demonstrated that frequency-controlled DEP is a powerful tool for the selection and collection of semiconducting SiNWs with advanced electrical and morphological properties, from a poly-disperse as-synthesised NWs. The DEP assembly method also leads to a controllable and reproducible fabrication of high-quality NW-based FETs. The results highlight the superiority of DEP, performed at high signal frequencies (5-20 MHz) to selectively assemble only high-quality NWs which can respond to such high DEP frequencies. The SiNW FETs, with NWs collected at high DEP frequencies, have high mobility (≈50 cm2 V-1 s-1), low sub-threshold-swing (≈1.26 V/decade), high on-current (up to 3 mA) and high on/off ratio (106-107). The DEP NW selection is also demonstrated using an industrially scalable method, to allow establishing of NW response characteristics to different DEP frequencies in a very short time

  5. Carbon materials-functionalized tin dioxide nanoparticles toward robust, high-performance nitrogen dioxide gas sensor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Rui; Liu, Xiupeng; Zhou, Tingting; Wang, Lili; Zhang, Tong

    2018-08-15

    Carbon (C) materials, which process excellent electrical conductivity and high carrier mobility, are promising sensing materials as active units for gas sensors. However, structural agglomeration caused by chemical processes results in a small resistance change and low sensing response. To address the above issues, structure-derived carbon-coated tin dioxide (SnO 2 ) nanoparticles having distinct core-shell morphology with a 3D net-like structure and highly uniform size are prepared by careful synthesis and fine structural design. The optimum carbon-coated SnO 2 nanoparticles (SnO 2 /C)-based gas sensor exhibits a low working temperature, excellent selectivity and fast response-recovery properties. In addition, the SnO 2 /C-based gas sensor can maintain a sensitivity to nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) of 3 after being cycled 4 times at 140 °C for, suggesting its good long-term stability. The structural integrity, good synergistic properties, and high gas-sensing performance of SnO 2 /C render it a promising sensing material for advanced gas sensors. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Real-Time Gas Identification by Analyzing the Transient Response of Capillary-Attached Conductive Gas Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Behzad Bahraminejad

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available In this study, the ability of the Capillary-attached conductive gas sensor (CGS in real-time gas identification was investigated. The structure of the prototype fabricated CGS is presented. Portions were selected from the beginning of the CGS transient response including the first 11 samples to the first 100 samples. Different feature extraction and classification methods were applied on the selected portions. Validation of methods was evaluated to study the ability of an early portion of the CGS transient response in target gas (TG identification. Experimental results proved that applying extracted features from an early part of the CGS transient response along with a classifier can distinguish short-chain alcohols from each other perfectly. Decreasing time of exposition in the interaction between target gas and sensing element improved the reliability of the sensor. Classification rate was also improved and time of identification was decreased. Moreover, the results indicated the optimum interval of the early transient response of the CGS for selecting portions to achieve the best classification rates.

  7. Metal-modified and vertically aligned carbon nanotube sensors array for landfill gas monitoring applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Penza, M; Rossi, R; Alvisi, M; Serra, E

    2010-03-12

    Vertically aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) layers were synthesized on Fe-coated low-cost alumina substrates using radio-frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (RF-PECVD) technology. A miniaturized CNT-based gas sensor array was developed for monitoring landfill gas (LFG) at a temperature of 150 degrees C. The sensor array was composed of 4 sensing elements with unmodified CNT, and CNT loaded with 5 nm nominally thick sputtered nanoclusters of platinum (Pt), ruthenium (Ru) and silver (Ag). Chemical analysis of multicomponent gas mixtures constituted of CO(2), CH(4), H(2), NH(3), CO and NO(2) has been performed by the array sensor responses and pattern recognition based on principal component analysis (PCA). The PCA results demonstrate that the metal-decorated and vertically aligned CNT sensor array is able to discriminate the NO(2) presence in the multicomponent mixture LFG. The NO(2) gas detection in the mixture LFG was proved to be very sensitive, e.g.: the CNT:Ru sensor shows a relative change in the resistance of 1.50% and 0.55% for NO(2) concentrations of 3.3 ppm and 330 ppb dispersed in the LFG, respectively, with a wide NO(2) gas concentration range measured from 0.33 to 3.3 ppm, at the sensor temperature of 150 degrees C. The morphology and structure of the CNT networks have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy. A forest-like nanostructure of vertically aligned CNT bundles in the multi-walled form appeared with a height of about 10 microm and a single-tube diameter varying in the range of 5-35 nm. The intensity ratio of the Raman spectroscopy D-peak and G-peak indicates the presence of disorder and defects in the CNT networks. The size of the metal (Pt, Ru, Ag) nanoclusters decorating the CNT top surface varies in the range of 5-50 nm. Functional characterization based on electrical charge transfer sensing mechanisms in the metal-modified CNT-chemoresistor array

  8. Plasma-catalytic reforming of liquid hydrocarbons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nedybaliuk, O.A.; Chernyak, V.Ya; Kolgan, V.V.; Iukhymenko, V.V.; Solomenko, O.V.; Fedirchyk, I.I.; Martysh, E.V.; Demchina, V.P.; Klochok, N.V.; Dragnev, S.V.

    2015-01-01

    The series of experiments studying the plasma-catalytic reforming of liquid hydrocarbons was carried out. The dynamic plasma-liquid system based on a low-power rotating gliding arc with solid electrodes was used for the investigation of liquid hydrocarbons reforming process. Conversion was done via partial oxidation. A part of oxidant flow was activated by the discharge. Synthesis-gas composition was analysed by means of mass-spectrometry and gas-chromatography. A standard boiler, which operates on natural gas and LPG, was used for the burning of synthesis-gas

  9. Membrane-Coated Electrochemical Sensor for Corrosion Monitoring in Natural Gas Pipelines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Beck

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Electrochemical sensors can be used for a wide range of online in- situ process monitoring applications. However, the lack of a consistent electrolyte layer has previously limited electrochemical monitoring in gas and supercritical fluid streams. A solid state sensor is being designed that uses an ion conducting membrane to perform conductivity and corrosion measurements in natural gas pipelines up to 1000 psi. Initial results show that membrane conductivity measurements can be correlated directly to water content down to dew points of 1°C with good linearity. Corrosion monitoring can also be performed using methods such as linear polarization resistance and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS, though care must be taken in the electrode design to minimize deviation between sensors.

  10. QCM gas sensor characterization of ALD-grown very thin TiO2 films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyadjiev, S.; Georgieva, V.; Vergov, L.; Szilágyi, I. M.

    2018-03-01

    The paper presents a technology for preparation and characterization of titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films suitable for gas sensor applications. Applying atomic layer deposition (ALD), very thin TiO2 films were deposited on quartz resonators, and their gas sensing properties were studied using the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) method. The TiO2 thin films were grown using Ti(iOPr)4 and water as precursors. The surface of the films was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), coupled with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) used for a composition study. The research was focused on the gas-sensing properties of the films. Films of 10-nm thickness were deposited on quartz resonators with Au electrodes and the QCMs were used to build highly sensitive gas sensors, which were tested for detecting NO2. Although very thin, these ALD-grown TiO2 films were sensitive to NO2 already at room temperature and could register as low concentrations as 50 ppm, while the sorption was fully reversible, and the sensors could be fully recovered. With the technology presented, the manufacturing of gas sensors is simple, fast and cost-effective, and suitable for energy-effective portable equipment for real-time environmental monitoring of NO2.

  11. Determination of C6-C10 aromatic hydrocarbons in water by purge-and-trap capillary gas chromatography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eganhouse, R.P.; Dorsey, T.F.; Phinney, C.S.; Westcott, A.M.

    1993-01-01

    A method is described for the determination of the C6-C10 aromatic hydrocarbons in water based on purge-and-trap capillary gas chromatography with flame ionization and mass spectrometric detection. Retention time data and 70 eV mass spectra were obtained for benzene and all 35 C7-C10 aromatic hydrocarbons. With optimized chromatographic conditions and mass spectrometric detection, benzene and 33 of the 35 alkylbenzenes can be identified and measured in a 45-min run. Use of a flame ionization detector permits the simultaneous determination of benzene and 26 alkylbenzenes.

  12. Electrochemical sensors applied to pollution monitoring: Measurement error and gas ratio bias - A volcano plume case study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, T. J.; Saffell, J. R.; Oppenheimer, C.; Lurton, T.

    2014-06-01

    There is an increasing scientific interest in the use of miniature electrochemical sensors to detect and quantify atmospheric trace gases. This has led to the development of ‘Multi-Gas' systems applied to measurements of both volcanic gas emissions, and urban air pollution. However, such measurements are subject to uncertainties introduced by sensor response time, a critical issue that has received limited attention to date. Here, a detailed analysis of output from an electrochemical SO2 sensor and two H2S sensors (contrasting in their time responses and cross-sensitivities) demonstrates how instrument errors arise under the conditions of rapidly fluctuating (by dilution) gas abundances, leading to scatter and importantly bias in the reported gas ratios. In a case study at Miyakejima volcano (Japan), electrochemical sensors were deployed at both the crater-rim and downwind locations, thereby exposed to rapidly fluctuating and smoothly varying plume gas concentrations, respectively. Discrepancies in the H2S/SO2 gas mixing ratios derived from these measurements are attributed to the sensors' differing time responses to SO2 and H2S under fluctuating plume conditions, with errors magnified by the need to correct for SO2 interference in the H2S readings. Development of a sensor response model that reproduces sensor t90 behaviour (the time required to reach 90% of the final signal following a step change in gas abundance) during calibration enabled this measurement error to be simulated numerically. The sensor response times were characterised as SO2 sensor (t90 ~ 13 s), H2S sensor without interference (t90 ~ 11 s), and H2S sensor with interference (t90 ~ 20 s to H2S and ~ 32 s to SO2). We show that a method involving data integration between periods of episodic plume exposure identifiable in the sensor output yields a less biased H2S/SO2 ratio estimate than that derived from standard analysis approaches. For the Miyakejima crater-rim dataset this method yields highly

  13. Integrating Metal-Oxide-Decorated CNT Networks with a CMOS Readout in a Gas Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suhwan Kim

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available We have implemented a tin-oxide-decorated carbon nanotube (CNT network gas sensor system on a single die. We have also demonstrated the deposition of metallic tin on the CNT network, its subsequent oxidation in air, and the improvement of the lifetime of the sensors. The fabricated array of CNT sensors contains 128 sensor cells for added redundancy and increased accuracy. The read-out integrated circuit (ROIC was combined with coarse and fine time-to-digital converters to extend its resolution in a power-efficient way. The ROIC is fabricated using a 0.35 µm CMOS process, and the whole sensor system consumes 30 mA at 5 V. The sensor system was successfully tested in the detection of ammonia gas at elevated temperatures.

  14. Synthesis, characterization and gas sensing properties of undoped and Zn-doped γ-Fe2O3-based gas sensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jing Zhihong

    2006-01-01

    In this study, undoped and Zn-doped γ-Fe 2 O 3 nanopowders have been prepared using Fe(NO 3 ) 3 .9H 2 O and Zn(NO 3 ) 2 .6H 2 O as starting materials and lauryl alcohol as anhydrous medium. Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron micrograph (TEM) were employed to characterize the products. Sensitivity characteristics of the undoped and Zn-doped γ-Fe 2 O 3 semiconductor gas sensors have been investigated. The results show that both of the undoped and 15 mol% Zn-doped γ-Fe 2 O 3 -based gas sensors present good sensitivity and selectivity to acetone and ethanol in presence of CH 4 , H 2 and CO at the operating temperatures of 240 and 270 deg. C, respectively. After being doped with 15 mol% Zn addition, the γ-Fe 2 O 3 -based gas element displays higher sensitivity and selectivity as well as shorter response-recovery time compared with the undoped, suggesting that the promoting effect of ZnO is excellent. So, it seems that the γ-Fe 2 O 3 -based gas sensor doped with 15 mol% Zn is expected to be a promising sensor for detecting acetone and ethanol

  15. Systems and methods for optically measuring properties of hydrocarbon fuel gases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adler-Golden, Steven; Bernstein, Lawrence S.; Bien, Fritz; Gersh, Michael E.; Goldstein, Neil

    1998-10-13

    A system and method for optical interrogation and measurement of a hydrocarbon fuel gas includes a light source generating light at near-visible wavelengths. A cell containing the gas is optically coupled to the light source which is in turn partially transmitted by the sample. A spectrometer disperses the transmitted light and captures an image thereof. The image is captured by a low-cost silicon-based two-dimensional CCD array. The captured spectral image is processed by electronics for determining energy or BTU content and composition of the gas. The innovative optical approach provides a relatively inexpensive, durable, maintenance-free sensor and method which is reliable in the field and relatively simple to calibrate. In view of the above, accurate monitoring is possible at a plurality of locations along the distribution chain leading to more efficient distribution.

  16. Highly Sensitive and Selective Hydrogen Gas Sensor Using the Mesoporous SnO2 Modified Layers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niuzi Xue

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available It is important to improve the sensitivities and selectivities of metal oxide semiconductor (MOS gas sensors when they are used to monitor the state of hydrogen in aerospace industry and electronic field. In this paper, the ordered mesoporous SnO2 (m-SnO2 powders were prepared by sol-gel method, and the morphology and structure were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD, transmission electron microscope (TEM and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET. The gas sensors were fabricated using m-SnO2 as the modified layers on the surface of commercial SnO2 (c-SnO2 by screen printing technology, and tested for gas sensing towards ethanol, benzene and hydrogen with operating temperatures ranging from 200 °C to 400 °C. Higher sensitivity was achieved by using the modified m-SnO2 layers on the c-SnO2 gas sensor, and it was found that the S(c/m2 sensor exhibited the highest response (Ra/Rg = 22.2 to 1000 ppm hydrogen at 400 °C. In this paper, the mechanism of the sensitivity and selectivity improvement of the gas sensors is also discussed.

  17. Fabrication of a gas sensor array with micro-wells for VOCs gas sensing based on polymer/carbon nanotube thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Guangzhong; Xie, Tao; Zhu, Tao; Jiang, Yadong; Tai, Huiling

    2014-08-01

    In this paper, gas sensor array with micro-well was designed and prepared by Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology. The micro-well and interdigital electrodes of sensor array were prepared using photolithography process, reactive ion etching (RIE) process, wet etching and conventional vacuum evaporation. In the manufacture process of the gas sensor array, KOH wet etching process was mainly discussed. The optimum etching processing parameters were as follows: 30 wt% KOH solution at 80 °C, a cooling back-flow device and a magnetic stirrer. The multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-polyethyleneoxide (PEO) and MWNTs-Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) composite films were utilized as sensitive layers to test gas-sensing properties. Response performances of MWCNTs- PEO and MWNTs-PVP composite films to toluene vapor and methanol vapor at room temperature were investigated. The results revealed that the sensor array showed a larger sensitivity to toluene vapor than to methanol vapor. In addition, the sensing mechanisms were studied as well.

  18. Development of a novel gas sensor based on oxide thick films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arshak, K.; Gaidan, I.

    2005-01-01

    Zinc and iron oxide thick film gas sensors were fabricated using screen-printing technology on glass substrates that had silver interdigitated electrodes. The sensor was used to detect methanol, ethanol and propanol with a concentration range of 0-8000 ppm. Using the formula to calculate a change in resistance, ΔR = R gas - R air, resistance was seen to increase linearly alongside increasing concentrations of the gas vapours. The sensor showed the highest sensitivity to propanol followed by ethanol and methanol when the operating temperature was 25 deg. C. The sensitivities (slope of graphs) of methanol, ethanol and propanol changed from 0.07, 0.5, and 3.54 to 0.075, 0.115, and 0.5 Ω/ppm when the operating temperature was increased from 25 to 50 deg. C. The response/recovery times of the sensor for 4000 ppm at room temperature were, 10/10, 15/20 and 40/70 s for methanol, ethanol and propanol, respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to examine the final composition of the film, while scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to examine the final composition of grain size. The final composition has two phases: ZnO and ZnFe 2 O 4

  19. Non-mine technology of hydrocarbon resources production at complex development of gas and coal deposits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saginov, A.S.; Adilov, K.N.; Akhmetbekov, Sh.U.

    1997-01-01

    Non-mine technology of coal gas seams exploitation is new geological technological method of complex exploitation of coal gas deposits. The method allows sequentially to extract hydrocarbon resources in technological aggregative-mobile condensed states. According to natural methane content in seams the technology includes: methane extraction from sorption volume where it is bounded up with coal; gas output intensification of coal is due to structural changes of substance at the cost of physico-chemical treatment of seam; increase of seam permeability by the methods of active physical and physico-chemical actions on coal seam (hydro-uncovering, pneumatic hydro action etc.). Pilot testing shows efficiency of well mastering with help of depth pumps. In this case works of action of pumping out of operating liquid and gas extraction from coal seam are integrated

  20. Hydrocarbon Reserves: Abundance or Scarcity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2005-07-01

    IFP and the OAPEC jointly organize a regular international seminar dealing with world oil-related problems appearing in the news. For the first time, this seminar has been opened to oil and gas company specialists, service companies, research centers and independents. This year's theme concerns oil and gas reserves: are they abundant or are we headed towards the shortages announced by some experts? This theme is especially topical in that: oil and gas currently meet two thirds of world energy needs and almost completely dominate the transport sector; the reserves declared by the OAPEC countries account for nearly half of world reserves; the price of a barrel of oil went through the roof in 2004; world energy demand is growing fast and alternative sources of energy are far from ready to take over from oil and gas in the next few decades. Since the reserves correspond to the volume it is technically and economically viable to produce, the seminar has, of course, dealt with the technical and economic questions that arise in connection with exploration and production, but it has also considered changes in the geopolitical context. Presentations by the leading companies of the OAPEC countries and by the IFP group were completed by presentation from the International Energy Agency (IEA), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the IHS Energy Group, Total and Gaz de France. This document gathers the transparencies of the following presentations: Hydrocarbon reserves in OAPEC members countries: current and future (M. Al-Lababidi); Non OAPEC liquid reserves and production forecasts (Y. Mathieu); World oil and gas resources and production outlook (K. Chew); Global investments in the upstream (F. Birol); Total's policy in the oil and gas sector (C. de Margerie); Gaz de France's policy in the oil and gas sector (J. Abiteboul); NOC/IOC's opportunities in OPEC countries (I. Sandrea); Relationships between companies, countries and investors: How they may impact on the growth

  1. Hydrocarbon Reserves: Abundance or Scarcity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2005-01-01

    IFP and the OAPEC jointly organize a regular international seminar dealing with world oil-related problems appearing in the news. For the first time, this seminar has been opened to oil and gas company specialists, service companies, research centers and independents. This year's theme concerns oil and gas reserves: are they abundant or are we headed towards the shortages announced by some experts? This theme is especially topical in that: oil and gas currently meet two thirds of world energy needs and almost completely dominate the transport sector; the reserves declared by the OAPEC countries account for nearly half of world reserves; the price of a barrel of oil went through the roof in 2004; world energy demand is growing fast and alternative sources of energy are far from ready to take over from oil and gas in the next few decades. Since the reserves correspond to the volume it is technically and economically viable to produce, the seminar has, of course, dealt with the technical and economic questions that arise in connection with exploration and production, but it has also considered changes in the geopolitical context. Presentations by the leading companies of the OAPEC countries and by the IFP group were completed by presentation from the International Energy Agency (IEA), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the IHS Energy Group, Total and Gaz de France. This document gathers the transparencies of the following presentations: Hydrocarbon reserves in OAPEC members countries: current and future (M. Al-Lababidi); Non OAPEC liquid reserves and production forecasts (Y. Mathieu); World oil and gas resources and production outlook (K. Chew); Global investments in the upstream (F. Birol); Total's policy in the oil and gas sector (C. de Margerie); Gaz de France's policy in the oil and gas sector (J. Abiteboul); NOC/IOC's opportunities in OPEC countries (I. Sandrea); Relationships between companies, countries and investors: How they may impact on the growth

  2. Formation of hydrocarbons in irradiated Brazilian beans: gas chromatographic analysis to detect radiation processing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Villavicencio, A.L.C.H.; Mancini-Filho, J.; Hartmann, M.; Ammon, J.; Delincee, H.

    1997-01-01

    Radiation processing of beans, which are a major source of dietary protein in Brazil, is a valuable alternative to chemical fumigation to combat postharvest losses due to insect infestation. To ensure free consumer choice, irradiated food will be labeled as such, and to enforce labeling, analytical methods to detect the irradiation treatment in the food product itself are desirable. In two varieties of Brazilian beans, Carioca and Macacar beans, the radiolytic formation of hydrocarbons formed after alpha and beta cleavage, with regard to the carbonyl group in triglycerides, have been studied. Using gas chromatographic analysis of these radiolytic hydrocarbons, different yields per precursor fatty acid are observed for the two types of beans. However, the typical degradation pattern allows the identification of the irradiation treatment in both bean varieties, even after 6 months of storage

  3. A Review on Graphene-Based Gas/Vapor Sensors with Unique Properties and Potential Applications

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Tao Wang; Da Huang; Zhi Yang; Shusheng Xu; Guili He; Xiaolin Li; Nantao Hu; Guilin Yin; Dannong He; Liying Zhang

    2016-01-01

    Graphene-based gas/vapor sensors have attracted much attention in recent years due to their variety of structures, unique sensing performances, room-temperature working conditions, and tremendous application prospects, etc.Herein, we summarize recent advantages in graphene preparation, sensor construction, and sensing properties of various graphene-based gas/vapor sensors, such as NH3, NO2, H2, CO, SO2, H2S, as well as vapor of volatile organic compounds.The detection mechanisms pertaining to various gases are also discussed. In conclusion part, some existing problems which may hinder the sensor applications are presented. Several possible methods to solve these problems are proposed, for example, conceived solutions, hybrid nanostructures, multiple sensor arrays, and new recognition algorithm.

  4. Mobile robot multi-sensor unit for unsupervised gas discrimination in uncontrolled environments

    OpenAIRE

    Xing, Yuxin; Vincent, Timothy A.; Cole, Marina; Gardner, Julian W.; Fan, Han; Hernandez Bennetts, Victor; Schaffernicht, Erik; Lilienthal, Achim

    2017-01-01

    In this work we present a novel multi-sensor unit to detect and discriminate unknown gases in uncontrolled environments. The unit includes three metal oxide (MOX) sensors with CMOS micro heaters, a plasmonic enhanced non-dispersive infra-red (NDIR) sensor, a commercial temperature humidity sensor, and a flow sensor. The proposed sensing unit was evaluated with plumes of gases (propanol, ethanol and acetone) in both, a laboratory setup on a gas testing bench and on-board a mobile robot operati...

  5. Snowflake-Shaped ZnO Nanostructures-Based Gas Sensor for Sensitive Detection of Volatile Organic Compounds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tianli Han

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Volatile organic compounds (VOCs have been considered severe risks to human health. Gas sensors for the sensitive detection of VOCs are highly required. However, the preparation of gas-sensing materials with a high gas diffusion performance remains a great challenge. Here, through a simple hydrothermal method accompanied with a subsequent thermal treatment, a special porous snowflake-shaped ZnO nanostructure was presented for sensitive detection of VOCs including diethyl ether, methylbenzene, and ethanol. The fabricated gas sensors exhibit a good sensing performance including high responses to VOCs and a short response/recovery time. The responses of the ZnO-based gas sensor to 100 ppm ethanol, methylbenzene, and diethyl ether are about 27, 21, and 11, respectively, while the response times to diethyl ether and methylbenzene are less than 10 seconds. The gas adsorption-desorption kinetics is also investigated, which shows that the gas-sensing behaviors to different target gases are remarkably different, making it possible for target recognition in practical applications.

  6. Karakterisasi Sensor Gas Lpg (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) Dari Bahan Komposit Semikonduktor Tio2(cuo)

    OpenAIRE

    Dewi, Ratna Sari; -, Elvaswer

    2015-01-01

    The Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG's) sensor in the form of composite has been characterized. The steps of manufacturing processes are the mixing of materials, calcinations at 500ºC for 4 hours, blended, compacted and sintered at 700ºC for 4 hours. The sensor was tested at room temperature through current (I)-voltage (V) characteristics, sensitivity, and conductivity. Based on measurement I-V characteristic it's known that sample with 10% addition of CuO have sensitivity of 10 at 10 volt vol...

  7. Production of hydrocarbons of value

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1931-06-16

    A process is described for the production of hydrocarbons of great value by treating with heat and pressure carbonaceous materials such as coals, tars, mineral oils, and products of distillation and transformation of these materials, also for the refining with heat and pressure of mixed liquid hydrocarbons by means of hydrogen gas, preferably in the presence of catalysts, consisting in using as the hydrogenating gas that obtained by gasification of combustible solids after partial or complete cleaning at atmospheric or elevated pressures, by means of solid adsorbents, chemical agents or catalysts, or mixtures of these agents, the hydrocarbons being characterized by strong unsaturation, and the presence of oxygen, sulfur compounds, and oxides of nitrogen.

  8. Fabrication and characterization of nano-gas sensor arrays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hassan, H. S.; Kashyout, A. B.; Morsi, I.; Nasser, A. A. A.; Raafat, A.

    2015-01-01

    A novel structures of Nanomaterials gas sensors array constructed using ZnO, and ZnO doped with Al via sol-gel technique. Two structure arrays are developed; the first one is a double sensor array based on doping with percentages of 1% and 5%. The second is a quadrature sensor array based on several doping ratios concentrations (0%, 1%, 5% and 10%). The morphological structures of prepared ZnO were revealed using scanning electron microscope (SEM). X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns reveal a highly crystallized wurtzite structure and used for identifying phase structure and chemical state of both ZnO and ZnO doped with Al under different preparation conditions and different doping ratios. Chemical composition of Al-doped ZnO nanopowders was performed using energy dispersive x-ray (EDS) analysis. The electrical characteristics of the sensor are determined by measuring the two terminal sensor’s output resistance for O 2 , H 2 and CO 2 gases as a function of temperature

  9. Fabrication and characterization of nano-gas sensor arrays

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hassan, H. S., E-mail: hassan.shokry@gmail.com; Kashyout, A. B., E-mail: hady8@yahoo.com [Electronic Materials Researches Department, Advanced Technology and New Materials Research Institute, City of Scientific Researches and technological applications, New Borg El-Arab City, Alexandria (Egypt); Morsi, I., E-mail: drimanmorsi@yahoo.com; Nasser, A. A. A., E-mail: menem-1954@yahoo.com; Raafat, A., E-mail: abrs-218@yahoo.com [Arab Academy for Science and Technology, and Maritime Transport, Alexandria, 21936 (Egypt)

    2015-03-30

    A novel structures of Nanomaterials gas sensors array constructed using ZnO, and ZnO doped with Al via sol-gel technique. Two structure arrays are developed; the first one is a double sensor array based on doping with percentages of 1% and 5%. The second is a quadrature sensor array based on several doping ratios concentrations (0%, 1%, 5% and 10%). The morphological structures of prepared ZnO were revealed using scanning electron microscope (SEM). X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns reveal a highly crystallized wurtzite structure and used for identifying phase structure and chemical state of both ZnO and ZnO doped with Al under different preparation conditions and different doping ratios. Chemical composition of Al-doped ZnO nanopowders was performed using energy dispersive x-ray (EDS) analysis. The electrical characteristics of the sensor are determined by measuring the two terminal sensor’s output resistance for O{sub 2}, H{sub 2} and CO{sub 2} gases as a function of temperature.

  10. Gas Sensor Based on 3-D WO₃ Inverse Opal: Design and Applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xing, Ruiqing; Du, Yang; Zhao, Xiaonan; Zhang, Xiu

    2017-03-29

    A three-dimensional inverse opal (3DIO) WO₃ architecture has been synthesized via a simple sacrificial template method. Morphology features of the 3DIO were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and its structure was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The shrinking ratio of the PMMA spheres was ~28.2% through measuring the distribution of the PMMA spheres and 3DIO WO₃ center-to-center distance between the spheres and macropores, respectively. Beyond that, the 3DIO gas sensing properties were investigated systematically and the sensing mechanism of 3DIO WO₃ was proposed. The results indicated that the response of the 3DIO sensor possessed excellent sensitivity to acetone gas, especially at trace levels. The 3DIO gas sensor response was ~7 to 5 ppm of acetone and could detect acetone low to 0.2 ppm effectively, which was in close proximity to the theoretical low detection limit of 0.14 ppm when R a /R g ≥ 1.2 was used as the criterion for reliable gas sensing. All in all, the obvious satisfaction of the gas-sensing properties was ascribed to the structure of the 3DIO, and the sensor could be a promising novel device in the future.

  11. Enhancement of methane gas sensing characteristics of graphene oxide sensor by heat treatment and laser irradiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Assar, Mohammadreza; Karimzadeh, Rouhollah

    2016-12-01

    The present study uses a rapid, easy and practical method for cost-effective fabrication of a methane gas sensor. The sensor was made by drop-casting a graphene oxide suspension onto an interdigital circuit surface. The electrical conductivity and gas-sensing characteristics of the sensor were determined and then heat treatment and in situ laser irradiation were applied to improve the device conductivity and gas sensitivity. Real-time monitoring of the evolution of the device current as a function of heat treatment time revealed significant changes in the conductance of the graphene oxide sensor. The use of low power laser irradiation enhanced both the electrical conductivity and sensing response of the graphene oxide sensor. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Thin-film antifuses for pellistor type gas sensors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kovalgin, Alexeij Y.; Holleman, J.; van den Berg, Albert; Wallinga, Hans

    2001-01-01

    This work extends our previously reported idea of using the nano-scale conductive link (antifuse) as a combined heating /detecting element in a Pellistor-type gas sensor. Our new thin-film antifuse is designed in such a way that the oxide, for minimising the bulk influence on surface temperature,

  13. PDMS membranes as sensing element in optical sensors for gas detection in water

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefania Torino

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS has been introduced the first time about 20years ago. This polymer is worldwide used for the rapid prototyping of microfluidic device through a replica molding process. However, the great popularity of PDMS is not only related to its easy processability, but also to its chemical and physical properties. For its interesting properties, the polymer has been implied for several applications, including sensing. In this work, we investigated how to use functionalized PDMS membranes as sensing elements in optical sensors for gas detection in water samples. Keywords: Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS, Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR sensors, Gas sensor

  14. Bimodular high temperature planar oxygen gas sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiangcheng eSun

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available A bimodular planar O2 sensor was fabricated using NiO nanoparticles (NPs thin film coated yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ substrate. The thin film was prepared by radio frequency (r.f. magnetron sputtering of NiO on YSZ substrate, followed by high temperature sintering. The surface morphology of NiO nanoparticles film was characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM and scanning electron microscopy (SEM. X-ray diffraction (XRD patterns of NiO NPs thin film before and after high temperature O2 sensing demonstrated that the sensing material possesses a good chemical and structure stability. The oxygen detection experiments were performed at 500 °C, 600 °C and 800 °C using the as-prepared bimodular O2 sensor under both potentiometric and resistance modules. For the potentiometric module, a linear relationship between electromotive force (EMF output of the sensor and the logarithm of O2 concentration was observed at each operating temperature, following the Nernst law. For the resistance module, the logarithm of electrical conductivity was proportional to the logarithm of oxygen concentration at each operating temperature, in good agreement with literature report. In addition, this bimodular sensor shows sensitive, reproducible and reversible response to oxygen under both sensing modules. Integration of two sensing modules into one sensor could greatly enrich the information output and would open a new venue in the development of high temperature gas sensors.

  15. Simultaneous removal of sulfur dioxide and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from incineration flue gas using activated carbon fibers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zhen-Shu; Li, Wen-Kai; Hung, Ming-Jui

    2014-09-01

    Incineration flue gas contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). The effects of SO2 concentration (0, 350, 750, and 1000 ppm), reaction temperature (160, 200, and 280 degrees C), and the type of activated carbon fibers (ACFs) on the removal of SO2 and PAHs by ACFs were examined in this study. A fluidized bed incinerator was used to simulate practical incineration flue gas. It was found that the presence of SO2 in the incineration flue gas could drastically decrease removal of PAHs because of competitive adsorption. The effect of rise in the reaction temperature from 160 to 280 degrees C on removal of PAHs was greater than that on SO2 removal at an SO2 concentration of 750 ppm. Among the three ACFs studied, ACF-B, with the highest microporous volume, highest O content, and the tightest structure, was the best adsorbent for removing SO2 and PAHs when these gases coexisted in the incineration flue gas. Implications: Simultaneous adsorption of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) emitted from incineration flue gas onto activated carbon fibers (ACFs) meant to devise a new technique showed that the presence of SO2 in the incineration flue gas leads to a drastic decrease in removal of PAHs because of competitive adsorption. Reaction temperature had a greater influence on PAHs removal than on SO2 removal. ACF-B, with the highest microporous volume, highest O content, and tightest structure among the three studied ACFs, was found to be the best adsorbent for removing SO2 and PAHs.

  16. Peptide modified ZnO nanoparticles as gas sensors array for volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mascini, Marcello; Gaggiotti, Sara; Della Pelle, Flavio; Di Natale, Corrado; Qakala, Sinazo; Iwuoha, Emmanuel; Pittia, Paola; Compagnone, Dario

    2018-04-01

    In this work a peptide based gas sensor array based of ZnO nanoparticles (ZnONPs) has been realized. Four different pentapeptides molecularly modelled for alcohols and esters having cysteine as a common spacer have been immobilized onto ZnONPs. ZnONPs have been morphologically and spectroscopically characterized. Modified nanoparticles have been then deposited onto quartz crystal microbalances (QCMs) and used as gas sensors with nitrogen as carrier gas. Analysis of the pure compounds modelled demonstrated a nice fitting of modelling with real data. The peptide based ZnONPs had very low sensitivity to water, compared to previously studied AuNPs peptide based gas sensors allowing the use of the array on samples with high water content. Real samples of fruit juices have been assayed; stability of the signal, good repeatability and discrimination ability of the array was achieved.

  17. Peptide Modified ZnO Nanoparticles as Gas Sensors Array for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcello Mascini

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available In this work a peptide based gas sensor array based of ZnO nanoparticles (ZnONPs has been realized. Four different pentapeptides molecularly modeled for alcohols and esters having cysteine as a common spacer have been immobilized onto ZnONPs. ZnONPs have been morphologically and spectroscopically characterized. Modified nanoparticles have been then deposited onto quartz crystal microbalances (QCMs and used as gas sensors with nitrogen as carrier gas. Analysis of the pure compounds modeled demonstrated a nice fitting of modeling with real data. The peptide based ZnONPs had very low sensitivity to water, compared to previously studied AuNPs peptide based gas sensors allowing the use of the array on samples with high water content. Real samples of fruit juices have been assayed; stability of the signal, good repeatability, and discrimination ability of the array was achieved.

  18. Light-controlling, flexible and transparent ethanol gas sensor based on ZnO nanoparticles for wearable devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Z Q; Yao, J D; Wang, B; Yang, G W

    2015-06-16

    In recent years, owing to the significant applications of health monitoring, wearable electronic devices such as smart watches, smart glass and wearable cameras have been growing rapidly. Gas sensor is an important part of wearable electronic devices for detecting pollutant, toxic, and combustible gases. However, in order to apply to wearable electronic devices, the gas sensor needs flexible, transparent, and working at room temperature, which are not available for traditional gas sensors. Here, we for the first time fabricate a light-controlling, flexible, transparent, and working at room-temperature ethanol gas sensor by using commercial ZnO nanoparticles. The fabricated sensor not only exhibits fast and excellent photoresponse, but also shows high sensing response to ethanol under UV irradiation. Meanwhile, its transmittance exceeds 62% in the visible spectral range, and the sensing performance keeps the same even bent it at a curvature angle of 90(o). Additionally, using commercial ZnO nanoparticles provides a facile and low-cost route to fabricate wearable electronic devices.

  19. The Effect of Zeolite Composition and Grain Size on Gas Sensing Properties of SnO2/Zeolite Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yanhui Sun

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to improve the sensing properties of tin dioxide gas sensor, four kinds of different SiO2/Al2O3 ratio, different particle size of MFI type zeolites (ZSM-5 were coated on the SnO2 to prepared zeolite modified gas sensors, and the gas sensing properties were tested. The measurement results showed that the response values of ZSM-5 zeolite (SiO2/Al2O3 = 70, grain size 300 nm coated SnO2 gas sensors to formaldehyde vapor were increased, and the response to acetone decreased compared with that of SnO2 gas sensor, indicating an improved selectivity property. The other three ZSM-5 zeolites with SiO2/Al2O3 70, 150 and 470, respectively, and grain sizes all around 1 μm coated SnO2 sensors did not show much difference with SnO2 sensor for the response properties to both formaldehyde and acetone. The sensing mechanism of ZSM-5 modified sensors was briefly analyzed.

  20. Geochemical assessment of light gaseous hydrocarbons in near-surface soils of Kutch-Saurashtra: Implication for hydrocarbon prospects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rao, P. Lakshmi Srinivasa; Madhavi, T.; Srinu, D.; Kalpana, M. S.; Patil, D. J.; Dayal, A. M.

    2013-02-01

    Light hydrocarbons in soil have been used as direct indicators in geochemical hydrocarbon exploration, which remains an unconventional path in the petroleum industry. The occurrence of adsorbed soil gases, methane and heavier homologues were recorded in the near-surface soil samples collected from Kutch-Saurashtra, India. Soil gas alkanes were interpreted to be derived from deep-seated hydrocarbon sources and have migrated to the surface through structural discontinuities. The source of hydrocarbons is assessed to be thermogenic and could have been primarily derived from humic organic matter with partial contribution from sapropelic matter. Gas chromatographic analyses of hydrocarbons desorbed from soil samples through acid extraction technique showed the presence of methane through n-butane and the observed concentrations (in ppb) vary from: methane (C1) from 4-291, ethane (C2) from 0-84, propane (C3) from 0-37, i-butane (iC4) from 0-5 and n-butane (nC4) from 0-4. Carbon isotopes measured for methane and ethane by GC-C-IRMS, range between -42.9‰ to -13.3‰ (Pee Dee Belemnite - PDB) and -21.2‰ to -12.4‰ (PDB), respectively. The increased occurrence of hydrocarbons in the areas near Anjar of Kutch and the area south to Rajkot of Saurashtra signifies the area potential for oil and gas.

  1. Near-critical and supercritical fluid extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from town gas soil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kocher, B.S.; Azzam, F.O.; Cutright, T.J.; Lee, S.

    1995-01-01

    The contamination of soil by hazardous and toxic organic pollutants is an ever-growing problem facing the global community. One particular family of contaminants that are of major importance are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHs are the result of coal gasification and high-temperature processes. Sludges from these town gas operations were generally disposed of into unlined pits and left there for eventual biodegradation. However, the high levels of PAH contained in the pits prevented the occurrence of biodegradation. PAH contaminated soil is now considered hazardous and must be cleaned to environmentally acceptable standards. One method for the remediation is extraction with supercritical water. Water in or about its critical region exhibits enhanced solvating power toward most organic compounds. Contaminated soil containing 4% by mass of hydrocarbons was ultra-cleaned in a 300-cm 3 semicontinuous system to an environmentally acceptable standard of less than 200 ppm residual hydrocarbon concentration. The effects of subcritical or supercritical extraction, solvent temperature, pressure, and density have been studied, and the discerning characteristics of this type of fluid have been identified. The efficiencies of subcritical and supercritical extraction have been discussed from a process engineering standpoint

  2. Highly Sensitive and Selective Gas Sensor Using Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Graphenes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Some, Surajit; Xu, Yang; Kim, Youngmin; Yoon, Yeoheung; Qin, Hongyi; Kulkarni, Atul; Kim, Taesung; Lee, Hyoyoung

    2013-01-01

    New hydrophilic 2D graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets with various oxygen functional groups were employed to maintain high sensitivity in highly unfavorable environments (extremely high humidity, strong acidic or basic). Novel one-headed polymer optical fiber sensor arrays using hydrophilic GO and hydrophobic reduced graphene oxide (rGO) were carefully designed, leading to the selective sensing of volatile organic gases for the first time. The two physically different surfaces of GO and rGO could provide the sensing ability to distinguish between tetrahydrofuran (THF) and dichloromethane (MC), respectively, which is the most challenging issue in the area of gas sensors. The eco-friendly physical properties of GO allowed for faster sensing and higher sensitivity when compared to previous results for rGO even under extreme environments of over 90% humidity, making it the best choice for an environmentally friendly gas sensor. PMID:23736838

  3. Improved zinc oxide film for gas sensor applications

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a versatile material for different commercial applications such as transparent electrodes, piezoelectric devices, varistors, SAW devices etc because of its high piezoelectric coupling, greater stability of its hexagonal phase and its pyroelectric property. In fact, ZnO is a potential material for gas sensor ...

  4. Optical ammonia gas sensor based on a porous silicon rugate filter coated with polymer-supported dye.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shang, Yunling; Wang, Xiaobo; Xu, Erchao; Tong, Changlun; Wu, Jianmin

    2011-01-24

    An ammonia gas sensor chip was prepared by coating an electrochemically-etched porous Si rugate filter with a chitosan film that is crosslinked by glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMS). The bromothylmol blue (BTB), a pH indicator, was loaded in the film as ammonia-sensing molecules. White light reflected from the porous Si has a narrow bandwidth spectrum with a peak at 610 nm. Monitoring reflective optical intensity at the peak position allows for direct, real-time observation of changes in the concentration of ammonia gas in air samples. The reflective optical intensity decreased linearly with increasing concentrations of ammonia gas over the range of 0-100 ppm. The lowest detection limit was 0.5 ppm for ammonia gas. At optimum conditions, the full response time of the ammonia gas sensor was less than 15s. The sensor chip also exhibited a good long-term stability over 1 year. Therefore, the simple sensor design has potential application in miniaturized optical measurement for online ammonia gas detection. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Nano Ag-Doped In2O3 Thick Film: A Low-Temperature H2S Gas Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. N. Chavan

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Thick films of AR grade In2O3 were prepared by standard screen-printing technique. The gas sensing performances of thick films were tested for various gases. It showed maximum sensitivity to ethanol vapour at 350°C for 80 ppm concentration. To improve the sensitivity and selectivity of the film towards a particular gas, In2O3 sensors were surface-modified by dipping them in a solution of 2% nanosilver for different intervals of time. Obtained results indicated that spherical nano-Ag grains are highly dispersed on the surface of In2O3sensor. The surface area of the nano-Ag/ In2O3 sensor is several times larger than that of pure In2O3 sensor. In comparison with pure In2O3 sensor, all of the nano-Ag-doped sensors showed better sensing performance in respect of response, selectivity, and optimum operating temperature. The surface-modified (30 min In2O3 sensor showed larger sensitivity to H2S gas (10 ppm at 100°C. Nano silver on the surface of the film shifts the reactivity of film from ethanol vapour to H2S gas. A systematic study of gas sensing performance of the sensor indicates the key role played by the nano silver species on the surface. The sensitivity, selectivity, response, and recovery time of the sensor were measured and presented.

  6. Highly sensitive and selective room-temperature NO_2 gas sensor based on bilayer transferred chemical vapor deposited graphene

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seekaew, Yotsarayuth; Phokharatkul, Ditsayut; Wisitsoraat, Anurat; Wongchoosuk, Chatchawal

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Simple and low-cost fabrication of bilayer graphene gas sensor was presented. • Layer effects of graphene on NO_2 gas-sensing properties were investigated. • Bilayer graphene sensor exhibited a high linear NO_2 sensitivity of 1.409 ppm"−"1. • The NO_2-sensing mechanisms based on band diagram were highlighted. - Abstract: This work presents a highly sensitive room-temperature gas sensor based on bilayer graphene fabricated by an interfacial transfer of chemical vapor deposited graphene onto nickel interdigitated electrodes. Scanning electron microscopic and Raman spectroscopic characterizations confirm the presence of graphene on interdigitated nickel electrodes with varying numbers of graphene layers. The NO_2 detection performances of bilayer graphene gas sensor have been investigated in comparison with those of monolayer and multilayer graphene gas sensors at room temperature. From results, the bilayer graphene gas sensor exhibits higher response, sensitivity and selectivity to NO_2 than monolayer and multilayer graphene. The sensitivity of bilayer graphene gas sensor is 1.409 ppm"−"1 towards NO_2 over a concentration range of 1–25 ppm, which is more than twice higher than that of monolayer graphene. The NO_2-sensing mechanism of graphene sensing film has been explained based on the direct charge transfer process due to the adsorption of NO_2 molecules.

  7. Subduction zone earthquake probably triggered submarine hydrocarbon seepage offshore Pakistan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fischer, David; José M., Mogollón; Michael, Strasser; Thomas, Pape; Gerhard, Bohrmann; Noemi, Fekete; Volkhard, Spiess; Sabine, Kasten

    2014-05-01

    Seepage of methane-dominated hydrocarbons is heterogeneous in space and time, and trigger mechanisms of episodic seep events are not well constrained. It is generally found that free hydrocarbon gas entering the local gas hydrate stability field in marine sediments is sequestered in gas hydrates. In this manner, gas hydrates can act as a buffer for carbon transport from the sediment into the ocean. However, the efficiency of gas hydrate-bearing sediments for retaining hydrocarbons may be corrupted: Hypothesized mechanisms include critical gas/fluid pressures beneath gas hydrate-bearing sediments, implying that these are susceptible to mechanical failure and subsequent gas release. Although gas hydrates often occur in seismically active regions, e.g., subduction zones, the role of earthquakes as potential triggers of hydrocarbon transport through gas hydrate-bearing sediments has hardly been explored. Based on a recent publication (Fischer et al., 2013), we present geochemical and transport/reaction-modelling data suggesting a substantial increase in upward gas flux and hydrocarbon emission into the water column following a major earthquake that occurred near the study sites in 1945. Calculating the formation time of authigenic barite enrichments identified in two sediment cores obtained from an anticlinal structure called "Nascent Ridge", we find they formed 38-91 years before sampling, which corresponds well to the time elapsed since the earthquake (62 years). Furthermore, applying a numerical model, we show that the local sulfate/methane transition zone shifted upward by several meters due to the increased methane flux and simulated sulfate profiles very closely match measured ones in a comparable time frame of 50-70 years. We thus propose a causal relation between the earthquake and the amplified gas flux and present reflection seismic data supporting our hypothesis that co-seismic ground shaking induced mechanical fracturing of gas hydrate-bearing sediments

  8. Hydrocarbon Reserves: Abundance or Scarcity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2005-07-01

    IFP and the OAPEC jointly organize a regular international seminar dealing with world oil-related problems appearing in the news. For the first time, this seminar has been opened to oil and gas company specialists, service companies, research centers and independents. This year's theme concerns oil and gas reserves: are they abundant or are we headed towards the shortages announced by some experts? This theme is especially topical in that: oil and gas currently meet two thirds of world energy needs and almost completely dominate the transport sector; the reserves declared by the OAPEC countries account for nearly half of world reserves; the price of a barrel of oil went through the roof in 2004; world energy demand is growing fast and alternative sources of energy are far from ready to take over from oil and gas in the next few decades. Since the reserves correspond to the volume it is technically and economically viable to produce, the seminar has, of course, dealt with the technical and economic questions that arise in connection with exploration and production, but it has also considered changes in the geopolitical context. Presentations by the leading companies of the OAPEC countries and by the IFP group were completed by presentation from the International Energy Agency (IEA), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the IHS Energy Group, Total and Gaz de France. This document gathers the transparencies of the following presentations: Hydrocarbon reserves in OAPEC members countries: current and future (M. Al-Lababidi); Non OAPEC liquid reserves and production forecasts (Y. Mathieu); World oil and gas resources and production outlook (K. Chew); Global investments in the upstream (F. Birol); Total's policy in the oil and gas sector (C. de Margerie); Gaz de France's policy in the oil and gas sector (J. Abiteboul); NOC/IOC's opportunities in OPEC countries (I. Sandrea); Relationships between companies, countries and investors: How they may

  9. Production of light hydrocarbons, etc. [from heavy hydrocarbons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1937-10-07

    A process is given for the production of light hydrocarbons of the gasoline type and, if desired, of the middle-oil type, from liquid or fusible heavy or medium heavy hydrocarbon materials. The process comprises subjecting the said initial materials in the first stage to catalytic hydrofining, separating the lower boiling constituents and the hydrogenating gas from the resulting products and then subjecting the higher boiling constituents in a second stage to a splitting destructive hydrogenation and then recycling substantially the entire reaction mixture obtained in the second stage to the frst stage.

  10. Enhancement of NH3 gas sensitivity at room temperature by carbon nanotube-based sensor coated with Co nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Lich Quang; Phan, Pho Quoc; Duong, Huyen Ngoc; Nguyen, Chien Duc; Nguyen, Lam Huu

    2013-01-30

    Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) film has been fabricated onto Pt-patterned alumina substrates using the chemical vapor deposition method for NH(3) gas sensing applications. The MWCNT-based sensor is sensitive to NH(3) gas at room temperature. Nanoclusters of Co catalysts have been sputtered on the surface of the MWCNT film to enhance gas sensitivity with respect to unfunctionalized CNT films. The gas sensitivity of Co-functionalized MWCNT-based gas sensors is thus significantly improved. The sensor exhibits good repeatability and high selectivity towards NH(3), compared with alcohol and LPG.

  11. Modeling and Experimental Study on Characterization of Micromachined Thermal Gas Inertial Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yan Su

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Micromachined thermal gas inertial sensors based on heat convection are novel devices that compared with conventional micromachined inertial sensors offer the advantages of simple structures, easy fabrication, high shock resistance and good reliability by virtue of using a gaseous medium instead of a mechanical proof mass as key moving and sensing elements. This paper presents an analytical modeling for a micromachined thermal gas gyroscope integrated with signal conditioning. A simplified spring-damping model is utilized to characterize the behavior of the sensor. The model relies on the use of the fluid mechanics and heat transfer fundamentals and is validated using experimental data obtained from a test-device and simulation. Furthermore, the nonideal issues of the sensor are addressed from both the theoretical and experimental points of view. The nonlinear behavior demonstrated in experimental measurements is analyzed based on the model. It is concluded that the sources of nonlinearity are mainly attributable to the variable stiffness of the sensor system and the structural asymmetry due to nonideal fabrication.

  12. Origins of hydrocarbon gas seeping out from offshore mud volcanoes in the Nile delta

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prinzhofer, Alain; Deville, Eric

    2013-04-01

    This paper discusses the origin of gas seepages (free gas or dissolved gas in ground water or brine) sampled with the Nautile submarine during the Nautinil cruise at the seafloor of the deep water area of the Nile turbiditic system on different mud volcanoes and brine pools. Generally, the gas is wet and includes C1, C2, C3, iC4, nC4, CO2. These gas samples show no evidence of biodegradation which is not the case of the gas present in the deep hydrocarbon accumulations at depth. It indicates that the gas expelled by the mud volcanoes is not issued from direct leakages from deep gas fields. The collected gas samples mainly have a thermogenic origin and show different maturities. Some samples show very high maturities indicating that these seepages are sourced from great depths, below the Messinian salt. Moreover, the different chemical compositions of the gas samples reflect not only differences in maturity but also the fact that the gas finds its origin in different deep source rocks. Carbon dioxide has an organic signature and cannot result from carbonate decomposition or mantle fluids. The crustal-derived radiogenic isotopes show that the analyzed gas samples have suffered a fractionation processes after the production of the radiogenic isotopes, due either to oil occurrence at depth interacting with the flux of gas, and/or fractionation during the fluid migration.

  13. Analysis of hydrocarbons generated in coalbeds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butala, Steven John M.

    This dissertation describes kinetic calculations using literature data to predict formation rates and product yields of oil and gas at typical low-temperature conditions in coalbeds. These data indicate that gas formation rates from hydrocarbon thermolysis are too low to have generated commercial quantities of natural gas, assuming bulk first-order kinetics. Acid-mineral-catalyzed cracking, transition-metal-catalyzed hydrogenolysis of liquid hydrocarbons, and catalyzed CO2 hydrogenation form gas at high rates. The gaseous product compositions for these reactions are nearly the same as those for typical natural coalbed gases, while those from thermal and catalytic cracking are more representative of atypical coalbed gases. Three Argonne Premium Coals (Upper-Freeport, Pittsburgh #8 and Lewiston-Stockton) were extracted with benzene in both Soxhlet and elevated pressure extraction (EPE) systems. The extracts were compared on the basis of dry mass yield and hydrocarbon profiles obtained by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The dry mass yields for the Upper-Freeport coal gave consistent results by both methods, while the yields from the Pittsburgh #8 and Lewiston-Stockton coals were greater by the EPE method. EPE required ˜90 vol. % less solvent compared to Soxhlet extraction. Single-ion-chromatograms of the Soxhlet extracts all exhibited bimodal distributions, while those of the EPE extracts did not. Hydrocarbons analyzed from Greater Green River Basin samples indicate that the natural oils in the basin originated from the coal seams. Analysis of artificially produced oil indicates that hydrous pyrolysis mimics generation of C15+ n-alkanes, but significant variations were found in the branched alkane, low-molecular-weight n-alkanes, and high-molecular-weight aromatic hydrocarbon distributions.

  14. Evaluation of dimension effects on a capillary-attached gas sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bahraminejad, Behzad; Basri, Shahnor; Isa, Maryam; Hambli, Zarida

    2010-01-01

    The analysis and useful gas sensing properties of a capillary-attached gas sensor (CGS) have been recently investigated. The aim of the present work was the assessment of dimension effects on the CGS sensing properties both diameterwise and lengthwise. CGS samples in different dimensions were fabricated and tested by exposure to different target gases in different concentration ranges. Dimension effects on CGS properties such as selectivity, sensitivity, rise time and input range were investigated. It was observed that the CGS with smaller diameter and longer lengths generated more selective information. However, decreasing sensitivity and increasing minimum input range were some disadvantages of smaller diameters. Longer length also made longer rise time and slower sensor. Finally, the optimum ranges for the CGS in length and diameter were suggested

  15. Analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons I. Determination by gas chromatography with glass and fused silica capillary columns

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perez, M. M.; Gonzalez, D.

    1987-01-01

    A study of the analysis by gas chromatography of aromatic polycyclic hydrocarbons is presented. The separation has been carried out by glass and fused silica capillary column. The limitations and the advantages of the procedure are discussed in terms of separation efficiency, sensitivity and precision. (Author) 17 refs

  16. Novel Modified Optical Fibers for High Temperature In-Situ Miniaturized Gas Sensors in Advanced Fossil Energy Systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pickrell, Gary [Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Blacksburg, VA (United States); Scott, Brian [Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Blacksburg, VA (United States)

    2014-06-30

    This report covers the technical progress on the program “Novel Modified Optical Fibers for High Temperature In-Situ Miniaturized Gas Sensors in Advanced Fossil Energy Systems”, funded by the National Energy Technology Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, and performed by the Materials Science & Engineering and Electrical & Computer Engineering Departments at Virginia Tech, and summarizes technical progress from July 1st, 2005 –June 30th, 2014. The objective of this program was to develop novel fiber materials for high temperature gas sensors based on evanescent wave absorption in optical fibers. This project focused on two primary areas: the study of a sapphire photonic crystal fiber (SPCF) for operation at high temperature and long wavelengths, and a porous glass based fiber optic sensor for gas detection. The sapphire component of the project focused on the development of a sapphire photonic crystal fiber, modeling of the new structures, fabrication of the optimal structure, development of a long wavelength interrogation system, testing of the optical properties, and gas and temperature testing of the final sensor. The fabrication of the 6 rod SPCF gap bundle (diameter of 70μm) with a hollow core was successfully constructed with lead-in and lead-out 50μm diameter fiber along with transmission and gas detection testing. Testing of the sapphire photonic crystal fiber sensor capabilities with the developed long wavelength optical system showed the ability to detect CO2 at or below 1000ppm at temperatures up to 1000°C. Work on the porous glass sensor focused on the development of a porous clad solid core optical fiber, a hollow core waveguide, gas detection capabilities at room and high temperature, simultaneous gas species detection, suitable joining technologies for the lead-in and lead-out fibers and the porous sensor, sensor system sensitivity improvement, signal processing improvement, relationship between pore structure and fiber

  17. A Customized Metal Oxide Semiconductor-Based Gas Sensor Array for Onion Quality Evaluation: System Development and Characterization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tharun Konduru

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available A gas sensor array, consisting of seven Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS sensors that are sensitive to a wide range of organic volatile compounds was developed to detect rotten onions during storage. These MOS sensors were enclosed in a specially designed Teflon chamber equipped with a gas delivery system to pump volatiles from the onion samples into the chamber. The electronic circuit mainly comprised a microcontroller, non-volatile memory chip, and trickle-charge real time clock chip, serial communication chip, and parallel LCD panel. User preferences are communicated with the on-board microcontroller through a graphical user interface developed using LabVIEW. The developed gas sensor array was characterized and the discrimination potential was tested by exposing it to three different concentrations of acetone (ketone, acetonitrile (nitrile, ethyl acetate (ester, and ethanol (alcohol. The gas sensor array could differentiate the four chemicals of same concentrations and different concentrations within the chemical with significant difference. Experiment results also showed that the system was able to discriminate two concentrations (196 and 1964 ppm of methlypropyl sulfide and two concentrations (145 and 1452 ppm of 2-nonanone, two key volatile compounds emitted by rotten onions. As a proof of concept, the gas sensor array was able to achieve 89% correct classification of sour skin infected onions. The customized low-cost gas sensor array could be a useful tool to detect onion postharvest diseases in storage.

  18. Source rock hydrocarbons. Present status

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vially, R.; Maisonnier, G.; Rouaud, T.

    2013-01-01

    This report first presents the characteristics of conventional oil and gas system, and the classification of liquid and gaseous non conventional hydrocarbons, with the peculiar case of coal-bed methane. The authors then describe how source rock hydrocarbons are produced: production of shale oils and gases (horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing, exploitation) and of coal-bed methane and coal mine methane. In the next part, they address and discuss the environmental impact of source rock hydrocarbon production: installation footprint, water resource management, drilling fluids, fracturing fluids composition, toxicity and recycling, air pollution, induced seismicity, pollutions from other exploitation and production activities. They propose an overview of the exploitation and production of source rock gas, coal-bed gas and other non conventional gases in the world. They describe the current development and discuss their economic impacts: world oil context and trends in the USA, in Canada and other countries, impacts on the North American market, on the world oil industry, on refining industries, on the world oil balance. They analyse the economic impacts of non conventional gases: development potential, stakes for the world gas trade, consequence for gas prices, development opportunities for oil companies and for the transport sector, impact on CO 2 emissions, macro-economic impact in the case of the USA

  19. Analytical method validation of GC-FID for the simultaneous measurement of hydrocarbons (C2-C4) in their gas mixture

    OpenAIRE

    Oman Zuas; Harry budiman; Muhammad Rizky Mulyana

    2016-01-01

    An accurate gas chromatography coupled to a flame ionization detector (GC-FID) method was validated for the simultaneous analysis of light hydrocarbons (C2-C4) in their gas mixture. The validation parameters were evaluated based on the ISO/IEC 17025 definition including method selectivity, repeatability, accuracy, linearity, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantitation (LOQ), and ruggedness. Under the optimum analytical conditions, the analysis of gas mixture revealed that each target comp...

  20. Thermal detection mechanism of SiC based hydrogen resistive gas sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fawcett, Timothy J.; Wolan, John T.; Lloyd Spetz, Anita; Reyes, Meralys; Saddow, Stephen E.

    2006-10-01

    Silicon carbide (SiC) resistive hydrogen gas sensors have been fabricated and tested. Planar NiCr contacts were deposited on a thin 3C-SiC epitaxial film grown on thin Si wafers bonded to polycrystalline SiC substrates. At 673K, up to a 51.75±0.04% change in sensor output current and a change in the device temperature of up to 163.1±0.4K were demonstrated in response to 100% H2 in N2. Changes in device temperature are shown to be driven by the transfer of heat from the device to the gas, giving rise to a thermal detection mechanism.

  1. Self Powered Non-Dispersive Infra-Red CO{sub 2} Gas Sensor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gibson, D R; MacGregor, C, E-mail: des@gassensing.co.uk [Gas Sensing Solutions Ltd, 60 Grayshill Road, Westfield North Courtyard, Glasgow G68 9HQ (United Kingdom)

    2011-08-17

    This paper describes a non-dispersive infra-red CO{sub 2} gas sensor, incorporating a mid-infra-red solid state light source/ detector combination, tuned to match the spectral absorption characteristic of CO{sub 2} gas. Injection moulded optics provide low cost manufacture. Continuous operation power consumption is < 3.5mW and pulsed mode with energy per measurement < 6mJ. Self powered operation using a solar cell is demonstrated together with wireless capability. Performance of two path length variants (20mm and 70mm) is described. The sensor shows invariant temperature output characteristic from -25 to 50 deg. C. Accuracy level is typically {+-}3% of reading.

  2. Sensors of the gas CO in thin film of SnO2:Cu

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tirado G, S.; Sanchez Z, F. E.

    2011-10-01

    Thin films of SnO 2 :Cu with different thickness, were deposited on soda-lime glass substrates and prepared by the Sol-gel process and repeated immersion. The sensor properties of these films to the gas CO for the range of 0-200 ppm in the gas concentration and operating to temperatures of 23, 100, 200, and 300 C were studied. Prepared films of pure SnO 2 were modified superficially with 1, 3, 5 and 10 layers of the catalyst Cu (SnO 2 :Cu) with the purpose of studying the effect on the sensor capacity of the gas CO by part of the films SnO 2 :Cu. Using the changes in the electric properties of the films with the incorporation of the different copper layers and experimental conditions, the sensor modifications of the gas CO were evaluated. To complete this study, was realized a characterization of the superficial morphology of the films by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, equally was studied their structure and their electric and optical properties. (Author)

  3. Nanocrystalline Pd:NiFe2O4 thin films: A selective ethanol gas sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rao, Pratibha; Godbole, R.V.; Bhagwat, Sunita

    2016-01-01

    In this work, Pd:NiFe 2 O 4 thin films were investigated for the detection of reducing gases. These films were fabricated using spray pyrolysis technique and characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) to confirm the crystal structure. The surface morphology was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Magnetization measurements were carried out using SQUID VSM, which shows ferrimagnetic behavior of the samples. These thin film sensors were tested against methanol, ethanol, hydrogen sulfide and liquid petroleum gas, where they were found to be more selective to ethanol. The fabricated thin film sensors exhibited linear response signal for all the gases with concentrations up to 5 w/o Pd. Reduction in optimum operating temperature and enhancement in response was also observed. Pd:NiFe 2 O 4 thin films exhibited faster response and recovery characteristic. These sensors have potential for industrial applications because of their long-term stability, low power requirement and low production cost. - Highlights: • Ethanol gas sensors based on Pd:NiFe 2 O 4 nanoparticle thin film were fabricated. • Pd incorporation in NiFe 2 O 4 matrix inhibits grain growth. • The sensors were more selective to ethanol gas. • Sensors exhibited fast response and recovery when doped with palladium. • Pd:NiFe 2 O 4 thin film sensor displays excellent long–term stability.

  4. Terahertz gas sensor based on absorption-induced transparency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodrigo Sergio G.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available A system for the detection of spectral signatures of gases at the Terahertz regime is presented. The system consists in an initially opaque holey metal film whereby the introduction of a gas provokes the appearance of spectral features in transmission and reflection, due to the phenomenom of absorption-induced transparency (AIT. The peaks in transmission and dips in reflection observed in AIT occur close to the absorption energies of the molecules, hence its name. The presence of the gas would be thus revealed as a strong drop in reflectivity measurements at one (or several of the gas absorption resonances. As a proof of principle, we theoretically demonstrate how the AIT-based sensor would serve to detect tiny amounts of hydrocyanic acid.

  5. Low-Power, Chip-Scale, Carbon Dioxide Gas Sensors for Spacesuit Monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rani, Asha; Shi, Chen; Thomson, Brian; Debnath, Ratan; Wen, Boamei; Motayed, Abhishek; Chullen, Cinda

    2018-01-01

    N5 Sensors, Inc. through a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) contract award has been developing ultra-small, low-power carbon dioxide (CO2) gas sensors, suited for monitoring CO2 levels inside NASA spacesuits. Due to the unique environmental conditions within the spacesuits, such as high humidity, large temperature swings, and operating pressure swings, measurement of key gases relevant to astronaut's safety and health such as(CO2), is quite challenging. Conventional non-dispersive infrared absorption based CO2 sensors present challenges inside the spacesuits due to size, weight, and power constraints, along with the ability to sense CO2 in a high humidity environment. Unique chip-scale, nanoengineered chemiresistive gas-sensing architecture has been developed for this application, which can be operated in a typical space-suite environmental conditions. Unique design combining the selective adsorption properties of the nanophotocatalytic clusters of metal-oxides and metals, provides selective detection of CO2 in high relative humidity conditions. All electronic design provides a compact and low-power solution, which can be implemented for multipoint detection of CO2 inside the spacesuits. This paper will describe the sensor architecture, development of new photocatalytic material for better sensor response, and advanced structure for better sensitivity and shorter response times.

  6. Methods for natural gas and heavy hydrocarbon co-conversion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Peter C [Idaho Falls, ID; Nelson, Lee O [Idaho Falls, ID; Detering, Brent A [Idaho Falls, ID

    2009-02-24

    A reactor for reactive co-conversion of heavy hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon gases and includes a dielectric barrier discharge plasma cell having a pair of electrodes separated by a dielectric material and passageway therebetween. An inlet is provided for feeding heavy hydrocarbons and other reactive materials to the passageway of the discharge plasma cell, and an outlet is provided for discharging reaction products from the reactor. A packed bed catalyst may optionally be used in the reactor to increase efficiency of conversion. The reactor can be modified to allow use of a variety of light sources for providing ultraviolet light within the discharge plasma cell. Methods for upgrading heavy hydrocarbons are also disclosed.

  7. Analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. I. Determination by gas chromatography with glass and fused solica capillary columns

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perez Garcia, M.; Gonzalez, D.

    1987-01-01

    A study of the analysis by gas chromatography of aromatic polycyclic hydrocarbons is presented. The separation has been carried out by glass and fused silice capillary column. The limitations and the advantages of the procedure are discussed in terms of separation efficiency, sensitivity and precision. (author). 3 figs., 17 refs

  8. Enhancement of NH3 Gas Sensitivity at Room Temperature by Carbon Nanotube-Based Sensor Coated with Co Nanoparticles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lich Quang Nguyen

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT film has been fabricated onto Pt-patterned alumina substrates using the chemical vapor deposition method for NH3 gas sensing applications. The MWCNT-based sensor is sensitive to NH3 gas at room temperature. Nanoclusters of Co catalysts have been sputtered on the surface of the MWCNT film to enhance gas sensitivity with respect to unfunctionalized CNT films. The gas sensitivity of Co-functionalized MWCNT-based gas sensors is thus significantly improved. The sensor exhibits good repeatability and high selectivity towards NH3, compared with alcohol and LPG.

  9. Thiourea-treated graphene aerogel as a highly selective gas sensor for sensing of trace level of ammonia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alizadeh, Taher, E-mail: talizadeh@ut.ac.ir [Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University College of Science, University of Tehran, P.O. Box 14155-6455, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Ahmadian, Farzaneh [Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Daneshgah Street, P.B179, 56199-11367 Ardabil (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2015-10-15

    As a result of this study, a new and simple method was proposed for the fabrication of an ultra sensitive, robust and reversible ammonia gas sensor. The sensing mechanism was based upon the change in electrical resistance of a graphene aerogel as a result of sensor exposing to ammonia. Three-dimensional graphene hydrogel was first synthesized via hydrothermal method in the absence or presence of various amounts of thiourea. The obtained material was heated to obtain aerogel and then it was used as ammonia gas sensor. The materials obtained were characterized using different techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The thiourea-treated graphene aerogel was more porous (389 m{sup 2} g{sup −1}) and thermally unstable and exhibited higher sensitivity, shorter response time and better selectivity toward ammonia gas, compared to the aerogel produced in the absence of thiourea. Thiourea amount, involved in the hydrogel synthesis step, was found to be highly effective factor in the sensing properties of finally obtained aerogel. The sensor response time to ammonia was short (100 s) and completely reversible (recovery time of about 500 s) in ambient temperature. The sensor response to ammonia was linear between 0.02 and 85 ppm and its detection limit was found to be 10 ppb (3S/N). - Highlights: • An ammonia gas sensor with ppb level determination capability was proposed. • A new procedure has been introduced for gas sensor fabrication by graphene hydrogel. • Thiourea-treated graphene aerogel was used as excellent ammonia gas sensor.

  10. Toward high value sensing: monolayer-protected metal nanoparticles in multivariable gas and vapor sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potyrailo, Radislav A

    2017-08-29

    For detection of gases and vapors in complex backgrounds, "classic" analytical instruments are an unavoidable alternative to existing sensors. Recently a new generation of sensors, known as multivariable sensors, emerged with a fundamentally different perspective for sensing to eliminate limitations of existing sensors. In multivariable sensors, a sensing material is designed to have diverse responses to different gases and vapors and is coupled to a multivariable transducer that provides independent outputs to recognize these diverse responses. Data analytics tools provide rejection of interferences and multi-analyte quantitation. This review critically analyses advances of multivariable sensors based on ligand-functionalized metal nanoparticles also known as monolayer-protected nanoparticles (MPNs). These MPN sensing materials distinctively stand out from other sensing materials for multivariable sensors due to their diversity of gas- and vapor-response mechanisms as provided by organic and biological ligands, applicability of these sensing materials for broad classes of gas-phase compounds such as condensable vapors and non-condensable gases, and for several principles of signal transduction in multivariable sensors that result in non-resonant and resonant electrical sensors as well as material- and structure-based photonic sensors. Such features should allow MPN multivariable sensors to be an attractive high value addition to existing analytical instrumentation.

  11. The effects of two thick film deposition methods on tin dioxide gas sensor performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakrania, Smitesh D; Wooldridge, Margaret S

    2009-01-01

    This work demonstrates the variability in performance between SnO(2) thick film gas sensors prepared using two types of film deposition methods. SnO(2) powders were deposited on sensor platforms with and without the use of binders. Three commonly utilized binder recipes were investigated, and a new binder-less deposition procedure was developed and characterized. The binder recipes yielded sensors with poor film uniformity and poor structural integrity, compared to the binder-less deposition method. Sensor performance at a fixed operating temperature of 330 °C for the different film deposition methods was evaluated by exposure to 500 ppm of the target gas carbon monoxide. A consequence of the poor film structure, large variability and poor signal properties were observed with the sensors fabricated using binders. Specifically, the sensors created using the binder recipes yielded sensor responses that varied widely (e.g., S = 5 - 20), often with hysteresis in the sensor signal. Repeatable and high quality performance was observed for the sensors prepared using the binder-less dispersion-drop method with good sensor response upon exposure to 500 ppm CO (S = 4.0) at an operating temperature of 330 °C, low standard deviation to the sensor response (±0.35) and no signal hysteresis.

  12. The Effects of Two Thick Film Deposition Methods on Tin Dioxide Gas Sensor Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Smitesh D. Bakrania

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available This work demonstrates the variability in performance between SnO2 thick film gas sensors prepared using two types of film deposition methods. SnO2 powders were deposited on sensor platforms with and without the use of binders. Three commonly utilized binder recipes were investigated, and a new binder-less deposition procedure was developed and characterized. The binder recipes yielded sensors with poor film uniformity and poor structural integrity, compared to the binder-less deposition method. Sensor performance at a fixed operating temperature of 330 ºC for the different film deposition methods was evaluated by exposure to 500 ppm of the target gas carbon monoxide. A consequence of the poor film structure, large variability and poor signal properties were observed with the sensors fabricated using binders. Specifically, the sensors created using the binder recipes yielded sensor responses that varied widely (e.g., S = 5 – 20, often with hysteresis in the sensor signal. Repeatable and high quality performance was observed for the sensors prepared using the binder-less dispersion-drop method with good sensor response upon exposure to 500 ppm CO (S = 4.0 at an operating temperature of 330 ºC, low standard deviation to the sensor response (±0.35 and no signal hysteresis.

  13. Selective Sensing of Gas Mixture via a Temperature Modulation Approach: New Strategy for Potentiometric Gas Sensor Obtaining Satisfactory Discriminating Features.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Fu-An; Jin, Han; Wang, Jinxia; Zou, Jie; Jian, Jiawen

    2017-03-12

    A new strategy to discriminate four types of hazardous gases is proposed in this research. Through modulating the operating temperature and the processing response signal with a pattern recognition algorithm, a gas sensor consisting of a single sensing electrode, i.e., ZnO/In₂O₃ composite, is designed to differentiate NO₂, NH₃, C₃H₆, CO within the level of 50-400 ppm. Results indicate that with adding 15 wt.% ZnO to In₂O₃, the sensor fabricated at 900 °C shows optimal sensing characteristics in detecting all the studied gases. Moreover, with the aid of the principle component analysis (PCA) algorithm, the sensor operating in the temperature modulation mode demonstrates acceptable discrimination features. The satisfactory discrimination features disclose the future that it is possible to differentiate gas mixture efficiently through operating a single electrode sensor at temperature modulation mode.

  14. Method of recovering hydrocarbons from oil shale

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Walton, D.K.; Slusser, M.S.

    1970-11-24

    A method is described for recovering hydrocarbons from an oil-shale formation by in situ retorting. A well penetrating the formation is heated and gas is injected until a pressure buildup within the well is reached, due to a decrease in the conductivity of naturally occurring fissures within the formation. The well is then vented, in order to produce spalling of the walls. This results in the formation of an enlarged cavity containing rubberized oil shale. A hot gas then is passed through the rubberized oil shale in order to retort hydrocarbons and these hydrocarbons are recovered from the well. (11 claims)

  15. Aplikasi Sistem Peringatan Dini Pada Kebocoran Gas Dan Asap Menggunakan Sensor Gas MQ-7 Dengan Program C

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aan Burhanudin

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract - Health Safety and Environment (HSE in the development will be more accentuate on the prevention of occupational accidents and occupational diseases by identifying the potential to cause accidents and occupational diseases as well as anticipatory measures in case of accidents and occupational diseases. The working environment is directly in contact with toxic materials would be very harmful to the human body when exposed continuously. An environment or factory containing toxic gases as an example of CO, SO or LPG gas in certain concentrations can cause eye irritation or shortness of breath. Therefore we need an early warning system that can measure the concentration of these gases and may give a warning to workers associated with the concentration of the gas to the workers. The early warning system was made using three gas sensors, three heat sensors, LEDs and buzzer. Recitation and processing of the sensor is processed by a 16 bit microcontroller which will condition the room. In making such a system is used programmable fuzzy algorithms previously simulated with MATLAB, C Programming used as logic programming refers to the simulation results, miniature rooms created with three main space for workers in a hallway and an emergency exit. The results of such a system is in a room when the detected gas concentration exceeds the threshold, the system will activate the buzzer and will activated LED as the safest evacuation route directions. Keyword -- C Proframming, Fuzzy Logic, Matlab

  16. Nozzle-less Ultrasonic Spray Deposition for Flexible Ammonia and Ozone Gas Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mónica ACUAUTLA

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available In the last years printing and flexible electronic is transforming the way we used electronic devices. Among these, special interest is given to the development of gas sensors for industrial and environmental applications. Nozzle-less ultrasonic spray deposition is a simple and precise technique, which offers good homogeneity and high quality of the sensitive thin film. In addition, it represents a potential fabrication process for flexible electronic with low cost production and low waste of material. In this paper, nanoparticles of zinc oxide were deposited by nozzle-less ultrasonic spray deposition on flexible substrate. The sensing properties towards reducing and oxidizing gases in function of the operational temperature are reported. The flexible platform consists in titanium/platinum interdigitated electrodes and a micro-heater device, both fabricated by lift-off and photolithography. The operating temperature of the sensor is also challenging in term of power consumption. It is allowing the reaction with the exposure gases. Most of the semiconducting metal oxide materials used for gas sensing applications require high temperatures above 250 °C. Flexible gas sensors fabricated in this work present good responses towards ammonia and ozone at 300 °C and 200 °C respectively, with fast response and recovery time in a wide range of gas concentration.

  17. [Simultaneous determination of 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in cigarette filter by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiaotao; Zhang, Li; Ruan, Yibin; Wang, Weiwei; Ji, Houwei; Wan, Qiang; Lin, Fucheng; Liu, Jian

    2017-10-08

    A method for the simultaneous determination of 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in cigarette filter was developed by isotope internal standard combined with gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The cigarette filters were extracted with dichloromethane, and the extract was filtered with 0.22 μm organic phase membrane. The samples were isolated by DB-5MS column (30 m×0.25 mm, 0.25 μm) and detected using multiple reaction monitoring mode of electron impact source under positive ion mode. The linearities of the 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (acenapthylene, acenaphthene, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, ben[ a ]anthracene, chrysene, benzo[ b ]fluoranthene, benzo[ k ]fluoranthene, benzo[ a ]pyrene, dibenzo[ a,h ]anthracene, benzo[ g,h,i ]perylene and indeno[1,2,3- c,d ]pyrene) were good, and the correlation coefficients ( R 2 ) ranged from 0.9914 to 0.9999. The average recoveries of the 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were 81.6%-109.6% at low, middle and high spiked levels, and the relative standard deviations were less than 16%, except that the relative standard deviation of fluorene at the low spiked level was 19.2%. The limits of detection of the 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were 0.02 to 0.24 ng/filter, and the limits of quantification were 0.04 to 0.80 ng/filter. The method is simple, rapid, accurate, sensitive and reproducible. It is suitable for the quantitative analysis of the 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in cigarette filters.

  18. Evaluation of the performance and response of the bacharach TLV sniffer and H-Nu photoionization gas analyzer to common hydrocarbon solvents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chelton, C F; Zakraysek, N; Lautner, G M; Confer, R G

    1983-10-01

    Two direct reading instruments, the H-Nu PI 101 photoionization analyzer and the J.W. Bacharach TLV Sniffer, were evaluated under laboratory conditions to determine their performance characteristics when challenged by vapors of common hydrocarbon solvent mixtures. Each instrument was evaluated against the manufacturer's recommended test solvent for rise time, fall time, noise, span drift, zero drift, position sensitivity, battery life, and recharge time. The precision, accuracy, and operating linear range were also determined for the test solvents and some petroleum solvent mixtures which are common refinery products. For these latter mixtures, correction factors are presented which allow for an improved estimate of ambient concentrations when monitoring with each of these instruments. All tests except operating humidity range were performed by challenging each instrument with a known concentration of hydrocarbon generated by evaporating calculated liquid volumes into a static chamber. Humidity tests were performed using a dynamic dilution apparatus generating a fixed concentration of hydrocarbon while relative humidity was varied. Concentrations in both systems were verified by gas injection into gas chromatograph. Each instrument performed well when challenged by manufacturers' recommended test solvents. Humidity was shown to influence each instrument's readings. Also, the instruments were shown to have application as monitors of airborne concentrations of common hydrocarbon solvent mixtures.

  19. Gas Sensor Based on 3-D WO3 Inverse Opal: Design and Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruiqing Xing

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available A three-dimensional inverse opal (3DIO WO3 architecture has been synthesized via a simple sacrificial template method. Morphology features of the 3DIO were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM and its structure was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD. The shrinking ratio of the PMMA spheres was ~28.2% through measuring the distribution of the PMMA spheres and 3DIO WO3 center-to-center distance between the spheres and macropores, respectively. Beyond that, the 3DIO gas sensing properties were investigated systematically and the sensing mechanism of 3DIO WO3 was proposed. The results indicated that the response of the 3DIO sensor possessed excellent sensitivity to acetone gas, especially at trace levels. The 3DIO gas sensor response was ~7 to 5 ppm of acetone and could detect acetone low to 0.2 ppm effectively, which was in close proximity to the theoretical low detection limit of 0.14 ppm when Ra/Rg ≥ 1.2 was used as the criterion for reliable gas sensing. All in all, the obvious satisfaction of the gas-sensing properties was ascribed to the structure of the 3DIO, and the sensor could be a promising novel device in the future.

  20. Combined raman and IR fiber-based sensor for gas detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Jerry C; Chan, James W; Trebes, James E; Angel, Stanley M; Mizaikoff, Boris

    2014-06-24

    A double-pass fiber-optic based spectroscopic gas sensor delivers Raman excitation light and infrared light to a hollow structure, such as a hollow fiber waveguide, that contains a gas sample of interest. A retro-reflector is placed at the end of this hollow structure to send the light back through the waveguide where the light is detected at the same end as the light source. This double pass retro reflector design increases the interaction path length of the light and the gas sample, and also reduces the form factor of the hollow structure.

  1. Penetrometer compatible, fiber-optic sensor for continuous monitoring of chlorinated hydrocarbons -- field test results

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Milanovich, F.P.; Brown, S.B.; Colston, B.W. Jr.

    1993-04-01

    We have developed and field tested a fiber optic chemical sensor for use in environmental monitoring and remediation. The principle of detection is colorimetric and is based on an irreversible chemical reaction between a specific reagent and the target compound. The formation of reaction products are monitored remotely with optical fibers. Successive or on-demand measurements are made possible with a reagent reservoir and a miniature pumping system. The sensor has been evaluated against gas chromatography standards and has demonstrated accuracy and sensitivity (>5ppb w/w) sufficient for the environmental monitoring of the contaminants triceoroethlyene (TCE) and chloroform. The sensor system can be used for bench-top analyses or for in-situ measurements such as groundwater and vadose monitoring wells or in Penetrometry mediated placements

  2. Highly sensitive and selective room-temperature NO{sub 2} gas sensor based on bilayer transferred chemical vapor deposited graphene

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Seekaew, Yotsarayuth [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900 (Thailand); Phokharatkul, Ditsayut; Wisitsoraat, Anurat [Nanoelectronics and MEMS Laboratory, National Electronics and Computer Technology Center, Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120 (Thailand); Wongchoosuk, Chatchawal, E-mail: chatchawal.w@ku.ac.th [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900 (Thailand)

    2017-05-15

    Highlights: • Simple and low-cost fabrication of bilayer graphene gas sensor was presented. • Layer effects of graphene on NO{sub 2} gas-sensing properties were investigated. • Bilayer graphene sensor exhibited a high linear NO{sub 2} sensitivity of 1.409 ppm{sup −1}. • The NO{sub 2}-sensing mechanisms based on band diagram were highlighted. - Abstract: This work presents a highly sensitive room-temperature gas sensor based on bilayer graphene fabricated by an interfacial transfer of chemical vapor deposited graphene onto nickel interdigitated electrodes. Scanning electron microscopic and Raman spectroscopic characterizations confirm the presence of graphene on interdigitated nickel electrodes with varying numbers of graphene layers. The NO{sub 2} detection performances of bilayer graphene gas sensor have been investigated in comparison with those of monolayer and multilayer graphene gas sensors at room temperature. From results, the bilayer graphene gas sensor exhibits higher response, sensitivity and selectivity to NO{sub 2} than monolayer and multilayer graphene. The sensitivity of bilayer graphene gas sensor is 1.409 ppm{sup −1} towards NO{sub 2} over a concentration range of 1–25 ppm, which is more than twice higher than that of monolayer graphene. The NO{sub 2}-sensing mechanism of graphene sensing film has been explained based on the direct charge transfer process due to the adsorption of NO{sub 2} molecules.

  3. Holographic detection of hydrocarbon gases and other volatile organic compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-Hurtado, J L; Davidson, C A B; Blyth, J; Lowe, C R

    2010-10-05

    There is a need to develop sensors for real-time monitoring of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hydrocarbon gases in both external and indoor environments, since these compounds are of growing concern in human health and welfare. Current measurement technology for VOCs requires sophisticated equipment and lacks the prospect for rapid real-time monitoring. Holographic sensors can give a direct reading of the analyte concentration as a color change. We report a technique for recording holographic sensors by laser ablation of silver particles formed in situ by diffusion. This technique allows a readily available hydrophobic silicone elastomer to be transformed into an effective sensor for hydrocarbon gases and other volatile compounds. The intermolecular interactions present between the polymer and molecules are used to predict the sensor performance. The hydrophobicity of this material allows the sensor to operate without interference from water and other atmospheric gases and thus makes the sensor suitable for biomedical, industrial, or environmental analysis.

  4. Multi-Gas Sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sachse, Glenn W. (Inventor); Wang, Liang-Guo (Inventor); LeBel, Peter J. (Inventor); Steele, Tommy C. (Inventor); Rana, Mauro (Inventor)

    1999-01-01

    A multi-gas sensor is provided which modulates a polarized light beam over a broadband of wavelengths between two alternating orthogonal polarization components. The two orthogonal polarization components of the polarization modulated beam are directed along two distinct optical paths. At least one optical path contains one or more spectral discrimination element, with each spectral discrimination element having spectral absorption features of one or more gases of interest being measured. The two optical paths then intersect, and one orthogonal component of the intersected components is transmitted and the other orthogonal component is reflected. The combined polarization modulated beam is partitioned into one or more smaller spectral regions of interest where one or more gases of interest has an absorption band. The difference in intensity between the two orthogonal polarization components is then determined in each partitioned spectral region of interest as an indication of the spectral emission/absorption of the light beam by the gases of interest in the measurement path. The spectral emission/absorption is indicative of the concentration of the one or more gases of interest in the measurement path. More specifically, one embodiment of the present invention is a gas filter correlation radiometer which comprises a polarizer, a polarization modulator, a polarization beam splitter, a beam combiner, wavelength partitioning element, and detection element. The gases of interest are measured simultaneously and, further, can be measured independently or non-independently. Furthermore, optical or electronic element are provided to balance optical intensities between the two optical paths.

  5. The Development of a Gas-Liquid Two-Phase Flow Sensor Applicable to CBM Wellbore Annulus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Chuan; Wen, Guojun; Han, Lei; Wu, Xiaoming

    2016-11-18

    The measurement of wellbore annulus gas-liquid two-phase flow in CBM (coalbed methane) wells is of great significance for reasonably developing gas drainage and extraction processes, estimating CBM output, judging the operating conditions of CBM wells and analyzing stratum conditions. Hence, a specially designed sensor is urgently needed for real-time measurement of gas-liquid two-phase flow in CBM wellbore annulus. Existing flow sensors fail to meet the requirements of the operating conditions of CBM wellbore annulus due to such factors as an inapplicable measurement principle, larger size, poor sealability, high installation accuracy, and higher requirements for fluid media. Therefore, based on the principle of a target flowmeter, this paper designs a new two-phase flow sensor that can identify and automatically calibrate different flow patterns of two-phase flows. Upon the successful development of the new flow sensor, lab and field tests were carried out, and the results show that the newly designed sensor, with a measurement accuracy of ±2.5%, can adapt to the operating conditions of CBM wells and is reliable for long-term work.

  6. Preparation and characterization of ALD deposited ZnO thin films studied for gas sensors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boyadjiev, S.I., E-mail: boiajiev@gmail.com [MTA-BME Technical Analytical Chemistry Research Group, Szent Gellért tér 4, Budapest, H-1111 (Hungary); Georgi Nadjakov Institute of Solid State Physics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 72 Tzarigradsko Chaussee Blvd., 1784 Sofia (Bulgaria); Georgieva, V. [Georgi Nadjakov Institute of Solid State Physics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 72 Tzarigradsko Chaussee Blvd., 1784 Sofia (Bulgaria); Yordanov, R. [Department of Microelectronics, Technical University of Sofia, 8 Kliment Ohridski Blvd., 1756 Sofia (Bulgaria); Raicheva, Z. [Georgi Nadjakov Institute of Solid State Physics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 72 Tzarigradsko Chaussee Blvd., 1784 Sofia (Bulgaria); Szilágyi, I.M. [MTA-BME Technical Analytical Chemistry Research Group, Szent Gellért tér 4, Budapest, H-1111 (Hungary); Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Szent Gellért tér 4, Budapest, H-1111 (Hungary)

    2016-11-30

    Highlights: • For the first time the gas sensing towards NO{sub 2} of very thin ALD ZnO films is studied. • The very thin ALD ZnO films showed excellent sensitivity to NO{sub 2} at room temperature. • These very thin film ZnO-based QCM sensors very well register even low concentrations. • The sensors have fully reversible sorption and are able to be recovered in short time. • Described fast and cost-effective ALD deposition of ZnO thin films for QCM gas sensor. - Abstract: Applying atomic layer deposition (ALD), very thin zinc oxide (ZnO) films were deposited on quartz resonators, and their gas sensing properties were studied using the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) method. The gas sensing of the ZnO films to NO{sub 2} was tested in the concentration interval between 10 and 5000 ppm. On the basis of registered frequency change of the QCM, for each concentration the sorbed mass was calculated. Further characterization of the films was carried out by various techniques, i.e. by SEM-EDS, XRD, ellipsometry, and FTIR spectroscopy. Although being very thin, the films were gas sensitive to NO{sub 2} already at room temperature and could register very well as low concentrations as 100 ppm, while the sorption was fully reversible. Our results for very thin ALD ZnO films show that the described fast, simple and cost-effective technology could be implemented for producing gas sensors working at room temperature and being capable to detect in real time low concentrations of NO{sub 2}.

  7. Radionuclides, Metals, and Hydrocarbons in Oil and Gas Operational Discharges and Environmental Samples Associated with Offshore Production Facilities on the Texas/Louisiana Continental Shelf with an Environmental Assessment of Metals and Hydrocarbons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-06-01

    This report presents concentrations of radionuclides, metals, and hydrocarbons in samples of produced water and produced sand from oil and gas production platforms located offshore Texas and Louisiana. concentrations in produced water discharge plume / receiving water, ambient seawater, sediment, interstitial water, and marine animal tissue samples collected in the vicinity of discharging platforms and reference sites distant from discharges are also reported and discussed. An environmental risk assessment is made on the basis of the concentration of metals and hydrocarbons determined in the samples

  8. Radionuclides, Metals, and Hydrocarbons in Oil and Gas Operational Discharges and Environmental Samples Associated with Offshore Production Facilities on the Texas/Louisiana Continental Shelf with an Environmental Assessment of Metals and Hydrocarbons.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-06-01

    This report presents concentrations of radionuclides, metals, and hydrocarbons in samples of produced water and produced sand from oil and gas production platforms located offshore Texas and Louisiana. concentrations in produced water discharge plume / receiving water, ambient seawater, sediment, interstitial water, and marine animal tissue samples collected in the vicinity of discharging platforms and reference sites distant from discharges are also reported and discussed. An environmental risk assessment is made on the basis of the concentration of metals and hydrocarbons determined in the samples.

  9. Radionuclides, Metals, and Hydrocarbons in Oil and Gas Operational Discharges and Environmental Samples Associated with Offshore Production Facilities on the Texas/Louisiana Continental Shelf with an Environmental Assessment of Metals and Hydrocarbons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Continental Shelf Associates, Inc.

    1999-08-16

    This report presents concentrations of radionuclides, metals, and hydrocarbons in samples of produced water and produced sand from oil and gas production platforms located offshore Texas and Louisiana. Concentrations in produced water discharge plume/receiving water, ambient seawater, sediment, interstitial water, and marine animal tissue samples collected in the vicinity of discharging platforms and reference sites distant from discharges are also reported and discussed. An environmental risk assessment is made on the basis of the concentrations of metals and hydrocarbons determined in the samples.

  10. Al2O3- BSST Based Chemical Sensors for Ammonia Gas Sensing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. A. Patil

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Gas sensing behaviour of pure and modified (Ba0.9Sr0.1(Sn0.5Ti0.5O3 (BSST thick films is reported in this article. The surface of the BSST thick film was modified by dipping it into aqueous solution of AlCl3, for different intervals of time. These films were then dried at 500 0C for 24 hours in air ambient for transformation of AlCl3 into Al2O3, for the evaporation of organic binders and also to improve the texture of the film. The gas response, selectivity, response and recovery time of the sensors were measured and presented. The role played by the aluminium species to improve the gas sensing performance of the sensors is discussed.

  11. Distinguishing feature of metal oxide films' structural engineering for gas sensor applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Korotcenkov, G; Golovanov, V; Brinzari, V; Cornet, A; Morante, J; Ivanov, M

    2005-01-01

    The different methods of structural engineering, used for improvement of solid state gas sensors parameters are reviewed in this paper. The wide possibilities of structural engineering in optimization of gas sensing properties were demonstrated on the example of thin tin dioxide films deposited by spray pyrolysis

  12. Effect of Indium Doping on the Sensitivity of SnO2 Gas Sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suharni; Sayono

    2009-01-01

    The dependence of sensitivity f SnO 2 gas sensors on indium concentration has been studied. Undoped and indium-doped SnO 2 gas sensors have been prepared by DC sputtering technique with following parameters i.e : electrode voltage of 3 kV, current 20 mA, vacuum pressure 1.8 × 10 -1 torr, deposition time 60 minutes and temperature of 200℃. The effect of weight variations of indium in order of 0.0370; 0.0485 and 0.0702 grams into SnO 2 thin film gas sensor for optimum result were investigated. The measurement of resistance, sensitivity and response time for various temperature for detecting of carbon monoxide (CO), Ammonia (NH 3 ) and acetone (CH 3 COCH 3 ) gas for indium doped has been done. From the analysis result shows that for indium doped 0.0702 g on the SnO 2 the resistance can be decreased from 832.0 kΩ to 3.9 kΩ and the operating temperature from 200℃ to 90℃ and improving the sensitivity from 15.92% to 40.09% and a response time from 30 seconds to 10 seconds for CO. (author)

  13. A case study of the intrinsic bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barker, G.W.; Raterman, K.T.; Fisher, J.B.; Corgan, J.M. [and others

    1995-12-31

    Condensate liquids have been found to contaminate soil and groundwater at two gas production sites in the Denver Basin operated by Amoco Production Co. These sites have been closely monitored since July 1993 to determine whether intrinsic aerobic or anaerobic bioremediation of hydrocarbons occurs at a sufficient rate and to an adequate endpoint to support a no-intervention decision. Groundwater monitoring and analysis of soil cores suggest that intrinsic bioremediation is occurring at these sites by multiple pathways including aerobic oxidation, Fe{sup 3+} reduction, and sulfate reduction. In laboratory experiments the addition of gas condensate hydrocarbons to saturated soil from the gas production site stimulated sulfate reduction under anaerobic and oxygen-limiting conditions, and nitrate and Fe{sup 3+} reduction under oxygen-limiting conditions, compared to biotic controls that lacked hydrocarbon and sterile controls. The sulfate reduction corresponded to a reduction in the amount of toluene relative to other hydrocarbons. These results confirmed that subsurface soils at the gas production site have the potential for intrinsic bioremediation of hydrocarbons.

  14. Ammonia gas sensing property of gadolinium oxide using fiber optic gas sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, J. Santhosh; Ranganathan, B.; Sastikumar, D.

    2017-05-01

    The design of fiber optic sensor is based on a cladding modification methodology. A fiber-optic chemical sensor is developed by replacing a certain portion of the original cladding with a chemically sensitive material, specifically, calcinated gadolinium oxide (Gd2O3).Both the light absorption co-efficient and refractive index change upon exposure to chemical vapours of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as ammonia (NH3), ethanol (CH3CH2OH), and methanol (CH3OH). The spectral characteristics of the sensor were studied for different concentrations ranging from 0-500 ppm. These changes induced the optical intensity modulation of the transmitted optical signal. During interaction between the sensing material and VOCs, the output intensity is taken into account to detect the toxic VOCs present in the environment. This was systematically investigated by X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and SEM. The XRD analysis indicated that the calcinated Gd2O3 was formed in cubic structure with the crystallite size of 13 nm. The Gd2O3 nanorods with thickness ranging from 80 to 120 nm were confirmed from SEM. The ammonia gas response of the Gd2O3 sensor is presented. A model is proposed for understanding the spectral intensity variations.

  15. Facile Fabrication of Multi-hierarchical Porous Polyaniline Composite as Pressure Sensor and Gas Sensor with Adjustable Sensitivity

    OpenAIRE

    He, Xiao-Xiao; Li, Jin-Tao; Jia, Xian-Sheng; Tong, Lu; Wang, Xiao-Xiong; Zhang, Jun; Zheng, Jie; Ning, Xin; Long, Yun-Ze

    2017-01-01

    A multi-hierarchical porous polyaniline (PANI) composite which could be used in good performance pressure sensor and adjustable sensitivity gas sensor has been fabricated by a facile in situ polymerization. Commercial grade sponge was utilized as a template scaffold to deposit PANI via in situ polymerization. With abundant interconnected pores throughout the whole structure, the sponge provided sufficient surface for the growth of PANI nanobranches. The flexible porous structure helped the co...

  16. Fast response time alcohol gas sensor using nanocrystalline F

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Bulletin of Materials Science; Volume 36; Issue 4. Fast response time alcohol gas sensor using nanocrystalline F-doped SnO2 films derived via sol–gel method. Sarbani Basu Yeong-Her Wang C Ghanshyam Pawan Kapur. Volume 36 Issue 4 August 2013 pp 521-533 ...

  17. Effect of hydrocarbons on plasma treatment of NOx

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Penetrante, B.M.; Pitz, W.J.; Hsaio, M.C.; Merritt, B.T.; Vogtlin, G.E. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States)

    1997-12-31

    Lean burn gasoline engine exhausts contain a significant amount of hydrocarbons in the form of propene. Diesel engine exhausts contain little gaseous hydrocarbon; however, they contain a significant amount of liquid-phase hydrocarbons (known as the volatile organic fraction) in the particulates. The objective of this paper is to examine the fate of NO{sub x} when an exhaust gas mixture that contains hydrocarbons is subjected to a plasma. The authors will show that the hydrocarbons promote the oxidation of NO to NO{sub 2}, but not the reduction of NO to N{sub 2}. The oxidation of NO to NO{sub 2} is strongly coupled with the hydrocarbon oxidation chemistry. This result suggests that gas-phase reactions in the plasma alone cannot lead to the chemical reduction of NO{sub x}. Any reduction of NO{sub x} to N{sub 2} can only be accomplished through heterogeneous reactions of NO{sub 2} with surfaces or particulates.

  18. Gas Selectivity Control in Co3O4 Sensor via Concurrent Tuning of Gas Reforming and Gas Filtering using Nanoscale Hetero-Overlayer of Catalytic Oxides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeong, Hyun-Mook; Jeong, Seong-Yong; Kim, Jae-Hyeok; Kim, Bo-Young; Kim, Jun-Sik; Abdel-Hady, Faissal; Wazzan, Abdulaziz A; Al-Turaif, Hamad Ali; Jang, Ho Won; Lee, Jong-Heun

    2017-11-29

    Co 3 O 4 sensors with a nanoscale TiO 2 or SnO 2 catalytic overlayer were prepared by screen-printing of Co 3 O 4 yolk-shell spheres and subsequent e-beam evaporation of TiO 2 and SnO 2 . The Co 3 O 4 sensors with 5 nm thick TiO 2 and SnO 2 overlayers showed high responses (resistance ratios) to 5 ppm xylene (14.5 and 28.8) and toluene (11.7 and 16.2) at 250 °C with negligible responses to interference gases such as ethanol, HCHO, CO, and benzene. In contrast, the pure Co 3 O 4 sensor did not show remarkable selectivity toward any specific gas. The response and selectivity to methylbenzenes and ethanol could be systematically controlled by selecting the catalytic overlayer material, varying the overlayer thickness, and tuning the sensing temperature. The significant enhancement of the selectivity for xylene and toluene was attributed to the reforming of less reactive methylbenzenes into more reactive and smaller species and oxidative filtering of other interference gases, including ubiquitous ethanol. The concurrent control of the gas reforming and oxidative filtering processes using a nanoscale overlayer of catalytic oxides provides a new, general, and powerful tool for designing highly selective and sensitive oxide semiconductor gas sensors.

  19. Synthesis and characterization of porous silicon gas sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    abbas, Roaa A.; Alwan, Alwan M.; Abdulhamied, Zainab T.

    2018-05-01

    In this work, photo-electrochemical etching process of n-type Silicon of resistivity(10 Ω.cm) and (100) orientation, using two illumination sources IR and violet wavelength in HF acid have been used to produce PSi gas detection device. The fabrication process was carried out at a fixed etching current density of 25mA/cm2 and at different etching time (5, 10, 15 and 20) min and (8, 16, 24, and 30) min. Two configurations of gas sensor configuration planer and sandwich have been made and investigated. The morphological properties have been studied using SEM,the FTIR measurement show that the (Si-Hx) and (Si-O-Si) absorption peak were increases with increasing etching time,and Photoluminescence properties of PSi layer show decrease in the peak of PL peak toward the violet shift. The gas detection process is made on the CO2 gas at different operating temperature and fixed gas concentration. In the planner structure, the gas sensing was measured through, the change in the resistance readout as a function to the exposure time, while for sandwich structure J-V characteristic have been made to determine the sensitivity.

  20. Constructed wetlands for treatment of dissolved phase hydrocarbons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moore, B J; Ross, S D [Komex International, Calgary, AB (Canada); Gibson, D [Calgary Univ., AB (Canada); Hardisty, P E [Komex Clarke Bond, Bristol (United Kingdom)

    1999-01-01

    The use of constructed wetlands as an alternative to conventional treatment of condensate-contaminated groundwater was studied. In 1997 a pilot scale wetland was constructed and implemented at the Gulf Strachan Gas Processing Plant to determine its ability in treating extracted groundwater contaminated with natural gas condensates. This paper presented the results of hydrocarbon removal efficiency, hydrocarbon removal mechanisms, winter operation, and the effect of hydrocarbons on vegetation health. The inflow water to the wetland contains 15 to 20 mg/L of C[sub 5]-C[sub 10] hydrocarbons, including 50 per cent BTEX compounds. During the summer months, hydrocarbon removal efficiency was 100 per cent, but decreased to 60 and 30 per cent in the spring and late fall, respectively. The hydrocarbons not removed in the wetland were eventually removed along the outflow channel. Temperature was determined to be an important factor in the variable removal rates, particularly when there is no aeration. The main hydrocarbon removal mechanisms appear to be volatilization, biodegradation and dilution. At present, plant uptake is not a factor. 12 refs., 1 tab., 3 figs.

  1. Constructed wetlands for treatment of dissolved phase hydrocarbons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moore, B.J.; Ross, S.D.; Gibson, D.; Hardisty, P.E.

    1999-01-01

    The use of constructed wetlands as an alternative to conventional treatment of condensate-contaminated groundwater was studied. In 1997 a pilot scale wetland was constructed and implemented at the Gulf Strachan Gas Processing Plant to determine its ability in treating extracted groundwater contaminated with natural gas condensates. This paper presented the results of hydrocarbon removal efficiency, hydrocarbon removal mechanisms, winter operation, and the effect of hydrocarbons on vegetation health. The inflow water to the wetland contains 15 to 20 mg/L of C 5 -C 10 hydrocarbons, including 50 per cent BTEX compounds. During the summer months, hydrocarbon removal efficiency was 100 per cent, but decreased to 60 and 30 per cent in the spring and late fall, respectively. The hydrocarbons not removed in the wetland were eventually removed along the outflow channel. Temperature was determined to be an important factor in the variable removal rates, particularly when there is no aeration. The main hydrocarbon removal mechanisms appear to be volatilization, biodegradation and dilution. At present, plant uptake is not a factor. 12 refs., 1 tab., 3 figs

  2. A laser-based sensor for measurement of off-gas composition and temperature in basic oxygen steelmaking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ottesen, D.; Allendorf, S.; Ludowise, P.; Hardesty, D.; Miller, T.; Goldstein, D.; Smith, C.; Bonin, M.

    1999-01-01

    We are developing an optical sensor for process control in basic oxygen steelmaking. The sensor measures gas temperature and relative CO/CO 2 concentration ratios in the furnace off-gas by transmitting the laser probe beam directly above the furnace lip and below the exhaust hood during oxygen blowing. Dynamic off-gas information is being evaluated for optimizing variables such as lance height, oxygen flow, post-combustion control, and prediction of final melt-carbon content. The non-invasive nature of the optical sensor renders it robust and relatively maintenance-free. Additional potential applications of the method are process control for electric arc furnace and bottom-blown oxygen steelmaking processes. (author)

  3. First principles modeling of hydrocarbons conversion in non-equilibrium plasma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Deminsky, M.A.; Strelkova, M.I.; Durov, S.G.; Jivotov, V.K.; Rusanov, V.D.; Potapkin, B.V. [Russian Research Centre Kurchatov Inst., Moscow (Russian Federation)

    2001-07-01

    Theoretical justification of catalytic activity of non-equilibrium plasma in hydrocarbons conversion process is presented in this paper. The detailed model of highest hydrocarbons conversion includes the gas-phase reactions, chemistry of the growth of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), precursor of soot particles formation, neutral, charged clusters and soot particle formation, ion-molecular gas-phase and heterogeneous chemistry. The results of theoretical analysis are compared with experimental results. (authors)

  4. Natural hydrocarbon gases in Canada: the resource base

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Osadetz, K.G.

    1997-01-01

    The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) has an ongoing national hydrocarbon resource assessment project which examines, characterizes and quantifies the hydrocarbon resource potential of Canada. In this paper the distribution, characteristics and sizes of conventional and unconventional natural gas resources in Canada are summarized. Four topics were addressed: (1) the origins of conventional and unconventional natural hydrocarbon gases in Canada, (2) the resource assessment techniques used at the GSC, with emphasis on predicting undiscovered reserves, (3) the setting, distribution and size of the conventional natural gas endowment of Canada in a geographic and geological context, and (4) the indications of unconventional natural gas resource endowment in Canada. Conventional in-place natural gas resources for Canada was estimated at 26.8 trillion cubic metres of which 54 per cent comes from the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. The national inventory of unconventional in-place gas resource is 3,460 trillion cubic metres. At current rates of production, the expected life expectancy for the in-place conventional natural gas resource base was estimated to be about 150 years. 1 tab., 9 figs

  5. Conductometric gas sensors based on metal oxides modified with gold nanoparticles: a review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Korotcenkov, Ghenadii; Cho, Beong K.; Brinzari, Vladimir

    2016-01-01

    This review (with 170 refs.) discusses approaches towards surface functionalizaton of metal oxides by gold nanoparticles, and the application of the resulting nanomaterials in resistive gas sensors. The articles is subdivided into sections on (a) methods for modification of metal oxides with gold nanoparticles; (b) the response of gold nanoparticle-modified metal oxide sensors to gaseous species, (c) a discussion of the limitations of such sensors, and (d) a discussion on future tasks and trends along with an outlook. It is shown that, in order to achieve significant improvements in sensor parameters, it is necessary to warrant a good control the size and density of gold nanoparticles on the surface of metal oxide crystallites, the state of gold in the cluster, and the properties of the metal oxide support. Current challenges include an improved reproducibility of sensor preparation, better long-term stabilities, and a better resistance to sintering and poisoning of gold clusters during operation. Additional research focused on better understanding the role of gold clusters and nanoparticles in gas-sensing effects is also required. (author)

  6. Electrospun ZnO Nanowires as Gas Sensors for Ethanol Detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huang Po-Jung

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract ZnO nanowires were produced using an electrospinning method and used in gas sensors for the detection of ethanol at 220 °C. This electrospinning technique allows the direct placement of ZnO nanowires during their synthesis to bridge the sensor electrodes. An excellent sensitivity of nearly 90% was obtained at a low ethanol concentration of 10 ppm, and the rest obtained at higher ethanol concentrations, up to 600 ppm, all equal to or greater than 90%.

  7. Condensation Mechanism of Hydrocarbon Field Formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batalin, Oleg; Vafina, Nailya

    2017-08-31

    Petroleum geology explains how hydrocarbon fluids are generated, but there is a lack of understanding regarding how oil is expelled from source rocks and migrates to a reservoir. To clarify the process, the multi-layer Urengoy field in Western Siberia was investigated. Based on this example, we have identified an alternative mechanism of hydrocarbon field formation, in which oil and gas accumulations result from the phase separation of an upward hydrocarbon flow. There is evidence that the flow is generated by the gases released by secondary kerogen destruction. This study demonstrates that oil components are carried by the gas flow and that when the flow reaches a low-pressure zone, it condenses into a liquid with real oil properties. The transportation of oil components in the gas flow provides a natural explanation for the unresolved issues of petroleum geology concerning the migration process. The condensation mechanism can be considered as the main process of oil field formation.

  8. PPY-PVA Blend Thin Films as a Ammines Gas Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. B. DUPARE

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Synthesis of polypyrrole–polyvinyl alcohol blend thin by in situ chemical oxidative polymerization, on glass substrate for development of Ammonia and Trimethyl ammine hazardous gas sensor. The all experimental process carried out at room temperature (304 k. These polymer materials were characterized by Chemical analyses, spectral studies (UV-visible and IR and conductivity measurement by four –probe technique. The surface morphology as seen in the SEM image was observed to be granular, tubular, uniformly covering the entire substrate surface having porous in nature. The current–voltage characterization show that these thin films have conducting in nature having ohmic behaviors. The sensor was used for different concentration (ppm of TMA and Ammonia gas investigation at room temperature (304 k. This study found to possess improved electrical, mechanical and environmental stability PPY-PVA films.

  9. CO_2 gas sensors based on rare earth oxycarbonates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haensch, Alexander

    2016-01-01

    This title presents a new type of CO_2 gas sensor, that allows the measurement of CO_2 gas with very low effort. The measurement principle is based on two semiconducting materials. One the ''receptor'' and a ''transducer'' form a semiconductor junction. Electronic changes in the receptor change the electrical resistance in the transducer and therefor allow the easy electrical measurement. The reactivity and the reaction mechanism is thoroughly studied. In the first part the basics and resistance measurements are presented. A comparison between different mixtures is done. The main part studies the surface chemistry with operando DRIFT spectroscopy. The chemical reactivity of different target gases and background gases is studied thoroughly. The electronic properties of Oxycarbonates and the combination of oxycarbonate and tin oxide were studied using operando Kelvin probes measurements. The result is that CO_2 alters the electron affinity of the material. Once moisture is present, an additional band bending is visible. The band bending dominated in a humid atmosphere, the work function changes. The electronic connection of oxycarbonate and tin oxide, the work function change of Oxycarbonates can be transferred to the tin oxide. Using the collected data, a basic idea of the operation will be presented by a two-semiconductor materials gas sensor.

  10. Analytical Modeling Tool for Design of Hydrocarbon Sensitive Optical Fibers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al Handawi, Khalil; Vahdati, Nader; Shiryayev, Oleg; Lawand, Lydia

    2017-09-28

    Pipelines are the main transportation means for oil and gas products across large distances. Due to the severe conditions they operate in, they are regularly inspected using conventional Pipeline Inspection Gages (PIGs) for corrosion damage. The motivation for researching a real-time distributed monitoring solution arose to mitigate costs and provide a proactive indication of potential failures. Fiber optic sensors with polymer claddings provide a means of detecting contact with hydrocarbons. By coating the fibers with a layer of metal similar in composition to that of the parent pipeline, corrosion of this coating may be detected when the polymer cladding underneath is exposed to the surrounding hydrocarbons contained within the pipeline. A Refractive Index (RI) change occurs in the polymer cladding causing a loss in intensity of a traveling light pulse due to a reduction in the fiber's modal capacity. Intensity losses may be detected using Optical Time Domain Reflectometry (OTDR) while pinpointing the spatial location of the contact via time delay calculations of the back-scattered pulses. This work presents a theoretical model for the above sensing solution to provide a design tool for the fiber optic cable in the context of hydrocarbon sensing following corrosion of an external metal coating. Results are verified against the experimental data published in the literature.

  11. Methods of producing alkylated hydrocarbons from an in situ heat treatment process liquid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roes, Augustinus Wilhelmus Maria [Houston, TX; Mo, Weijian [Sugar Land, TX; Muylle, Michel Serge Marie [Houston, TX; Mandema, Remco Hugo [Houston, TX; Nair, Vijay [Katy, TX

    2009-09-01

    A method for producing alkylated hydrocarbons is disclosed. Formation fluid is produced from a subsurface in situ heat treatment process. The formation fluid is separated to produce a liquid stream and a first gas stream. The first gas stream includes olefins. The liquid stream is fractionated to produce at least a second gas stream including hydrocarbons having a carbon number of at least 3. The first gas stream and the second gas stream are introduced into an alkylation unit to produce alkylated hydrocarbons. At least a portion of the olefins in the first gas stream enhance alkylation.

  12. Harsh Environment Gas Sensor Array for Venus Atmospheric Measurements, Phase II

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Makel Engineering and the Ohio State University propose to develop a harsh environment tolerant gas sensor array for atmospheric analysis in future Venus missions....

  13. Determination of chlorinated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water by solid-phase extraction coupled with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xianli; Kang, Haiyan; Wu, Junfeng

    2016-05-01

    Given the potential risks of chlorinated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, the analysis of their presence in water is very urgent. We have developed a novel procedure for determining chlorinated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water based on solid-phase extraction coupled with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The extraction parameters of solid-phase extraction were optimized in detail. Under the optimal conditions, the proposed method showed wide linear ranges (1.0-1000 ng/L) with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.9952 to 0.9998. The limits of detection and the limits of quantification were in the range of 0.015-0.591 and 0.045-1.502 ng/L, respectively. Recoveries ranged from 82.5 to 102.6% with relative standard deviations below 9.2%. The obtained method was applied successfully to the determination of chlorinated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in real water samples. Most of the chlorinated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were detected and 1-monochloropyrene was predominant in the studied water samples. This is the first report of chlorinated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water samples in China. The toxic equivalency quotients of chlorinated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the studied tap water were 9.95 ng the toxic equivalency quotient m(-3) . 9,10-Dichloroanthracene and 1-monochloropyrene accounted for the majority of the total toxic equivalency quotients of chlorinated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in tap water. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  14. Selective mixed potential based ammonia exhaust gas sensor; Selektiver Ammoniakabgassensor auf Mischpotentialbasis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schoenauer, D.; Moos, R. [Bayreuth Univ. (Germany). Lehrstuhl fuer Funktionsmaterialien; Wiesner, K.; Fleischer, M. [Siemens AG, CT PS 6, Muenchen (Germany)

    2007-07-01

    Mixed potential sensors with additional catalytic deposits on one of two electrodes show a high potential for NH{sub 3} detection. With defined reactions at the covered electrode it is possible to derive a temperature dependent correlation between the gas concentration/composition and the sensor signal which is characteristic for the used electrode material and the catalyst.

  15. Large-scale syntheses of uniform ZnO nanorods and ethanol gas sensors application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Jin; Li Jin; Li Jiahui; Xiao Guoqing; Yang Xiaofeng

    2011-01-01

    Research highlights: → The uniform ZnO nanorods could be synthesized by a low temperature, solution-based method. → The results showed that the sample had uniform rod-like morphology with a narrow size distribution and highly crystallinity. → Room-temperature photoluminescence spectra of these nanorods show an exciton emission around 382 nm and a weak deep level emission, indicating the nanorods have high quality. → The sensor exhibited high sensitivity and fast response to ethanol gas at a work temperature of 400 deg. C. - Abstract: Uniform ZnO nanorods with a gram scale were prepared by a low temperature and solution-based method. The samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and photoluminescence (PL). The results showed that the sample had uniform rod-like morphology with a narrow size distribution and highly crystallinity. Room-temperature PL spectra of these nanorods show an exciton emission around 382 nm and a negligible deep level emission, indicating the nanorods have high quality. The gas-sensing properties of the materials have been investigated. The results indicate that the as-prepared nanorods show much better sensitivity and stability. The n-type semiconductor gas sensor exhibited high sensitivity and fast response to ethanol gas at a work temperature of 400 deg. C. ZnO nanorods are excellent potential candidates for highly sensitive gas sensors and ultraviolet laser.

  16. Highly sensitive room temperature ammonia gas sensor based on Ir-doped Pt porous ceramic electrodes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Wenlong [College of pharmacy and biological engineering, Chengdu University, Chengdu, 610106 (China); Department of chemical and materials engineering, National Chin-Yi University of Technology, Taichung 411, Taiwan (China); Liu, Yen-Yu [Department of chemical and materials engineering, Tunghai University, Taichung 407, Taiwan (China); Do, Jing-Shan, E-mail: jsdo@ncut.edu.tw [Department of chemical and materials engineering, National Chin-Yi University of Technology, Taichung 411, Taiwan (China); Li, Jing, E-mail: lijing@cdu.edu.cn [College of pharmacy and biological engineering, Chengdu University, Chengdu, 610106 (China)

    2016-12-30

    Highlights: • Water vapors seem to hugely improve the electrochemical activity of the Pt and Pt-Ir porous ceramic electrodes. • The gas sensors based on the Pt and Pt-Ir alloy electrodes possess good sensing performances. • The reaction path of the ammonia on platinum has been discussed. - Abstract: Room temperature NH{sub 3} gas sensors based on Pt and Pt-Ir (Ir doping Pt) porous ceramic electrodes have been fabricated by both electroplating and sputtering methods. The properties of the gaseous ammonia sensors have been examined by polarization and chronoamperometry techniques. The influence of humidity on the features of the resulting sensors in the system has also been discussed, and the working potential was optimized. Water vapors seem to hugely improve the electrochemical activity of the electrode. With increasing the relative humidity, the response of the Pt-Ir(E)/Pt(S)/PCP sensor to NH{sub 3} gas could be enhanced remarkably, and the sensitivity increases from 1.14 to 12.06 μA ppm{sup −1} cm{sup −2} .Then we have also discussed the sensing mechanism of the Pt-Ir sensor and the result has been confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of the electrode surface before and after reaction in the end.

  17. Planar Indium Tin Oxide Heater for Improved Thermal Distribution for Metal Oxide Micromachined Gas Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Cihan Çakır

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Metal oxide gas sensors with integrated micro-hotplate structures are widely used in the industry and they are still being investigated and developed. Metal oxide gas sensors have the advantage of being sensitive to a wide range of organic and inorganic volatile compounds, although they lack selectivity. To introduce selectivity, the operating temperature of a single sensor is swept, and the measurements are fed to a discriminating algorithm. The efficiency of those data processing methods strongly depends on temperature uniformity across the active area of the sensor. To achieve this, hot plate structures with complex resistor geometries have been designed and additional heat-spreading structures have been introduced. In this work we designed and fabricated a metal oxide gas sensor integrated with a simple square planar indium tin oxide (ITO heating element, by using conventional micromachining and thin-film deposition techniques. Power consumption–dependent surface temperature measurements were performed. A 420 °C working temperature was achieved at 120 mW power consumption. Temperature distribution uniformity was measured and a 17 °C difference between the hottest and the coldest points of the sensor at an operating temperature of 290 °C was achieved. Transient heat-up and cool-down cycle durations are measured as 40 ms and 20 ms, respectively.

  18. Planar Indium Tin Oxide Heater for Improved Thermal Distribution for Metal Oxide Micromachined Gas Sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Çakır, M Cihan; Çalışkan, Deniz; Bütün, Bayram; Özbay, Ekmel

    2016-09-29

    Metal oxide gas sensors with integrated micro-hotplate structures are widely used in the industry and they are still being investigated and developed. Metal oxide gas sensors have the advantage of being sensitive to a wide range of organic and inorganic volatile compounds, although they lack selectivity. To introduce selectivity, the operating temperature of a single sensor is swept, and the measurements are fed to a discriminating algorithm. The efficiency of those data processing methods strongly depends on temperature uniformity across the active area of the sensor. To achieve this, hot plate structures with complex resistor geometries have been designed and additional heat-spreading structures have been introduced. In this work we designed and fabricated a metal oxide gas sensor integrated with a simple square planar indium tin oxide (ITO) heating element, by using conventional micromachining and thin-film deposition techniques. Power consumption-dependent surface temperature measurements were performed. A 420 °C working temperature was achieved at 120 mW power consumption. Temperature distribution uniformity was measured and a 17 °C difference between the hottest and the coldest points of the sensor at an operating temperature of 290 °C was achieved. Transient heat-up and cool-down cycle durations are measured as 40 ms and 20 ms, respectively.

  19. A highly selective and self-powered gas sensor via organic surface functionalization of p-Si/n-ZnO diodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffmann, Martin W G; Mayrhofer, Leonhard; Casals, Olga; Caccamo, Lorenzo; Hernandez-Ramirez, Francisco; Lilienkamp, Gerhard; Daum, Winfried; Moseler, Michael; Waag, Andreas; Shen, Hao; Prades, J Daniel

    2014-12-17

    Selectivity and low power consumption are major challenges in the development of sophisticated gas sensor devices. A sensor system is presented that unifies selective sensor-gas interactions and energy-harvesting properties, using defined organic-inorganic hybrid materials. Simulations of chemical-binding interactions and the consequent electronic surface modulation give more insight into the complex sensing mechanism of selective gas detection. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  20. Metal Oxides Doped PPY-PVA Blend Thin Films Based Gas Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. B. DUPARE

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available Synthesis of metal oxides doped polypyrrole–polyvinyl alcohol blend thin films by in situ chemical oxidative polymerization, using microwave oven on glass substrate for development of Ammonia and Trimethyl ammine hazardous gas sensor. The all experimental process carried out at room temperature(304 K. These polymer materials were characterized by Chemical analyses, spectral studies (UV-visible and IR and conductivity measurement by four –probe technique. The surface morphology as observed in the SEM image was observed to be uniformly covering the entire substrate surface. The sensor was used for different concentration (ppm of TMA and Ammonia gas investigation at room temperature (304 k. This study found to possess improved electrical, mechanical and environmental stability metal oxides doped PPY-PVA films.

  1. Synthesis and Characterization of Quaternary Metal Chalcogenide Aerogels for Gas Separation and Volatile Hydrocarbon Adsorption

    KAUST Repository

    Edhaim, Fatimah A.

    2017-11-01

    In this dissertation, the metathesis route of metal chalcogenide aerogel synthesis was expanded by conducting systematic studies between polysulfide building blocks and the 1st-row transition metal linkers. Resulting materials were screened as sorbents for selective gas separation and volatile organic compounds adsorption. They showed preferential adsorption of polarizable gases (CO2) and organic compounds (toluene). Ion exchange and heavy metal remediation properties have also been demonstrated. The effect of the presence of different counter-ion within chalcogel frameworks on the adsorption capacity of the chalcogels was studied on AFe3Zn3S17 (A= K, Na, and Rb) chalcogels. The highest adsorption capacity toward hydrocarbons and gases was observed on Rb based chalcogels. Adopting a new building block [BiTe3]3- with the 1st-row transition metal ions results in the formation of three high BET surface area chalcogels, KCrBiTe3, KZnBiTe3, and KFeBiTe3. The resulting chalcogels showed preferential adsorption of toluene vapor, and remarkable selectivity of CO2, indicating the potential future use of chalcogels in adsorption-based gas or hydrocarbon separation processes. The synthesis and characterization of the rare earth chalcogels NaYSnS4, NaGdSnS4, and NaTbSnS4 are also reported. Rare earth metal ions react with the thiostannate clusters in formamide solution forming extended polymeric networks by gelation. Obtained chalcogels have high BET surface areas, and showed notable adsorption capacity toward CO2 and toluene vapor. These chalcogels have also been engaged in the absorption of different organic molecules. The results reveal the ability of the chalcogels to distinguish among organic molecules on their electronic structures; hence, they could be used as sensors. Furthermore, the synthesis of metal chalcogenide aerogels Co0.5Sb0.33MoS4 and Co0.5Y0.33MoS4 by the sol-gel method is reported. In this system, the building blocks [MoS4]2- chelated with Co2+ and (Sb3

  2. Chemical gas sensors and the characterization, monitoring and sensor technology needs of the US Department of Energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bastiaans, G.J.; Haas, W.J. Jr.; Junk, G.A.

    1993-01-01

    The Office of Technology Development within the Dept. of Energy (DOE) has the responsibility of providing new technologies to aid the environmental restoration and waste management (ER/WM) activities of the DOE. There is a perception that application and judicious development of chemical sensor technologies could result in large cost savings and reduced risk to the health and safety of ER/WM personnel. A number of potential gas sensor applications which exist within DOE ER/WM operations are described. The capabilities of several chemical sensor technologies and their potential to meet the needs of ER/WM applications in the present or near term future are discussed

  3. High-resolution gas chromatographic analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and aliphatic hydrocarbons; Separacion por cromatografia de gases de alta eficiencia de hidrocarburos aromaticos policiclicos, (PAH) y alifaticos (AH) ambientales, empleado como fases estacionarias OV-1 y SE-54

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Perez, M.; Gonzalez, D.

    1988-07-01

    A study of the analysis by gas chromatography of aromatic polycyclic hydrocarbons and aliphatic hydrocarbons is presented. The separation has been carried out by glass and fused silica capillary column in two different polar stationary phases OV-1 and SE-54. The limitation and the advantages of the procedure are discussed in terms of separation, sensitivity and precision. (Author) 20 refs.

  4. Rapid and selective detection of acetone using hierarchical ZnO gas sensor for hazardous odor markers application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, Qianqian; Ji, Huiming; Zhang, Ying; Chen, Yalu; Sun, Xiaohong; Jin, Zhengguo

    2014-07-15

    Hierarchical nanostructured ZnO dandelion-like spheres were synthesized via solvothermal reaction at 200°C for 4h. The products were pure hexagonal ZnO with large exposure of (002) polar facet. Side-heating gas sensor based on hierarchical ZnO spheres was prepared to evaluate the acetone gas sensing properties. The detection limit to acetone for the ZnO sensor is 0.25ppm. The response (Ra/Rg) toward 100ppm acetone was 33 operated at 230°C and the response time was as short as 3s. The sensor exhibited remarkable acetone selectivity with negligible response toward other hazardous gases and water vapor. The high proportion of electron depletion region and oxygen vacancies contributed to high gas response sensitivity. The hollow and porous structure of dandelion-like ZnO spheres facilitated the diffusion of gas molecules, leading to a rapid response speed. The largely exposed (002) polar facets could adsorb acetone gas molecules easily and efficiently, resulting in a rapid response speed and good selectivity of hierarchical ZnO spheres gas sensor at low operating temperature. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Simultaneous determination of aliphatic hydrocarbons, PCBs and PCTs in pork liver by gas chromatography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gonzalez-Barros, C [Dept. de Quimica Analitica, Nutricion y Bromatologia, Area Nutricion y Bromatologia, Facultad de Farmacia, Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Alvarez Pineiro, M E [Inst. de Investigacion y Analisis Alimentarios, Lab. de Bromatologia, Facultad de Farmacia, Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Simal Lozano, J [Dept. de Quimica Analitica, Nutricion y Bromatologia, Area Nutricion y Bromatologia, Facultad de Farmacia, Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Lage Yusty, M A [Inst. de Investigacion y Analisis Alimentarios, Lab. de Bromatologia, Facultad de Farmacia, Santiago de Compostela (Spain)

    1996-10-01

    A multicomponent extraction/concentration procedure has been developed for the enrichment of PCBs, PCTs and aliphatic hydrocarbons (pristane, C{sub 18}, C{sub 19}, C{sub 20}, C{sub 22}, C{sub 24}, C{sub 28}, C{sub 32} and C{sub 36}) in pork liver. These components of the enriched extract were then simultaneously determined by gas chromatography. Mean recoveries ranged from 81.5% for pristane to 93% for PCBs; CV % (0.9-6.7) indicated the method to be both precise and reproducible. (orig.)

  6. Acetone gas-sensing properties of multiple-networked Pd-decorated Bi_2O_3 nanorod sensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Sung Hoon; Kim, Soo Hyun; Lee, Sang Min; Lee, Chong Mu

    2015-01-01

    This study examined the sensing properties of Bi_2O_3 nanorods decorated with Pd nanoparticles. Pd-decorated β-Bi_2O_3 nanorods were prepared by immersing the Bi_2O_3 nanorods in ethanol/(50 mM)PdCl_2 solution followed by UV irradiation and annealing. The Bi_2O_3 nanorods decorated with Pd nanoparticles showed faster and stronger response to acetone gas than the pristine Bi_2O_3 nanorods. Interestingly, the difference in response time between the Pd-decorated Bi_2O_3 nanorod sensor and pristine Bi_2O_3 nanorod sensor increased with increasing the acetone gas concentration. In contrast, the difference in recovery time between the two nanorod sensors decreased with increasing the acetone gas concentration. This difference can be explained using the chemical mechanism. The underlying mechanism for the enhanced response of the Bi_2O_3 nanorods decorated with Pd nanoparticles to acetone gas is also discussed

  7. And if France had oil, gas and ideas at the same time... Contribution to the debate on shale hydrocarbons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2013-02-01

    This report aims at gathering available information on shale hydrocarbons in order to show that shale gas exploitation is possible in France in order to meet energy needs. After a brief presentation of these hydrocarbons and of potential resources in the world and in France, the report addresses the different stages from exploration (how to obtain a research permit, to locate potential resources, assessment of available quantities and of the economic potential of an oil field), to production (drilling, stimulation, extraction, management on a large scale and on the long term), and to site restitution (industrial site rehabilitation, economic restructuring)

  8. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Fine Particulate Matter Emitted from Burning Kerosene, Liquid Petroleum Gas, and Wood Fuels in Household Cookstoves

    Science.gov (United States)

    This study measured polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) composition in particulate matter emissions from residential cookstoves. A variety of fuel and cookstove combinations were examined, including: (i) liquid petroleum gas (LPG), (ii) kerosene in a wick stove, (iii) wood (10%...

  9. Gas sensors boosted by two-dimensional h-BN enabled transfer on thin substrate foils: towards wearable and portable applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayari, Taha; Bishop, Chris; Jordan, Matthew B; Sundaram, Suresh; Li, Xin; Alam, Saiful; ElGmili, Youssef; Patriarche, Gilles; Voss, Paul L; Salvestrini, Jean Paul; Ougazzaden, Abdallah

    2017-11-09

    The transfer of GaN based gas sensors to foreign substrates provides a pathway to enhance sensor performance, lower the cost and extend the applications to wearable, mobile or disposable systems. The main keys to unlocking this pathway is to grow and fabricate the sensors on large h-BN surface and to transfer them to the flexible substrate without any degradation of the performances. In this work, we develop a new generation of AlGaN/GaN gas sensors with boosted performances on a low cost flexible substrate. We fabricate 2-inch wafer scale AlGaN/GaN gas sensors on sacrificial two-dimensional (2D) nano-layered h-BN without any delamination or cracks and subsequently transfer sensors to an acrylic surface on metallic foil. This technique results in a modification of relevant device properties, leading to a doubling of the sensitivity to NO 2 gas and a response time that is more than 6 times faster than before transfer. This new approach for GaN-based sensor design opens new avenues for sensor improvement via transfer to more suitable substrates, and is promising for next-generation wearable and portable opto-electronic devices.

  10. Liquefied petroleum gas sensor based on manganese (III) oxide and zinc manganese (III) oxide nanoparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Shiva; Chauhan, Pratima; Husain, Shahid

    2018-01-01

    In this paper, {{{Mn}}}2{{{O}}}3 and {{{ZnMn}}}2{{{O}}}4 nanoparticles (NPs) are successfully synthesized using chemical co-precipitation method at room temperature and further annealed at 450 °C. The structure, crystallite size, morphology, specific surface area (SSA) and band gap energy have been determined by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS) and UV-visible spectrophotometer. The sensor films of the {{{Mn}}}2{{{O}}}3 NPs and {{{ZnMn}}}2{{{O}}}4 NPs have been fabricated onto glass substrate using spin coater system separately. These sensor films are investigated for different concentrations (200-1200 ppm) of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at different operating temperatures ranging from 100 °C to 400 °C. A comparative study of gas sensing properties shows that spinel {{{ZnMn}}}2{{{O}}}4 sensor film exhibit excellent response (≈ 80 % ) towards 1000 ppm LPG at 300 °C in comparison to {{{Mn}}}2{{{O}}}3 sensor films. The enhancement in the gas sensing characteristics of {{{ZnMn}}}2{{{O}}}4 sensor film is attributed to the reduced crystallite size, greater SSA, and modification in structure as well as morphology.

  11. New Insight into the Kinetics of Deep Liquid Hydrocarbon Cracking and Its Significance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenzhi Zhao

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The deep marine natural gas accumulations in China are mainly derived from the cracking of liquid hydrocarbons with different occurrence states. Besides accumulated oil in reservoir, the dispersed liquid hydrocarbon in and outside source also is important source for cracking gas generation or relayed gas generation in deep formations. In this study, nonisothermal gold tube pyrolysis and numerical calculations as well as geochemical analysis were conducted to ascertain the expulsion efficiency of source rocks and the kinetics for oil cracking. By determination of light liquid hydrocarbons and numerical calculations, it is concluded that the residual bitumen or hydrocarbons within source rocks can occupy about 50 wt.% of total oil generated at oil generation peak. This implies that considerable amounts of natural gas can be derived from residual hydrocarbon cracking and contribute significantly to the accumulation of shale gas. Based on pyrolysis experiments and kinetic calculations, we established a model for the cracking of oil and its different components. In addition, a quantitative gas generation model was also established to address the contribution of the cracking of residual oil and expulsed oil for natural gas accumulations in deep formations. These models may provide us with guidance for gas resource evaluation and future gas exploration in deep formations.

  12. Effect of retrograde gas condensate in low permeability natural gas reservoir; Efeito da condensacao retrograda em reservatorios de gas natural com baixa permeabilidade

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chang, Paulo Lee K.C. [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), SP (Brazil). Faculdade de Engenharia Mecanica; Ligero, Eliana L.; Schiozer, Denis J. [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), SP (Brazil). Faculdade de Engenharia Mecanica. Dept. de Engenharia de Petroleo

    2008-07-01

    Most of Brazilian gas fields are low-permeability or tight sandstone reservoirs and some of them should be gas condensate reservoir. In this type of natural gas reservoir, part of the gaseous hydrocarbon mixture is condensate and the liquid hydrocarbon accumulates near the well bore that causes the loss of productivity. The liquid hydrocarbon formation inside the reservoir should be well understood such as the knowledge of the variables that causes the condensate formation and its importance in the natural gas production. This work had as goal to better understanding the effect of condensate accumulation near a producer well. The influence of the porosity and the absolute permeability in the gas production was studied in three distinct gas reservoirs: a dry gas reservoir and two gas condensate reservoirs. The refinement of the simulation grid near the producer well was also investigated. The choice of simulation model was shown to be very important in the simulation of gas condensate reservoirs. The porosity was the little relevance in the gas production and in the liquid hydrocarbon formation; otherwise the permeability was very relevant. (author)

  13. Rancang Bangun Robot 6WD Dengan Sensor Gas TGS2600 Menggunakan Metode Wall Following Berbasis Arduino Mega 2560

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I Made Arya Budhana

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Intisari— Perkembangan teknologi khususnya dibidang robotika saat ini sangat pesat, Salah satu bentuk aplikasi dari teknologi robotika yang erat kaitannya dengan sistem kontrol adalah wheel mobile robot. Beberapa metode dapat dilakukan untuk mendistribusikan gas alam salah satunya dengan pipa. Distribusi gas alam dengan menggunakan pipa sering mengalami kendala kebocoran yang disebabkan usia dari pipa distribusi yang sudah cukup tua. Untuk mempermudah pemantauan pipa gas yang berada di bawah tanah digunakan robot 6 WD (wheel drive yang memiliki 6 roda dan penggerak pada setiap rodanya untuk mengatasi medan yang berat. Pergerakan dari robot 6 WD mengacu pada sensor ultrasonik SRF HC-SR04, metode ini dinamakan wall following. Sensor gas tipe TGS dari figaro dimanfaatkan untuk mengetahui adanya kebocoran gas  pada pipa atau tidak. Selain itu, robot ini juga dilengkapi dengan kamera untuk mengirim gambar kerusakan pipa pada user agar dapat segera dilakukan perbaikan. Arduino Mega 2560 digunakan sebagai otak pada robot 6 WD yang bertugas untuk mengolah data yang masuk dan memberikan instruksi pada robot 6WD. Pengiriman data dari robot 6 WD pada pengguna meliputi, data sensor gas, data sensor kompas, data sensor jarak dan gambar kerusakan pada pipa. Seluruh data dapat dilihat pada GCS (Ground Control Station.   [TRUNITIN CHECK 20%, 26042017

  14. Breakdown voltage reduction by field emission in multi-walled carbon nanotubes based ionization gas sensor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Saheed, M. Shuaib M.; Muti Mohamed, Norani; Arif Burhanudin, Zainal, E-mail: zainabh@petronas.com.my [Centre of Innovative Nanostructures and Nanodevices, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar, 31750 Tronoh, Perak (Malaysia)

    2014-03-24

    Ionization gas sensors using vertically aligned multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) are demonstrated. The sharp tips of the nanotubes generate large non-uniform electric fields at relatively low applied voltage. The enhancement of the electric field results in field emission of electrons that dominates the breakdown mechanism in gas sensor with gap spacing below 14 μm. More than 90% reduction in breakdown voltage is observed for sensors with MWCNT and 7 μm gap spacing. Transition of breakdown mechanism, dominated by avalanche electrons to field emission electrons, as decreasing gap spacing is also observed and discussed.

  15. A One ppm NDIR Methane Gas Sensor with Single Frequency Filter Denoising Algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Binqing Jiang

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available A non-dispersive infrared (NDIR methane gas sensor prototype has achieved a minimum detection limit of 1 parts per million by volume (ppm. The central idea of the design of the sensor is to decrease the detection limit by increasing the signal to noise ratio (SNR of the system. In order to decrease the noise level, a single frequency filter algorithm based on fast Fourier transform (FFT is adopted for signal processing. Through simulation and experiment, it is found that the full width at half maximum (FWHM of the filter narrows with the extension of sampling period and the increase of lamp modulation frequency, and at some optimum sampling period and modulation frequency, the filtered signal maintains a noise to signal ratio of below 1/10,000. The sensor prototype provides the key techniques for a hand-held methane detector that has a low cost and a high resolution. Such a detector may facilitate the detection of leakage of city natural gas pipelines buried underground, the monitoring of landfill gas, the monitoring of air quality and so on.

  16. Diode Laser-Based Sensor for Fast Measurement of Binary Gas Mixtures

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    McNesby, Kevin

    1999-01-01

    The development and characterization of a gas sensor to measure binary mixtures of oxygen and the vapor from a series of volatile organic compounds, with a time resolution of 10 milliseconds, is described...

  17. Biomass consumption and CO2, CO and main hydrocarbon gas emissions in an Amazonian forest clearing fire

    Science.gov (United States)

    T. G. Soares Neto; J. A. Carvalho; C. A. G. Veras; E. C. Alvarado; R. Gielow; E. N. Lincoln; T. J. Christian; R. J. Yokelson; J. C. Santos

    2009-01-01

    Biomass consumption and CO2, CO and hydrocarbon gas emissions in an Amazonian forest clearing fire are presented and discussed. The experiment was conducted in the arc of deforestation, near the city of Alta Floresta, state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. The average carbon content of dry biomass was 48% and the estimated average moisture content of fresh biomass was 42% on...

  18. Gas Sensors Based on Tin Oxide Nanoparticles Synthesized from a Mini-Arc Plasma Source

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ganhua Lu

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Miniaturized gas sensors or electronic noses to rapidly detect and differentiate trace amount of chemical agents are extremely attractive. In this paper, we report on the fabrication and characterization of a functional tin oxide nanoparticle gas sensor. Tin oxide nanoparticles are first synthesized using a convenient and low-cost mini-arc plasma source. The nanoparticle size distribution is measured online using a scanning electrical mobility spectrometer (SEMS. The product nanoparticles are analyzed ex-situ by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM for morphology and defects, energy dispersive X-ray (EDX spectroscopy for elemental composition, electron diffraction for crystal structure, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS for surface composition. Nonagglomerated rutile tin oxide (SnO2 nanoparticles as small as a few nm have been produced. Larger particles bear a core-shell structure with a metallic core and an oxide shell. The nanoparticles are then assembled onto an e-beam lithographically patterned interdigitated electrode using electrostatic force to fabricate the gas sensor. The nanoparticle sensor exhibits a fast response and a good sensitivity when exposed to 100 ppm ethanol vapor in air.

  19. Development of a fiber-optic sensor for hydrogen leak detection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Benson, D.K.; Tracy, C.E. [National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)

    1995-09-01

    The real and perceived risks of hydrogen fuel use, particularly in passenger vehicles, will require extensive safety precautions including hydrogen leak detection. Conventional hydrogen gas sensors require electrical wiring and may be too expensive for deployment in multiple locations within a vehicle. In this recently initiated project, we are attempting to develop a reversible, thin-film, chemochromic sensor that can be applied to the end of a polymer optical fiber. The presence of hydrogen gas causes the film to become darker. A light beam transmitted from a central instrument in the vehicle along the sensor fibers will be reflected from the ends of the fiber back to individual light detectors. A decrease in the reflected light signal will indicate the presence and concentration of hydrogen in the vicinity of the fiber sensor. The typical thin film sensor consists of a layer of transparent, amorphous tungsten oxide covered by a very thin reflective layer of palladium. When the sensor is exposed to hydrogen, a portion of the hydrogen is dissociated, diffuses through the palladium and reacts with the tungsten oxide to form a blue insertion compound, H{sub X}WO{sub 3}- When the hydrogen gas is no longer present, the hydrogen will diffuse out of the H{sub X}WO{sub 3} and oxidize at the palladium/air interface, restoring the tungsten oxide film and the light signal to normal. The principle of this detection scheme has already been demonstrated by scientists in Japan. However, the design of the sensor has not been optimized for speed of response nor tested for its hydrogen selectivity in the presence of hydrocarbon gases. The challenge of this project is to modify the basic sensor design to achieve the required rapid response and assure sufficient selectivity to avoid false readings.

  20. Nanocrystalline SnO2:F Thin Films for Liquid Petroleum Gas Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sutichai Chaisitsak

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports the improvement in the sensing performance of nanocrystalline SnO2-based liquid petroleum gas (LPG sensors by doping with fluorine (F. Un-doped and F-doped tin oxide films were prepared on glass substrates by the dip-coating technique using a layer-by-layer deposition cycle (alternating between dip-coating a thin layer followed by a drying in air after each new layer. The results showed that this technique is superior to the conventional technique for both improving the film thickness uniformity and film transparency. The effect of F concentration on the structural, surface morphological and LPG sensing properties of the SnO2 films was investigated. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM and X-ray diffraction pattern measurements showed that the obtained thin films are nanocrystalline SnO2 with nanoscale-textured surfaces. Gas sensing characteristics (sensor response and response/recovery time of the SnO2:F sensors based on a planar interdigital structure were investigated at different operating temperatures and at different LPG concentrations. The addition of fluorine to SnO2 was found to be advantageous for efficient detection of LPG gases, e.g., F-doped sensors are more stable at a low operating temperature (300 °C with higher sensor response and faster response/recovery time, compared to un-doped sensor materials. The sensors based on SnO2:F films could detect LPG even at a low level of 25% LEL, showing the possibility of using this transparent material for LPG leak detection.

  1. High Temperature and High Sensitive NOx Gas Sensor with Hetero-Junction Structure using Laser Ablation Method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Wei; Shi, Liqin; Hasegawa, Yuki; Katsube, Teruaki

    In order to develop a high temperature (200°C˜400°C) and high sensitive NOx gas sensor, we developed a new structure of SiC-based hetero-junction device Pt/SnO2/SiC/Ni, Pt/In2O3/SiC/Ni and Pt/WO3/SiC/Ni using a laser ablation method for the preparation of both metal (Pt) electrode and metal-oxide film. It was found that Pt/In2O3/SiC/Ni sensor shows higher sensitivity to NO2 gas compared with the Pt/SnO2/SiC/Ni and Pt/WO3/SiC/Ni sensor, whereas the Pt/WO3/SiC/Ni sensor had better sensitivity to NO gas. These results suggest that selective detection of NO and NO2 gases may be obtained by choosing different metal oxide films.

  2. Improved Resolution of Hydrocarbon Structures and Constitutional Isomers in Complex Mixtures Using Gas Chromatography-Vacuum Ultraviolet-Mass Spectrometry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Isaacman, Gabriel [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Wilson, Kevin R. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Chan, Arthur W. H. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Worton, David R. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Aerosol Dynamics Inc., Berkeley, CA (United States); Kimmel, Joel R. [Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, MA (United States); Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Tofwerk AG, Thun (Switzerland); Nah, Theodora [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Hohaus, Thorsten [Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, MA (United States); Gonin, Marc [Tofwerk AG, Thun (Switzerland); Kroll, Jesse H. [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Worsnop, Douglas R. [Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, MA (United States); Goldstein, Allen H. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2012-01-30

    Understanding the composition of complex hydrocarbon mixtures is important for environmental studies in a variety of fields, but many prevalent compounds cannot be confidently identified using traditional gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) techniques. In this study, we use vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) ionization to elucidate the structures of a traditionally “unresolved complex mixture” by separating components by GC retention time, tR, and mass-to-charge ratio, m/z, which are used to determine carbon number, NC, and the number of rings and double bonds, NDBE. Constitutional isomers are resolved on the basis of tR, enabling the most complete quantitative analysis to date of structural isomers in an environmentally relevant hydrocarbon mixture. Unknown compounds are classified in this work by carbon number, degree of saturation, presence of rings, and degree of branching, providing structural constraints. The capabilities of this analysis are explored using diesel fuel, in which constitutional isomer distribution patterns are shown to be reproducible between carbon numbers and follow predictable rules. Nearly half of the aliphatic hydrocarbon mass is shown to be branched, suggesting branching is more important in diesel fuel than previously shown. Lastly, the classification of unknown hydrocarbons and the resolution of constitutional isomers significantly improves resolution capabilities for any complex hydrocarbon mixture.

  3. CHARACTERISTICS OF HYDROCARBON EXPLOITATION IN ARCTIC CIRCLE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vanja Lež

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The existence of large quantities of hydrocarbons is supposed within the Arctic Circle. Assumed quantities are 25% of the total undiscovered hydrocarbon reserves on Earth, mostly natural gas. Over 500 major and minor gas accumulations within the Arctic Circle were discovered so far, but apart from Snøhvit gas field, there is no commercial exploitation of natural gas from these fields. Arctic gas projects are complicated, technically hard to accomplish, and pose a great threat to the return of investment, safety of people and equipment and for the ecosystem. Russia is a country that is closest to the realization of the Arctic gas projects that are based on the giant gas fields. The most extreme weather conditions in the seas around Greenland are the reason why this Arctic region is the least explored and furthest from the realization of any gas project (the paper is published in Croatian .

  4. Measurement of gas-liquid two-phase flow in micro-pipes by a capacitance sensor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ji, Haifeng; Li, Huajun; Huang, Zhiyao; Wang, Baoliang; Li, Haiqing

    2014-11-26

    A capacitance measurement system is developed for the measurement of gas-liquid two-phase flow in glass micro-pipes with inner diameters of 3.96, 2.65 and 1.56 mm, respectively. As a typical flow regime in a micro-pipe two-phase flow system, slug flow is chosen for this investigation. A capacitance sensor is designed and a high-resolution and high-speed capacitance measurement circuit is used to measure the small capacitance signals based on the differential sampling method. The performance and feasibility of the capacitance method are investigated and discussed. The capacitance signal is analyzed, which can reflect the voidage variation of two-phase flow. The gas slug velocity is determined through a cross-correlation technique using two identical capacitance sensors. The simulation and experimental results show that the presented capacitance measurement system is successful. Research work also verifies that the capacitance sensor is an effective method for the measurement of gas liquid two-phase flow parameters in micro-pipes.

  5. Rapid and selective detection of acetone using hierarchical ZnO gas sensor for hazardous odor markers application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jia, Qianqian; Ji, Huiming; Zhang, Ying; Chen, Yalu; Sun, Xiaohong; Jin, Zhengguo

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • ZnO spheres fabricated via solvothermal method are with (0 0 2) polar facet exposed. • Response time of ZnO sensor for detecting 100 ppm acetone is as short as 3 s. • R a /R g toward 100 ppm acetone is 33 when operated at 230 °C. • ZnO sensor exhibits good selectivity against other toxic gases and water vapor. • Porous structure and exposure of polar facet contribute to good sensing properties. - Abstract: Hierarchical nanostructured ZnO dandelion-like spheres were synthesized via solvothermal reaction at 200 °C for 4 h. The products were pure hexagonal ZnO with large exposure of (0 0 2) polar facet. Side-heating gas sensor based on hierarchical ZnO spheres was prepared to evaluate the acetone gas sensing properties. The detection limit to acetone for the ZnO sensor is 0.25 ppm. The response (R a /R g ) toward 100 ppm acetone was 33 operated at 230 °C and the response time was as short as 3 s. The sensor exhibited remarkable acetone selectivity with negligible response toward other hazardous gases and water vapor. The high proportion of electron depletion region and oxygen vacancies contributed to high gas response sensitivity. The hollow and porous structure of dandelion-like ZnO spheres facilitated the diffusion of gas molecules, leading to a rapid response speed. The largely exposed (0 0 2) polar facets could adsorb acetone gas molecules easily and efficiently, resulting in a rapid response speed and good selectivity of hierarchical ZnO spheres gas sensor at low operating temperature

  6. Development of nanostructured protective "sight glasses" for IR gas sensors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bergmann, René; Davis, Zachary James; Schmidt, Michael Stenbæk

    2011-01-01

    In this work protective "sight glasses" for infrared gas sensors showing a sub-wavelength nanostructure with random patterns have been fabricated by reactive ion etching (RIE) in an easy and comparable cheap single step mask-less process. By an organic coating, the intrinsic water repellent...

  7. Method for the conversion of hydrocarbon charges

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Whittam, T V

    1976-11-11

    The basis of the invention is the application of defined zeolites as catalysts to hydrocarbon conversion processes such as reformation, isomerization, dehydrocyclization, and cracking. By charging the zeolite carrier masses with 0.001 to 5% metal of the 8th group of the periodic system, preferably noble metals, a wide region of applications for the catalysts is achieved. A method for the isomerization of an alkyl benzene (or mixture of alkyl benzenes) in the liquid or gas phase under suitable temperature, pressure and flow-rate conditions, as well as in the presence of a cyclic hydrocarbon, is described as preferential model form of the invention; furthermore, a method for the reformation of a hydrocarbon fraction boiling in the gasoline or benzene boiling region and a method for the hydrocracking of hydrocarbon charge (e.g. naphtha, kerosine, gas oils) are given. Types of performance of the methods are explained using various examples.

  8. Highly selective room temperature NO2 gas sensor based on rGO-ZnO composite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jyoti, Kanaujiya, Neha; Varma, G. D.

    2018-05-01

    Blending metal oxide nanoparticles with graphene or its derivatives can greatly enhance gas sensing characteristics. In the present work, ZnO nanoparticles have been synthesized via reflux method. Thin films of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and composite of rGO-ZnO have been fabricated by drop casting method for gas sensing application. The samples have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Field-emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) for the structural and morphological studies respectively. Sensing measurements have been carried out for the composite film of rGO-ZnO for different concentrations of NO2 ranging from 4 to 100 ppm. Effect of increasing temperature on the sensing performance has also been studied and the rGO-ZnO composite sensor shows maximum percentage response at room temperature. The limit of detection (LOD) for rGO-ZnO composite sensor is 4ppm and it exhibits a high response of 48.4% for 40 ppm NO2 at room temperature. To check the selectivity of the composite sensor, sensor film has been exposed to 40 ppm different gases like CO, NH3, H2S and Cl2 at room temperature and the sensor respond negligibly to these gases. The present work suggests that rGO-ZnO composite material can be a better candidate for fabrication of highly selective room temperature NO2 gas sensor.

  9. Pulse radiolysis of alkanes in the gas-phase, ion-molecule reactions and neutralization mechanisms of hydrocarbon ions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ausloos, P.

    1975-01-01

    A discussion is presented of the fate of unreactive hydrocarbon ions in various selected gaseous systems. It is shown that experiments performed with the high radiation dose rates obtained in pulse radiolysis experiments have several advantages over conventional low dose rate experiments for the elucidation of the mechanism of homogeneous neutralization of unreactive hydrocarbon ions. This is so because the charged species has a much shorter lifetime with respect to neutralization under high dose rate (pulse radiolysis) conditions, so that the reaction of the ions with minor impurities or accumulated products is much less probable than in low dose rate experiments. It is further shown through a few examples, that quantitative information about the rate contants of neutralization events and ion-molecule reactions can be obtained when the dose rate is high enough for neutralization and chemical reaction to be in competition. Once reliable rate constants for neutralization and ion-molecule reactions are derived, one can obtain a quantitative evaluation of the products which will by formed in the pulse radiolysis of a hydrocarbon gas mixture from a computer calculation. (author)

  10. A Micro CO2 Gas Sensor Based on Sensing of pH-Sensitive Hydrogel Swelling by Means of a Pressure Sensor

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Herber, S.; Bomer, Johan G.; Olthuis, Wouter; Bergveld, Piet; van den Berg, Albert

    2005-01-01

    In this paper a sensor is presented for the detection of carbon dioxide gas inside the stomach in order to diagnose gastrointestinal ischemia. The operational principle of the sensor is measuring the CO2 induced pressure generation of a confined pH-sensitive hydrogel by means of a micro pressure

  11. Hydrocarbons in sediments adjacent to a gas and condensate development and production platform in northwestern Australia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fischer, S.J.; Alexander, R.; Kagi, R.I.

    1994-01-01

    In northwestern Australia during the period of 1983 to 1991, 23 wells were drilled from a gas/condensate production platform to the producing formation approximately 3000 m below the sea bed. Low toxicity water-based drilling muds formulated with hydrogenated kerosenes were used, with the resultant formation cuttings being legally discharged into the ocean. To study the fate of hydrocarbons associated with the cuttings, sea-floor samples were collected along two perpendicular transects from the platform. The first extended 10 km in the prevailing direction of the current and the other to 1.2 km. Subsequently, samples have been collected from one of these sites on two occasions, first one year and secondly two years after the initial collection. Samples collected from directly under the platform cuttings chute contained the highest hydrocarbon concentrations, determined gravimetrically, of 75000 mg/kg, decreasing to approximately 40 mg/kg within 800 m in the direction of the prevailing current. Concentrations in the more remote samples were determined by GC and decreased gradually to be barely discernible above background at less than 0.01 mg/kg at 10 km from the platform. This suite of samples provided an excellent opportunity to study the progress of hydrocarbon biodegradation as it occurs in the marine environment. Analysis by GC-FID, GC-MS and GC-FTIR revealed a number of features. For example, the extent of biodegradation and weathering with increasing distance from the platform, and the half life for biodegradation of total hydrocarbons appears to be approximately one year. The hydrocarbon components of the sediments are mainly from the drilling mud with minor contributions from the formation fluids

  12. Laboratory-based validation of the baseline sensors of the ITER diagnostic residual gas analyzer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klepper, C.C.; Biewer, T.M.; Marcus, C.; Graves, V.B.; Andrew, P.; Hughes, S.; Gardner, W.L.

    2017-01-01

    The divertor-specific ITER Diagnostic Residual Gas Analyzer (DRGA) will provide essential information relating to DT fusion plasma performance. This includes pulse-resolving measurements of the fuel isotopic mix reaching the pumping ducts, as well as the concentration of the helium generated as the ash of the fusion reaction. In the present baseline design, the cluster of sensors attached to this diagnostic's differentially pumped analysis chamber assembly includes a radiation compatible version of a commercial quadrupole mass spectrometer, as well as an optical gas analyzer using a plasma-based light excitation source. This paper reports on a laboratory study intended to validate the performance of this sensor cluster, with emphasis on the detection limit of the isotopic measurement. This validation study was carried out in a laboratory set-up that closely prototyped the analysis chamber assembly configuration of the baseline design. This includes an ITER-specific placement of the optical gas measurement downstream from the first turbine of the chamber's turbo-molecular pump to provide sufficient light emission while preserving the gas dynamics conditions that allow for /textasciitilde 1 s response time from the sensor cluster [1].

  13. Laboratory-based validation of the baseline sensors of the ITER diagnostic residual gas analyzer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klepper, C. C.; Biewer, T. M.; Marcus, C.; Andrew, P.; Gardner, W. L.; Graves, V. B.; Hughes, S.

    2017-10-01

    The divertor-specific ITER Diagnostic Residual Gas Analyzer (DRGA) will provide essential information relating to DT fusion plasma performance. This includes pulse-resolving measurements of the fuel isotopic mix reaching the pumping ducts, as well as the concentration of the helium generated as the ash of the fusion reaction. In the present baseline design, the cluster of sensors attached to this diagnostic's differentially pumped analysis chamber assembly includes a radiation compatible version of a commercial quadrupole mass spectrometer, as well as an optical gas analyzer using a plasma-based light excitation source. This paper reports on a laboratory study intended to validate the performance of this sensor cluster, with emphasis on the detection limit of the isotopic measurement. This validation study was carried out in a laboratory set-up that closely prototyped the analysis chamber assembly configuration of the baseline design. This includes an ITER-specific placement of the optical gas measurement downstream from the first turbine of the chamber's turbo-molecular pump to provide sufficient light emission while preserving the gas dynamics conditions that allow for \\textasciitilde 1 s response time from the sensor cluster [1].

  14. Laboratory-based validation of the baseline sensors of the ITER diagnostic residual gas analyzer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Biewer, Theodore M. [ORNL; Marcus, Chris [ORNL; Klepper, C Christopher [ORNL; Andrew, Philip [ITER Organization, Cadarache, France; Gardner, W. L. [United States ITER Project Office; Graves, Van B. [ORNL; Hughes, Shaun [ITER Organization, Saint Paul Lez Durance, France

    2017-10-01

    The divertor-specific ITER Diagnostic Residual Gas Analyzer (DRGA) will provide essential information relating to DT fusion plasma performance. This includes pulse-resolving measurements of the fuel isotopic mix reaching the pumping ducts, as well as the concentration of the helium generated as the ash of the fusion reaction. In the present baseline design, the cluster of sensors attached to this diagnostic's differentially pumped analysis chamber assembly includes a radiation compatible version of a commercial quadrupole mass spectrometer, as well as an optical gas analyzer using a plasma-based light excitation source. This paper reports on a laboratory study intended to validate the performance of this sensor cluster, with emphasis on the detection limit of the isotopic measurement. This validation study was carried out in a laboratory set-up that closely prototyped the analysis chamber assembly configuration of the baseline design. This includes an ITER-specific placement of the optical gas measurement downstream from the first turbine of the chamber's turbo-molecular pump to provide sufficient light emission while preserving the gas dynamics conditions that allow for \\textasciitilde 1 s response time from the sensor cluster [1].

  15. Tin dioxide opals and inverted opals: near-ideal microstructures for gas sensors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Scott, R.W.J.; Yang, S.M.; Coombs, N.; Ozin, G.A. [Toronto Univ., ON (Canada). Materials Chemistry Research Group; Chabanis, G.; Williams, D.E. [University Coll., London (United Kingdom). Dept. of Chemistry

    2001-10-02

    Periodic macroporous forms of nc-SnO{sub 2} have been synthesized by two methods, giving opals and inverse opals that can be used as structurally well-defined gas sensors, as demonstrated for CO gas, as well as for toluene and ethanol vapors. The inverse opals, in particular, seem to approximate ''ideal'' behavior. (orig.)

  16. Bureau of hydrocarbons exploration-production (BEPH) - Monthly information bulletin. May 2006

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2006-05-01

    This newsletter takes stock of the recent highlights in the domain of hydrocarbons exploration and production in the French territory: mining domain (demands of research permits; list of demands under instruction), seismic survey activity, production activity (interventions on wells, crude oil, crude gas, commercialized gas, natural gas-derived hydrocarbons, related products, production shares by company in the Paris and Aquitain basins). (J.S.)

  17. Deployment Considerations for Low-cost Air Quality Sensor Networks; Examining Spatial Variability of Gas-Phase Pollutants Around a Building in Los Angeles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collier-Oxandale, A. M.; Hannigan, M.; Casey, J. G.; Johnston, J.; Coffey, E.; Thorson, J.

    2017-12-01

    The field of low-cost air quality sensing technologies is growing rapidly through the continual development of new sensors, increased research into sensor performance, and more and more community groups utilizing sensors to investigate local issues. However, as this technology is still in an exploratory phase, there are few `best-practices' available to serve as guidelines for these projects and the standardization of some procedures could benefit the research community as a whole. For example, deployment considerations such as where and how to place a monitor at a given location are often determined by accessibility and safety, power-requirements, and what is an ideal for sampling the target pollutant. Using data from multiple gas-phase sensors, we will examine the importance of siting considerations for low-cost monitoring systems. During a sampling campaign in Los Angeles, a subset of monitors was deployed at one field site to explore the variability in air quality sensor data around a single building. The site is a three story, multi-family housing unit in a primarily residential neighborhood that is near two major roadways and other potential sources of pollution. Five low-cost monitors were co-located prior to and following the field deployment. During the approximately 2.5-month deployment, these monitors were placed at various heights above street level, on different sides of the building, and on the roof. In our analysis, we will examine how monitor placement affects a sensor's ability to detect local verses more regional trends and how this building-scale spatial variability changes over time. Additionally, examining data from VOC sensors (quantified for methane and total non-methane hydrocarbon signals) and O3 sensors will allow us to compare the variability of primary and secondary pollutants. An outcome of this analysis may include guidelines or `best practices' for siting sensors that could aid in ensuring the collection of high quality field data

  18. Wireless sensing on surface hydrocarbon production systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kane, D; McStay, D; Mulholland, J; Costello, L

    2009-01-01

    The use of wireless sensor networks for monitoring and optimising the performance of surface hydrocarbon production systems is reported. Wireless sensor networks are shown to be able to produce comprehensively instrumented XTs and other equipment that generate the data required by Intelligent Oilfield systems. The information produced by such systems information can be used for real-time operational control, production optimization and troubleshooting.

  19. Gas Sensors Built with Nanomaterials and Provided with a Heating Double Purpose Hot-plate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristian L. ARRIETA

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Pure or doped SnO2, has been used to build resistive type gas sensors from several decades. This subject has been retaken using pure or doped nanocrystalline SnO2 to build the sensors, finding considerable advantages in devices performance. The sensors working temperature (Tw decreases from (350-450 0C to (180-200 0C in comparison with that of devices built with microcrystalline conventional material. Sensitivity of sensors built with nanocrystalline material in comparison with that of devices built with conventional microcrystalline material, increases from 30 % to 37 %. In this work, SnO2 is synthesized using two different modified techniques based on gel-combustion and reactive oxidation and results of both syntheses are compared. Nanomaterials are characterised with X-ray diffraction (XRD, High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM and Field Emission Electron Scanning Microscopy (FESEM and absorption techniques (BET. An electronic system, already patented by the authors, enables to alternatively measure the sensor resistivity (which is proportional to the adsorbed gas concentration and set a constant working temperature, thus contributing to considerably save energy.

  20. Inverse Opal Photonic Crystals as an Optofluidic Platform for Fast Analysis of Hydrocarbon Mixtures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Qiwei; Mahpeykar, Seyed Milad; Burgess, Ian B; Wang, Xihua

    2018-06-13

    Most of the reported optofluidic devices analyze liquid by measuring its refractive index. Recently, the wettability of liquid on various substrates has also been used as a key sensing parameter in optofluidic sensors. However, the above-mentioned techniques face challenges in the analysis of the relative concentration of components in an alkane hydrocarbon mixture, as both refractive indices and wettabilities of alkane hydrocarbons are very close. Here, we propose to apply volatility of liquid as the key sensing parameter, correlate it to the optical property of liquid inside inverse opal photonic crystals, and construct powerful optofluidic sensors for alkane hydrocarbon identification and analysis. We have demonstrated that via evaporation of hydrocarbons inside the periodic structure of inverse opal photonic crystals and observation of their reflection spectra, an inverse opal film could be used as a fast-response optofluidic sensor to accurately differentiate pure hydrocarbon liquids and relative concentrations of their binary and ternary mixtures in tens of seconds. In these 3D photonic crystals, pure chemicals with different volatilities would have different evaporation rates and can be easily identified via the total drying time. For multicomponent mixtures, the same strategy is applied to determine the relative concentration of each component simply by measuring drying time under different temperatures. Using this optofluidic sensing platform, we have determined the relative concentrations of ternary hydrocarbon mixtures with the difference of only one carbon between alkane hydrocarbons, which is a big step toward detailed hydrocarbon analysis for practical use.

  1. Facial development of high performance room temperature NO2 gas sensors based on ZnO nanowalls decorated rGO nanosheets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zongyuan; Yu, Lingmin; Guo, Fen; Liu, Sheng; Qi, Lijun; Shan, Minyu; Fan, Xinhui

    2017-11-01

    A highly sensitive NO2 gas sensor based on ZnO nanowalls decorated rGO nanosheets was fabricated using a thermal reduction and soft solution process. The highly developed interconnected microporous networks of ZnO nanowalls were anchored homogeneously on the surface of reduced graphene oxide (rGO). Sensors fabricated with heterojunction structures achieved a higher response (S = 9.61) and shorter response-recovery (25 s, 15 s) behavior at room temperature to 50 ppm level NO2 effectively in contrast to those sensors based on net ZnO nanowalls or rGO layers. The stability and selectivity of ZnO/rGO heterojunction were carried out. Meanwhile, the effects of humidity on ZnO/rGO heterojunction gas sensor were investigated. The more preferable sensing performance of ZnO/rGO heterojunction to NO2 was discussed. It can be surmised that this NO2 gas sensor has potential for use as a portable room temperature gas sensor.

  2. Hydrocarbon accumulation characteristics and enrichment laws of multi-layered reservoirs in the Sichuan Basin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guang Yang

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The Sichuan Basin represents the earliest area where natural gas is explored, developed and comprehensively utilized in China. After over 50 years of oil and gas exploration, oil and gas reservoirs have been discovered in 24 gas-dominant layers in this basin. For the purpose of predicting natural gas exploration direction and target of each layer in the Sichuan Basin, the sedimentary characteristics of marine and continental strata in this basin were summarized and the forms of multi-cycled tectonic movement and their controlling effect on sedimentation, diagenesis and hydrocarbon accumulation were analyzed. Based on the analysis, the following characteristics were identified. First, the Sichuan Basin has experienced the transformation from marine sedimentation to continental sedimentation since the Sinian with the former being dominant. Second, multiple source–reservoir assemblages are formed based on multi-rhythmed deposition, and multi-layered reservoir hydrocarbon accumulation characteristics are vertically presented. And third, multi-cycled tectonic movement appears in many forms and has a significant controlling effect on sedimentation, diagenesis and hydrocarbon accumulation. Then, oil and gas reservoir characteristics and enrichment laws were investigated. It is indicated that the Sichuan Basin is characterized by coexistence of conventional and unconventional oil and gas reservoirs, multi-layered reservoir hydrocarbon supply, multiple reservoir types, multiple trap types, multi-staged hydrocarbon accumulation and multiple hydrocarbon accumulation models. Besides, its natural gas enrichment is affected by hydrocarbon source intensity, large paleo-uplift, favorable sedimentary facies belt, sedimentary–structural discontinuity plane and structural fracture development. Finally, the natural gas exploration and research targets of each layer in the Sichuan Basin were predicted according to the basic petroleum geologic conditions

  3. Source apportionment of hydrocarbons measured in the Eagle Ford shale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roest, G. S.; Schade, G. W.

    2016-12-01

    The rapid development of unconventional oil and gas in the US has led to hydrocarbon emissions that are yet to be accurately quantified. Emissions from the Eagle Ford Shale in southern Texas, one of the most productive shale plays in the U.S., have received little attention due to a sparse air quality monitoring network, thereby limiting studies of air quality within the region. We use hourly atmospheric hydrocarbon and meteorological data from three locations in the Eagle Ford Shale to assess their sources. Data are available from the Texas commission of environmental quality (TCEQ) air quality monitors in Floresville, a small town southeast of San Antonio and just north of the shale area; and Karnes city, a midsize rural city in the center of the shale. Our own measurements were carried out at a private ranch in rural Dimmit County in southern Texas from April to November of 2015. Air quality monitor data from the TCEQ were selected for the same time period. Non-negative matrix factorization in R (package NMF) was used to determine likely sources and their contributions above background. While the TCEQ monitor data consisted mostly of hydrocarbons, our own data include both CO, CO2, O3, and NOx. We find that rural Dimmit County hydrocarbons are dominated by oil and gas development sources, while central shale hydrocarbons at the TCEQ monitoring sites have a mix of sources including car traffic. However, oil and gas sources also dominate hydrocarbons at Floresville and Karnes City. Toxic benzene is nearly exclusively due to oil and gas development sources, including flaring, which NMF identifies as a major hydrocarbon source in Karnes City. Other major sources include emissions of light weight alkanes (C2-C5) from raw natural gas emissions and a larger set of alkanes (C2-C10) from oil sources, including liquid storage tanks.

  4. Polyaniline assisted by TiO2:SnO2 nanoparticles as a hydrogen gas sensor at environmental conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasirian, Shahruz; Milani Moghaddam, Hossain

    2015-02-01

    In the present research, polyaniline assisted by TiO2:SnO2 nanoparticles was synthesized and deposited onto an epoxy glass substrate with Cu-interdigited electrodes for gas sensing application. To examine the efficiency of the polyaniline/TiO2:SnO2 nanocomposite (PTS) as a hydrogen (H2) gas sensor, its nature, stability, response, recovery/response time have been studied with a special focus on its ability to work at environmental conditions. H2 gas sensing results demonstrated that a PTS sensor with 20 and 10 wt% of anatase-TiO2 and SnO2 nanoparticles, respectively, has the best response time (75 s) with a recovery time of 117 s at environmental conditions. The highest (lowest) response (recovery time) was 6.18 (46 s) in PTS sensor with 30 and 15 wt% of anatase- (rutile-)TiO2 and SnO2 nanoparticles, respectively, at 0.8 vol.% H2 gas. Further, the H2 gas sensing mechanism of PTS sensor has also been studied.

  5. Thermal cracking of recycled hydrocarbon gas-mixtures for re-pyrolysis: Operational analysis of some industrial furnaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gal, T. [MOL PETCHEM Division, Tisza Chemical Works Co. Ltd. (TVK), P.O. Box 20, H-3581 Tiszaujvaros (Hungary); Lakatos, B.G. [Department of Process Engineering, University of Pannonia, P.O. Box 158, H-8200 Veszprem (Hungary)

    2008-02-15

    Thermal decomposition process of recycled hydrocarbon gas-mixtures in industrial furnaces is analyzed by computer simulation. The detailed kinetic and mathematical model developed was validated by using the process control laboratory cracked gas analysis of an industrially operated furnace. The effects of feed compositions and operational conditions are examined to select the favorable operating parameters and to achieve the possibly highest online operation period of the furnace. The effect of deposited coke on the lifetime of radiant coils is examined by a heat-transfer model. The simulation study confirmed that temporal variations of the feedstock composition could be harmonized well with the operating parameters of furnaces with the purpose of achieving maximum effectiveness. (author)

  6. Short- and Long-Term Dynamics of Gas Hydrate at GC600: A Gulf of Mexico Hydrocarbon Seep

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacDonald, I. R.; Johansen, C.; Silva, M.; Daneshgar, S.; Garcia-Pineda, O. G.; Shedd, W. W.

    2014-12-01

    The GC600 hydrocarbon seep is located at 1200 m in the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM). Satellite data show it to be one of the most prolific sources of natural oil slicks in the entire GOM. We mapped its seafloor oil and gas vents with 3-D seismic, swath-bathymetry acoustics and submersible observations, documenting gas hydrate deposits, brine pools, benthic fauna, and authigenic carbonates. Geophysical profiles show subbottom locations of salt bodies and migration conduits. We deployed time-lapse imaging systems focused on individual vents to quantify release rates. Oil and gas flow upward along the flanks of an allochthonous salt body from source rocks at 10,000 m and migrate to the seafloor from faults emanating from the salt. Venting to the water column and surface consists of oily bubbles and occurs in two fields separated by ~1 km. The NW vent field (Megaplume) appears to be a more recent expression and hosts about three highly active vents; while the SE vent field (Birthday Candles) hosts more than 10 vents that are generally slower. We measured discharge rates of 2.6 cm3 s-1 and Megaplume and 0.09 cm3 s-1 at Birthday Candles. Although surface deposits of gas hydrate were evident at both vent fields, the Birthday Candles area featured dozens of conical mounds formed by gas hydrate that were dark brown due to large amounts of liquid oil perfused throughout the deposits. Large brine pools indicated gas hydrate formation at the seafloor. Venting occurred in horizontal fissures on the mounds, in which oil and hydrate combined to form short-lived chimneys and balloon-like structures. Ice worms (Hesiocaeca methanicola) were extremely abundant in burrows extending from the sediment into the gas hydrate. Proceeding farther to the SE, venting is reduced and absent, but surface carbonate deposits suggest relict gas hydrate mounds. We propose that the NW to SE trend at GC600 encompasses the progressive development of a biogeochemical filter that sequesters and

  7. Quartz Crystal Microbalance Coated with Sol-gel-derived Thin Films as Gas Sensor for NO Detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. J. O’Shea

    2003-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the possibilities and properties of Indium tin oxide (ITO-covered quartz crystal as a NOx toxic gas-sensor. The starting sol-gel solution was prepared by mixing indium chloride dissolved in acetylacetone and tin chloride dissolved in ethanol (0-20% by weight. The ITO thin films were deposited on the gold electrodes of quartz crystal by spin-coating technique and subsequently followed a standard photolithography to pattern the derived films to ensure all sensors with the same sensing areas. All heat treatment processes were controlled below 500°C in order to avoid the piezoelectric characteristics degradation of quartz crystal (Quartz will lose its piezoelectricity at ~573°C due to the phase change from α to β. The electrical and structural properties of ITO thin films were characterized with Hall analysis system, TG/DTA, XRD, XPS, SEM and etc. The gas sensor had featured with ITO thin films of ~100nm as the receptor to sense the toxic gas NO and quartz crystal with frequency of 10MHz as the transducer to transfer the surface reactions (mass loading, etc into the frequency shift. A homemade setup had been employed to measure the sensor response under the static mode. The experimental results had indicated that the ITO-coated QCM had a good sensitivity for NO gas, ~12Hz/100ppm within 5mins. These results prove that the ITO-covered quartz crystals are usable as a gas sensor and as an analytical device.

  8. Laser deposition of sulfonated phthalocyanines for gas sensors

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Fitl, Přemysl; Vrňata, M.; Kopecký, D.; Vlček, J.; Škodová, J.; Bulíř, Jiří; Novotný, Michal; Pokorný, Petr

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 302, MAY (2014), s. 37-41 ISSN 0169-4332. [European-Materials-Research-Society Symposium on Laser Material Interactions for Micro- and Nano- Applications /5./. Strasbourg, 27.05.2013-31.05.2013] R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP108/11/1298 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : Matrix Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation * substituted phthalocyanine s * gas sensors * impedance measurements Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 2.711, year: 2014

  9. Effect of Humid Aging on the Oxygen Adsorption in SnO₂ Gas Sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suematsu, Koichi; Ma, Nan; Watanabe, Ken; Yuasa, Masayoshi; Kida, Tetsuya; Shimanoe, Kengo

    2018-01-16

    To investigate the effect of aging at 580 °C in wet air (humid aging) on the oxygen adsorption on the surface of SnO₂ particles, the electric properties and the sensor response to hydrogen in dry and humid atmospheres for SnO₂ resistive-type gas sensors were evaluated. The electric resistance in dry and wet atmospheres at 350 °C was strongly increased by humid aging. From the results of oxygen partial pressure dependence of the electric resistance, the oxygen adsorption equilibrium constants ( K ₁; for O - adsorption, K ₂; for O 2- adsorption) were estimated on the basis of the theoretical model of oxygen adsorption. The K ₁ and K ₂ in dry and wet atmospheres at 350 °C were increased by humid aging at 580 °C, indicating an increase in the adsorption amount of both O - and O 2- . These results suggest that hydroxyl poisoning on the oxygen adsorption is suppressed by humid aging. The sensor response to hydrogen in dry and wet atmosphere at 350 °C was clearly improved by humid aging. Such an improvement of the sensor response seems to be caused by increasing the oxygen adsorption amount. Thus, the humid aging offers an effective way to improve the sensor response of SnO₂ resistive-type gas sensors in dry and wet atmospheres.

  10. Intelligent Design of Metal Oxide Gas Sensor Arrays Using Reciprocal Kernel Support Vector Regression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dougherty, Andrew W.

    Metal oxides are a staple of the sensor industry. The combination of their sensitivity to a number of gases, and the electrical nature of their sensing mechanism, make the particularly attractive in solid state devices. The high temperature stability of the ceramic material also make them ideal for detecting combustion byproducts where exhaust temperatures can be high. However, problems do exist with metal oxide sensors. They are not very selective as they all tend to be sensitive to a number of reduction and oxidation reactions on the oxide's surface. This makes sensors with large numbers of sensors interesting to study as a method for introducing orthogonality to the system. Also, the sensors tend to suffer from long term drift for a number of reasons. In this thesis I will develop a system for intelligently modeling metal oxide sensors and determining their suitability for use in large arrays designed to analyze exhaust gas streams. It will introduce prior knowledge of the metal oxide sensors' response mechanisms in order to produce a response function for each sensor from sparse training data. The system will use the same technique to model and remove any long term drift from the sensor response. It will also provide an efficient means for determining the orthogonality of the sensor to determine whether they are useful in gas sensing arrays. The system is based on least squares support vector regression using the reciprocal kernel. The reciprocal kernel is introduced along with a method of optimizing the free parameters of the reciprocal kernel support vector machine. The reciprocal kernel is shown to be simpler and to perform better than an earlier kernel, the modified reciprocal kernel. Least squares support vector regression is chosen as it uses all of the training points and an emphasis was placed throughout this research for extracting the maximum information from very sparse data. The reciprocal kernel is shown to be effective in modeling the sensor

  11. Worldwide overview of hydrocarbons and perspectives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tonnac, Alain de; Perves, Jean-Pierre

    2013-12-01

    This publication presents and comments data regarding the share of hydrocarbons in the world energy consumption, hydrocarbon trade flows, the new situation created by the emergence of shale hydrocarbons and the consequences for the world economy, and possible risks. The authors first comment the evolution of energy consumption and outline that the objectives of CO 2 and greenhouse gas emission will not be reached (these emissions increased in 2012 and in 2013). They indicate the emission situation in the USA and Japan, and notice that the objectives defined by the IEA are quite different from those defined by the EU. They analyse the evolutions by distinguishing different periods: 2005-2008 as a reference period, 2008-2012 as a period of change, and the current period as a period of flow inversion. Then, the authors propose two different scenarios of evolution of economic and energy policies. The evolution of hydrocarbon demand is commented, and the levels of reserves (oil, conventional gas, coal, nuclear fuels) are discussed. The market evolution is also discussed, not only from an economic point of view, but also in relationship with geopolitics. The authors notably outline that the energy price is different from one country to the other, discuss the issue of hydrocarbon refining, the role of CO 2 tax

  12. Dynamics of hydrocarbon vents: Focus on primary porosity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johansen, C.; Shedd, W.; Abichou, T.; Pineda-Garcia, O.; Silva, M.; MacDonald, I. R.

    2012-12-01

    This study investigated the dynamics of hydrocarbon release by monitoring activity of a single vent at a 1215m deep site in the Gulf of Mexico (GC600). An autonomous camera, deployed by the submersible ALVIN, was programmed to capture a close-up image every 4 seconds for approximately 3.5 hours. The images provided the ability to study the gas hydrate outcrop site (that measured 5.2x16.3cm3) in an undisturbed state. The outcrop included an array of 38 tube-like vents through which dark brown oil bubbles are released at a rate ranging from 8 bubbles per minute to 0 bubbles per minute. The average release of bubbles from all the separate vents was 59.5 bubbles per minute, equating the total volume released to 106.38cm per minute. The rate of bubble release decreased toward the end of the observation interval, which coincided approximately with the tidal minimum. Ice worms (Hesiocaeca methanicola, Desbruyères & Toulmond, 1998) were abundant at the vent site. The image sequence showed the ice-worms actively moving in and out of burrows in the mound. It has been speculated that Hesiocaeca methanicola contribute to gas hydrate decomposition by creating burrows and depressions in the gas hydrate matrix (Fisher et al, 2000). Ice worm burrows could generate pathways for the passage of oil and gas through the gas hydrate mound. Gas hydrates commonly occur along active and/or passive continental margins (Kennicutt et al, 1988a). The release of oil and gas at this particular hydrocarbon seep site is along a passive continental margin, and controlled primarily by active salt tectonics as opposed to the movement of continental tectonic plates (Salvador, 1987). We propose a descriptive model governing the release of gas and oil from deep sub-bottom reservoirs at depths of 3000-5000m (MacDonald, 1998), through consolidated and unconsolidated sediments, and finally through gas hydrate deposits at the sea floor. The oil and gas escape from the source rock and/or reservoir through

  13. Low Power Operation of Temperature-Modulated Metal Oxide Semiconductor Gas Sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burgués, Javier; Marco, Santiago

    2018-01-25

    Mobile applications based on gas sensing present new opportunities for low-cost air quality monitoring, safety, and healthcare. Metal oxide semiconductor (MOX) gas sensors represent the most prominent technology for integration into portable devices, such as smartphones and wearables. Traditionally, MOX sensors have been continuously powered to increase the stability of the sensing layer. However, continuous power is not feasible in many battery-operated applications due to power consumption limitations or the intended intermittent device operation. This work benchmarks two low-power, duty-cycling, and on-demand modes against the continuous power one. The duty-cycling mode periodically turns the sensors on and off and represents a trade-off between power consumption and stability. On-demand operation achieves the lowest power consumption by powering the sensors only while taking a measurement. Twelve thermally modulated SB-500-12 (FIS Inc. Jacksonville, FL, USA) sensors were exposed to low concentrations of carbon monoxide (0-9 ppm) with environmental conditions, such as ambient humidity (15-75% relative humidity) and temperature (21-27 °C), varying within the indicated ranges. Partial Least Squares (PLS) models were built using calibration data, and the prediction error in external validation samples was evaluated during the two weeks following calibration. We found that on-demand operation produced a deformation of the sensor conductance patterns, which led to an increase in the prediction error by almost a factor of 5 as compared to continuous operation (2.2 versus 0.45 ppm). Applying a 10% duty-cycling operation of 10-min periods reduced this prediction error to a factor of 2 (0.9 versus 0.45 ppm). The proposed duty-cycling powering scheme saved up to 90% energy as compared to the continuous operating mode. This low-power mode may be advantageous for applications that do not require continuous and periodic measurements, and which can tolerate slightly higher

  14. Au@NiO core-shell nanoparticles as a p-type gas sensor: Novel synthesis, characterization, and their gas sensing properties with sensing mechanism

    KAUST Repository

    Majhi, Sanjit Manohar

    2018-04-25

    In this work, Au@NiO core-shell nanoparticles (C-S NPs) as a p-type gas sensing material was synthesized by a facile wet-chemical method, and evaluated their gas sensing properties as compared to the pristine NiO NPs gas sensors. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) results exhibited the well-dispersed formation of Au@NiO C-S NPs having the total size of 70–120 nm and NiO shells having 30–50 nm thickness. The C-S morphology as well as the overall particle sizes are unchanged even at 500 °C. The gas sensing result reveals that the response of Au@NiO C-S NPs gas sensor is higher than pristine NiO NPs gas sensor for 100 ppm of ethanol at 200 °C operating temperature. The baseline resistance in the air for Au@NiO C-S NPs sensor is lowered as compared to pristine NiO NPs, which is due to the increased number of holes as charge carriers in Au@NiO C-S NPs. The high response of Au@NiO core-shell NPs as compared to pristine NiO NPs is attributed to electronic and chemical sensitization effects of Au. In Au@NiO C-S structure, the contact between metal (Au) and semiconductor (NiO) formed a Schottky junction since Au metal acted as electron acceptor, a withdrawal of electrons from NiO by Au metal core leaved behind number of holes as charge carriers in Au@NiO C-S NPs. Therefore, the baseline resistance of Au@NiO C-S NPs greatly decreased than pristine NiO NPs, as a result the Au@NiO C-S NPs showed higher response. On the other hand, in chemical sensitization effect, Au NPs catalyzed to dissociate O2 molecules into ionic species. This work will give some clue to the researchers for the further development of p-type based C-S NPs sensors.

  15. A Preliminary Test for Skin Gas Assessment Using a Porphyrin Based Evanescent Wave Optical Fiber Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roman SELYANCHYN

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available An evanescent-wave optical fibre sensor modified with tetrakis-(4-sulfophenyl porphine (TSPP and poly(allylamine hydrochloride (PAH bilayers using layer-by-layer (LbL electrostatic self-assembly was tested to measure the gas emitted from human skin. Optical intensity changes at different wavelengths in the transmission spectrum of the porphyrin-based film were induced by the human skin gas and measured as sensor response. Influence of relative humidity, which can be a major interference to sensor response, was thoroughly studied and shown to be significantly different when compared to the influence of skin emanations. Responses of the current optical sensor system could be considered as composite sensor array, where different optical wavelengths act as channels that have selective response to specific volatile compounds. Data obtained from the sensor system was analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA. This approach enabled to distinguish skin odors of different people and their altered physiological conditions after alcohol consumption.

  16. Analytical Modeling Tool for Design of Hydrocarbon Sensitive Optical Fibers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khalil Al Handawi

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Pipelines are the main transportation means for oil and gas products across large distances. Due to the severe conditions they operate in, they are regularly inspected using conventional Pipeline Inspection Gages (PIGs for corrosion damage. The motivation for researching a real-time distributed monitoring solution arose to mitigate costs and provide a proactive indication of potential failures. Fiber optic sensors with polymer claddings provide a means of detecting contact with hydrocarbons. By coating the fibers with a layer of metal similar in composition to that of the parent pipeline, corrosion of this coating may be detected when the polymer cladding underneath is exposed to the surrounding hydrocarbons contained within the pipeline. A Refractive Index (RI change occurs in the polymer cladding causing a loss in intensity of a traveling light pulse due to a reduction in the fiber’s modal capacity. Intensity losses may be detected using Optical Time Domain Reflectometry (OTDR while pinpointing the spatial location of the contact via time delay calculations of the back-scattered pulses. This work presents a theoretical model for the above sensing solution to provide a design tool for the fiber optic cable in the context of hydrocarbon sensing following corrosion of an external metal coating. Results are verified against the experimental data published in the literature.

  17. Amperometric NOx-sensor for Combustion Exhaust Gas Control. Studies on transport properties and catalytic activity of oxygen permeable ceramic membranes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Romer, E.W.J.

    2001-01-01

    The aim of the research described in this thesis is the development of a mixed conducting oxide layer, which can be used as an oxygen permselective membrane in an amperometric NOx sensor. The sensor will be used in exhaust gas systems. The exhaust gas-producing engine will run in the lean mix mode. The preparation of this sensor is carried out using screen-printing technology, in which the different layers of the sensor are applied successively. Hereafter, a co-firing step is applied in which all layers are sintered together. This co-firing step imposes several demands on the selection of materials. The design specifications of the sensor further include requirements concerning the operating temperature, measurement range and overall stability. The operating temperature of the sensor varies between 700 and 850C, enabling measurement of NOx concentrations between 50 and 1200 ppm with a measurement accuracy of 10 ppm. Concerning the stability of the sensor, it must withstand the exhaust gas atmosphere containing, amongst others, smoke, acids, abrasive particles and sulphur. Because of the chosen lean-mix engine concept, in which the fuel/air mixture switches continuously between lean (excess oxygen) and fat (excess fuel) mixtures, the sensor must withstand alternately oxidising and reducing atmospheres. Besides, it should be resistant to thermal shock and show no cross-sensitivity of NOx with other exhaust gas constituents like oxygen and hydrocarbons. The response time should be short, typically less than 500 ms. Because of the application in combustion engines of cars, the operational lifetime should be longer than 10 years. Demands on the mixed conducting oxide layer include the following ones. The layer should show minimal catalytic activity towards NOx-reduction. The oxygen permeability must be larger than 6.22 10 -8 mol/cm 2 s at a layer thickness between 3-50 μm. Since the mixed conducting oxide layer is coated on the YSZ electrolyte embodiment, the two

  18. ALAT PENDETEKSI KEBOCORAN GAS BERACUN CO PADA MOBIL DENGAN ARRAY SENSOR MENGGUNAKAN FUZZY CONTROLLER

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Slamet Widodo

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Perkembangan teknologi otomotif sekarang ini semakin pesat yaitu dengan fasilitas accessories mobil yang semakin lengkap. Namun berbagai fasilitas yang terdapat dalam mobil tanpa disadari menyimpan ancaman bahaya bagi pengguna mobil salah satunya ketika system pada AC (Air Conditioner terjadi kebocoran maka gas CO (karbon monoksida akan memenuhi ruang mobil yang tertutup. Gas CO ini sangat berbahaya karena gas ini tidak berwarna, tidak berbau, dan tidak berasa sehingga sulit untuk dideteksi yang dapat menyebabkan orang yang ada didalam mobil menjadi mati lemas tanpa disadari karena menghirup gas CO yang bocor. Dengan fenomena tersebut dibutuhkan sebuah alat yang dapat mendeteksi dan mengontrol kebocoran gas CO untuk memberikan rasa aman kepada pengguna mobil. Alat ini menggunakan kendali logika fuzzy sebagai proses pengambilan keputusan sebagai hasil nilai dari inferensi kerja array sensor. Pengendali utama pada sistem menggunakan mikrokontroller ATmega32. Ketika array sensor yaitu TGS2442 dan TGS2600 mendeteksi kadar gas CO >29,0 ppm berarti dalam status bahaya sehingga buzzer akan aktif diikuti motor DC yang menggerakkan kaca mobil agar terbuka. Berdasarkan lima kali pengujian yang dilakukan didapatkanlah rata-rata selisih error output gas sebesar 0.29 ppm disaat kondisi aman dan 3.87 ppm disaat kondisi bahaya.

  19. Gas-leak localization using distributed ultrasonic sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huseynov, Javid; Baliga, Shankar; Dillencourt, Michael; Bic, Lubomir; Bagherzadeh, Nader

    2009-03-01

    We propose an ultrasonic gas leak localization system based on a distributed network of sensors. The system deploys highly sensitive miniature Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) microphones and uses a suite of energy-decay (ED) and time-delay of arrival (TDOA) algorithms for localizing a source of a gas leak. Statistical tools such as the maximum likelihood (ML) and the least squares (LS) estimators are used for approximating the source location when closed-form solutions fail in the presence of ambient background nuisance and inherent electronic noise. The proposed localization algorithms were implemented and tested using a Java-based simulation platform connected to four or more distributed MEMS microphones observing a broadband nitrogen leak from an orifice. The performance of centralized and decentralized algorithms under ED and TDOA schemes is analyzed and compared in terms of communication overhead and accuracy in presence of additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN).

  20. Gas Sensors Based on Locally Heated Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes Decorated with Metal Nanoparticles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Savu

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available We report the design and fabrication of microreactors and sensors based on metal nanoparticle-decorated carbon nanotubes. Titanium adhesion layers and gold films were sputtered onto Si/SiO2 substrates for obtaining the electrical contacts. The gold layers were electrochemically thickened until 1 μm and the electrodes were patterned using photolithography and wet chemical etching. Before the dielectrophoretic deposition of the nanotubes, a gap 1 μm wide and 5 μm deep was milled in the middle of the metallic line by focused ion beam, allowing the fabrication of sensors based on suspended nanotubes bridging the electrodes. Subsequently, the sputtering technique was used for decorating the nanotubes with metallic nanoparticles. In order to test the as-obtained sensors, microreactors (100 μL volume were machined from a single Kovar piece, being equipped with electrical connections and 1/4′′ Swagelok-compatible gas inlet and outlets for controlling the atmosphere in the testing chamber. The sensors, electrically connected to the contact pins by wire-bonding, were tested in the 10−5 to 10−2 W working power interval using oxygen as target gas. The small chamber volume allowed the measurement of fast characteristic times (response/recovery, with the sensors showing good sensitivity.

  1. Amperometric Gas Sensors as a Low Cost Emerging Technology Platform for Air Quality Monitoring Applications: A Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baron, Ronan; Saffell, John

    2017-11-22

    This review examines the use of amperometric electrochemical gas sensors for monitoring inorganic gases that affect urban air quality. First, we consider amperometric gas sensor technology including its development toward specifically designed air quality sensors. We then review recent academic and research organizations' studies where this technology has been trialed for air quality monitoring applications: early studies showed the potential of electrochemical gas sensors when colocated with reference Air Quality Monitoring (AQM) stations. Spatially dense networks with fast temporal resolution provide information not available from sparse AQMs with longer recording intervals. We review how this technology is being offered as commercial urban air quality networks and consider the remaining challenges. Sensors must be sensitive, selective, and stable; air quality monitors/nodes must be electronically and mechanically well designed. Data correction is required and models with differing levels of sophistication are being designed. Data analysis and validation is possibly the biggest remaining hurdle needed to deliver reliable concentration readings. Finally, this review also considers the roles of companies, urban infrastructure requirements, and public research in the development of this technology.

  2. A patterned ZnO nanorod array/gas sensor fabricated by mechanoelectrospinning-assisted selective growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiaomei; Sun, Fazhe; Huang, Yongan; Duan, Yongqing; Yin, Zhouping

    2015-02-21

    Micropatterned ZnO nanorod arrays were fabricated by the mechanoelectrospinning-assisted direct-writing process and the hydrothermal growth process, and utilized as gas sensors that exhibited excellent Ohmic behavior and sensitivity response to oxidizing gas NO2 at low concentrations (1-100 ppm).

  3. Gas Identification Using Passive UHF RFID Sensor Platform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Ali AKBAR

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The concept of passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID sensor tag is introduced to remove the dependency of current RFID platforms on battery life. In this paper, a gas identification system is presented using passive RFID sensor tag along with the processing unit. The RFID system is compliant to Electronics Product Code Generation 2 (EPC-Gen2 protocol in 902-928 MHz ISM band. Whereas the processing unit is implemented and analyzed in software and hardware platforms. The software platform uses MATLAB, whereas a High Level Synthesis (HLS tool is used to implement the processing unit on a Zynq platform. Moreover, two sets of different gases are used along with Principal Component Analysis (PCA and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA based feature reduction approaches to analyze in detail the best feature reduction approach for efficient classification of gas data. It is found that for the first set of gases, 90 % gases are identified using first three principal components, which is 7 % more efficient than LDA. However in terms of hardware overhead, LDA requires 50 % less hardware resources than PCA. The classification results for the second set of gases reveal that 91 % of gas classification is obtained using LDA and first four PCA, while LDA requires 52 % less hardware resources than PCA. The RFID tag used for transmission is implemented in 0.13 µm CMOS process, with simulated average power consumption of 2.6 µW from 1.2 V supply. ThingMagic M6e embedded reader is used for RFID platform implementation. It shows an output power of 31.5 dBm which allows a read range up to 9 meters.

  4. Tolerance of Antarctic soil fungi to hydrocarbons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hughes, Kevin A.; Bridge, Paul; Clark, Melody S. [British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET (United Kingdom)

    2007-01-01

    Little is known about the effects of hydrocarbons and fuel oil on Antarctic filamentous fungi in the terrestrial Antarctic environment. Growth of fungi and bacteria from soils around Rothera Research Station (Adelaide Island, Antarctic Peninsula) was assessed in the presence of ten separate aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons [marine gas oil (MGO), dodecane, hexadecane, benzoic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, toluene, phenol, biphenyl, naphthalene and m- and p-xylenes with ethylbenzene]. Aromatic hydrocarbons inhibited soil microbial growth more than aliphatic hydrocarbons. Soil microorganisms from a moss patch, where little previous impact or hydrocarbon contamination had occurred, were less tolerant of hydrocarbons than those from high impact sites. Fungal growth rates of Mollisia sp., Penicillium commune, Mortierella sp., Trichoderma koningii, Trichoderma sp. and Phoma herbarum were assessed in the presence of hydrocarbons. Generally, aromatic hydrocarbons inhibited or stopped hyphal extension, though growth rates increased with some aliphatic hydrocarbons. Hyphal dry weight measurements suggested that Mortierella sp. may be able to use dodecane as sole carbon and energy source. Hydrocarbon-degrading Antarctic fungi may have use in future hydrocarbon spill bioremediation. (author)

  5. Characterization and Modeling of Electrical Response of Electrode Catalyzed Reactions in AIGaN/GaN-Based Gas Sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melby, Jacob H.

    AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMT) and AlGaN/GaN diodes have promise for use as hydrogen and hydrocarbon sensors for a variety of industrial, military, and commercial applications. These semiconductor-based sensors have a number of advantages over other sensor technologies, such as the ability to operate at high temperatures, in corrosive environments, or under ionizing radiation. The high sensitivity of these devices to hydrogen-containing gases is associated with polarization differences within the AlGaN/GaN heterostructure that give rise to the formation of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG); exposure of the device to hydrogen changes the density of the 2DEG, which can be detected in a HEMT or diode structure. Although sensitivity to a range of gases has been reported, the factors that influence the behavior of the sensors are not well studied. The overarching goals of the research that follows were to determine how gas exposure conditions affect sensor behavior, to characterize and model the relationship between the electrical response of the sensors and the external gaseous environment, and to investigate the effects of using different metal catalysts on sensor behavior. The heterostructures used in this work were grown via metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE). Schottky diode and transistor devices employing platinum-group (Pd, Pt, Rh, Ir, Ru, and Os) catalysts were fabricated to allow electrical sensitivity in the presence of hydrogen and hydrogen containing gases. The generation of atomic hydrogen on the catalyst surface results in the rapid formation of hydrogen dipoles at the metal-semiconductor interface, which produces a measurable electronic response. The electrical response of Pt-gated HEMT-based sensors were measured in a flowing gaseous stream consisting of hydrogen in a pure nitrogen diluent at ambient and elevated temperatures. The transistors exhibited excellent transfer characteristics for temperatures ranging from 25

  6. Application of ZnO Nanoparticle as Sulphide Gas Sensor Using UV/VIS/NIR-Spectrophotometer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Juliasih, N; Buchari; Noviandri, I

    2017-01-01

    The nanoparticle of metal oxides has great unique characteristics that applicable to the wide industrial as sensors and catalysts for reducing environmental pollution. Sulphide gas monitors and detectors are required for assessing safety aspects, due to its toxicity level. A thin film of ZnO as the sulphide gas sensor was synthesised by the simple method of chemical liquid deposition with variation of annealing temperature from 200 ºC to 500 ºC, and characterised by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and UV/VIS/NIR-Spectrophotometer. Characterization studies showed nanoparticle size from the range 62 – 92 nm of diameters. The application this ZnO thin film to sulfide gas, detected by UV/VIS/NIR Spectrophotometer with diffuse reflectance, showed specific chemical reaction by the shifting of maximum % Reflectance peak. The gas sensing using this method is applicable at room. (paper)

  7. Nanocrystalline Pd:NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} thin films: A selective ethanol gas sensor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rao, Pratibha; Godbole, R.V.; Bhagwat, Sunita, E-mail: smb.agc@gmail.com

    2016-10-15

    In this work, Pd:NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} thin films were investigated for the detection of reducing gases. These films were fabricated using spray pyrolysis technique and characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) to confirm the crystal structure. The surface morphology was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Magnetization measurements were carried out using SQUID VSM, which shows ferrimagnetic behavior of the samples. These thin film sensors were tested against methanol, ethanol, hydrogen sulfide and liquid petroleum gas, where they were found to be more selective to ethanol. The fabricated thin film sensors exhibited linear response signal for all the gases with concentrations up to 5 w/o Pd. Reduction in optimum operating temperature and enhancement in response was also observed. Pd:NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} thin films exhibited faster response and recovery characteristic. These sensors have potential for industrial applications because of their long-term stability, low power requirement and low production cost. - Highlights: • Ethanol gas sensors based on Pd:NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanoparticle thin film were fabricated. • Pd incorporation in NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} matrix inhibits grain growth. • The sensors were more selective to ethanol gas. • Sensors exhibited fast response and recovery when doped with palladium. • Pd:NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} thin film sensor displays excellent long–term stability.

  8. Studies on Gas Sensing Performance of Cr-doped Indium Oxide Thick Film Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. N. Chavan

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available A series of In1-xCrxO3 composites, with x ranging from 0.01 to 0.5wt% were prepared by mechanochemically starting from InCl3 and CrO3. Structural and micro structural characteristics of the sample were investigated by XRD, SEM with EDAX. Thick films of pure Indium Oxide and composites were prepared by standard screen printing technique. The gas sensitivity of these thick films was tested for various gases. The pure Indium Oxide thick film (x=0 shows maximum sensitivity to ethanol vapour (80 ppm at 350 oC, but composite-A (x=0.01 thick film shows maximum sensitivity to H2S gas (40 ppm at 250 oC, composite-B (x=0.1 thick film shows higher sensitivity to NH3 gas (80 ppm at 250 oC and composite-C (x=0.5 thick film shows maximum sensitivity to Cl2 gas (80 ppm at 350 oC. A systematic study of gas sensing performance of the sensors indicates the key role played by concentration variation of Cr doped species. The sensitivity, selectivity and recovery time of the sensor were measured and presented.

  9. Nanoparticle Thin Films for Gas Sensors Prepared by Matrix Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roberto Rella

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available The matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE technique has been used for the deposition of metal dioxide (TiO2, SnO2 nanoparticle thin films for gas sensor applications. For this purpose, colloidal metal dioxide nanoparticles were diluted in volatile solvents, the solution was frozen at the liquid nitrogen temperature and irradiated with a pulsed excimer laser. The dioxide nanoparticles were deposited on Si and Al2O3 substrates. A rather uniform distribution of TiO2 nanoparticles with an average size of about 10 nm and of SnO2 nanoparticles with an average size of about 3 nm was obtained, as demonstrated by high resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM-FEG inspections. Gas-sensing devices based on the resistive transduction mechanism were fabricated by depositing the nanoparticle thin films onto suitable rough alumina substrates equipped with interdigitated electrical contacts and heating elements. Electrical characterization measurements were carried out in controlled environment. The results of the gas-sensing tests towards low concentrations of ethanol and acetone vapors are reported. Typical gas sensor parameters (gas responses, response/recovery time, sensitivity, and low detection limit towards ethanol and acetone are presented.

  10. Nanoparticle thin films for gas sensors prepared by matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caricato, Anna Paola; Luches, Armando; Rella, Roberto

    2009-01-01

    The matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) technique has been used for the deposition of metal dioxide (TiO(2), SnO(2)) nanoparticle thin films for gas sensor applications. For this purpose, colloidal metal dioxide nanoparticles were diluted in volatile solvents, the solution was frozen at the liquid nitrogen temperature and irradiated with a pulsed excimer laser. The dioxide nanoparticles were deposited on Si and Al(2)O(3) substrates. A rather uniform distribution of TiO(2) nanoparticles with an average size of about 10 nm and of SnO(2) nanoparticles with an average size of about 3 nm was obtained, as demonstrated by high resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM-FEG) inspections. Gas-sensing devices based on the resistive transduction mechanism were fabricated by depositing the nanoparticle thin films onto suitable rough alumina substrates equipped with interdigitated electrical contacts and heating elements. Electrical characterization measurements were carried out in controlled environment. The results of the gas-sensing tests towards low concentrations of ethanol and acetone vapors are reported. Typical gas sensor parameters (gas responses, response/recovery time, sensitivity, and low detection limit) towards ethanol and acetone are presented.

  11. Bureau of hydrocarbons exploration-production (BEPH) - Monthly information bulletin. February 2006

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2006-02-01

    This newsletter takes stock of the recent highlights in the domain of hydrocarbons exploration and production in the French territory: mining domain (demands and allocations of research permits), drilling activity (new drillings, advance of existing exploratory and extension-development drillings); production activity (interventions on wells, crude oil, crude gas, commercialized gas, natural gas-derived hydrocarbons, related products, production shares by company in the Paris and Aquitain basins). (J.S.)

  12. Development of multivariate and multi-sensors systems for the measurement of atmospheric pollutants; Developpement de systemes multicapteurs et multivariables pour la mesure en continu de polluants atmospheriques

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kamionka, M.

    2005-04-15

    The purpose of this work was to measure the concentrations of atmospheric pollutants using sensors based on a metal semiconductor, tin dioxide. These sensors were tested with two reducing gases which are carbon monoxide (0-20 ppm), a mixture of hydrocarbons (0-10 ppm) and two oxidizing gases which is ozone (0-500 ppb) and nitrogen dioxide (0-500 ppb). One of the major disadvantages of this type of sensor is their lack of selectivity. Thus the association of several different sensors in multi-sensors system can be a solution. We have developed an automated test bench able to generate the suitable gas concentrations with a controlled humidity. It is then possible to carry out the acquisition of four devices (mono or multi-sensors) with cycles of temperature. We followed the evolution with their age of the performances of various sensors worked out by serigraphy. At the end of these experiments, we showed the interest of the use of some of these sensors for the evaluation of two major components of pollution: ozone and hydrocarbons. We could not prove that the capacitive effects and the effects of electrode were useful parameters for our application. Nevertheless, the measurement with increasing temperature give additional information. Thus, two multi-sensors systems were carried out. One associates three independent sensors and the other consists of three layers deposited on the same heating substrate. These three layers are initially identical (tin dioxide) but two are covered with a thin film, platinum for one and silica for the other. Moreover, one system made up of three commercial sensors used with a constant temperature was also tested. For each studied system, we built behavior models using a Neural Network algorithm. Whereas the models carried out using synthetic gas mixtures appeared unusable for measurements in real pollution, it was shown that a model calibrated directly with air bled in urban environment appears effective for the measurement of

  13. Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in palm oil mill effluent by soxhlet extraction and gas chromatography-flame ionization detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nor Fairolzukry Ahmad Rasdy; Mohd Marsin Sanagi; Wan Aini Wan Ibrahim; Ahmedy Abu Naim

    2008-01-01

    A method has been developed for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from palm oil mill effluent based on gas chromatography-flame ionization detection. Extraction of spiked PAHs (napthalene, fluorene phenanthrene, fluoranthene and pyrene) in palm oil waste was carried out by Soxhlet extraction using hexane-dichloromethane (60:40 v/v) as the solvent. Excellent separations were achieved using temperature programmed GC on Ultra-1 fused-silica capillary column (30 m x 250 μm ID), carrier gas helium at a flow rate of 1 mL/ min. (author)

  14. Crystalline mesoporous tungsten oxide nanoplate monoliths synthesized by directed soft template method for highly sensitive NO2 gas sensor applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoa, Nguyen Duc; Duy, Nguyen Van; Hieu, Nguyen Van

    2013-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Display Omitted Highlights: ► Mesoporous WO 3 nanoplate monoliths were obtained by direct templating synthesis. ► Enable effective accession of the analytic molecules for the sensor applications. ► The WO 3 sensor exhibited a high performance to NO 2 gas at low temperature. -- Abstract: Controllable synthesis of nanostructured metal oxide semiconductors with nanocrystalline size, porous structure, and large specific surface area is one of the key issues for effective gas sensor applications. In this study, crystalline mesoporous tungsten oxide nanoplate-like monoliths with high specific surface areas were obtained through instant direct-templating synthesis for highly sensitive nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) sensor applications. The copolymer soft template was converted into a solid carbon framework by heat treatment in an inert gas prior to calcinations in air to sustain the mesoporous structure of tungsten oxide. The multidirectional mesoporous structures of tungsten oxide with small crystalline size, large specific surface area, and superior physical characteristics enabled the rapid and effective accession of analytic gas molecules. As a result, the sensor response was enhanced and the response and recovery times were reduced, in which the mesoporous tungsten oxide based gas sensor exhibited a superior response of 21,155% to 5 ppm NO 2 . In addition, the developed sensor exhibited selective detection of low NO 2 concentration in ammonia and ethanol at a low temperature of approximately 150 °C.

  15. Design and Experimentation with Sandwich Microstructure for Catalytic Combustion-Type Gas Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jun-Tao Gu

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The traditional handmade catalytic combustion gas sensor has some problems such as a pairing difficulty, poor consistency, high power consumption, and not being interchangeable. To address these issues, integrated double catalytic combustion of alcohol gas sensor was designed and manufactured using silicon micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS technology. The temperature field of the sensor is analyzed using the ANSYS finite element analysis method. In this work, the silicon oxide-PECVD-oxidation technique is used to manufacture a SiO2-Si3N2-SiO2 microstructure carrier with a sandwich structure, while wet etching silicon is used to form a beam structure to reduce the heat consumption. Thin-film technology is adopted to manufacture the platinum-film sensitive resistance. Nano Al2O3-ZrO-ThO is coated to format the sensor carrier, and the sensitive unit is dipped in a Pt-Pd catalyst solution to form the catalytic sensitive bridge arm. Meanwhile the uncoated catalyst carrier is considered as the reference unit, realizing an integrated chip based on a micro double bridge and forming sensors. The lines of the Pt thin-film resistance have been observed with an electronic microscope. The compensation of the sensitive material carriers and compensation materials have been analyzed using an energy spectrum. The results show that the alcohol sensor can detect a volume fraction between 0 and 4,500 × 10−6 and has good linear output characteristic. The temperature ranges from −20 to +40 °C. The humidity ranges from 30% to 85% RH. The zero output of the sensor is less than ±2.0% FS. The power consumption is ≤0.2 W, and both the response and recovery time are approximately 20 s.

  16. Dynamic Control of Adsorption Sensitivity for Photo-EMF-Based Ammonia Gas Sensors Using a Wireless Network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuriy Vashpanov

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes an adsorption sensitivity control method that uses a wireless network and illumination light intensity in a photo-electromagnetic field (EMF-based gas sensor for measurements in real time of a wide range of ammonia concentrations. The minimum measurement error for a range of ammonia concentration from 3 to 800 ppm occurs when the gas concentration magnitude corresponds with the optimal intensity of the illumination light. A simulation with LabView-engineered modules for automatic control of a new intelligent computer system was conducted to improve measurement precision over a wide range of gas concentrations. This gas sensor computer system with wireless network technology could be useful in the chemical industry for automatic detection and measurement of hazardous ammonia gas levels in real time.

  17. Optimal sensor locations for the backward Lagrangian stochastic technique in measuring lagoon gas emission

    Science.gov (United States)

    This study evaluated the impact of gas concentration and wind sensor locations on the accuracy of the backward Lagrangian stochastic inverse-dispersion technique (bLS) for measuring gas emission rates from a typical lagoon environment. Path-integrated concentrations (PICs) and 3-dimensional (3D) wi...

  18. An analytical approach to evaluate the performance of graphene and carbon nanotubes for NH3 gas sensor applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elnaz Akbari

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Carbon, in its variety of allotropes, especially graphene and carbon nanotubes (CNTs, holds great potential for applications in variety of sensors because of dangling π-bonds that can react with chemical elements. In spite of their excellent features, carbon nanotubes (CNTs and graphene have not been fully exploited in the development of the nanoelectronic industry mainly because of poor understanding of the band structure of these allotropes. A mathematical model is proposed with a clear purpose to acquire an analytical understanding of the field-effect-transistor (FET based gas detection mechanism. The conductance change in the CNT/graphene channel resulting from the chemical reaction between the gas and channel surface molecules is emphasized. NH3 has been used as the prototype gas to be detected by the nanosensor and the corresponding current–voltage (I–V characteristics of the FET-based sensor are studied. A graphene-based gas sensor model is also developed. The results from graphene and CNT models are compared with the experimental data. A satisfactory agreement, within the uncertainties of the experiments, is obtained. Graphene-based gas sensor exhibits higher conductivity compared to that of CNT-based counterpart for similar ambient conditions.

  19. An analytical approach to evaluate the performance of graphene and carbon nanotubes for NH3 gas sensor applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akbari, Elnaz; Arora, Vijay Kumar; Enzevaee, Aria; Ahmadi, Mohamad T; Saeidmanesh, Mehdi; Khaledian, Mohsen; Karimi, Hediyeh; Yusof, Rubiyah

    2014-01-01

    Carbon, in its variety of allotropes, especially graphene and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), holds great potential for applications in variety of sensors because of dangling π-bonds that can react with chemical elements. In spite of their excellent features, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene have not been fully exploited in the development of the nanoelectronic industry mainly because of poor understanding of the band structure of these allotropes. A mathematical model is proposed with a clear purpose to acquire an analytical understanding of the field-effect-transistor (FET) based gas detection mechanism. The conductance change in the CNT/graphene channel resulting from the chemical reaction between the gas and channel surface molecules is emphasized. NH3 has been used as the prototype gas to be detected by the nanosensor and the corresponding current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the FET-based sensor are studied. A graphene-based gas sensor model is also developed. The results from graphene and CNT models are compared with the experimental data. A satisfactory agreement, within the uncertainties of the experiments, is obtained. Graphene-based gas sensor exhibits higher conductivity compared to that of CNT-based counterpart for similar ambient conditions.

  20. Direct Measurement of Trace Elemental Mercury in Hydrocarbon Matrices by Gas Chromatography with Ultraviolet Photometric Detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gras, Ronda; Luong, Jim; Shellie, Robert A

    2015-11-17

    We introduce a technique for the direct measurement of elemental mercury in light hydrocarbons such as natural gas. We determined elemental mercury at the parts-per-trillion level with high precision [photometric detection (GC-UV) at 254 nm. Our approach requires a small sample volume (1 mL) and does not rely on any form of sample preconcentration. The GC-UV separation employs an inert divinylbenzene porous layer open tubular column set to separate mercury from other components in the sample matrix. We incorporated a 10-port gas-sampling valve in the GC-UV system, which enables automated sampling, as well as back flushing capability to enhance system cleanliness and sample throughput. Total analysis time is 98% over this range.

  1. Design of Highly Selective Gas Sensors via Physicochemical Modification of Oxide Nanowires: Overview

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hyung-Sik Woo

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Strategies for the enhancement of gas sensing properties, and specifically the improvement of gas selectivity of metal oxide semiconductor nanowire (NW networks grown by chemical vapor deposition and thermal evaporation, are reviewed. Highly crystalline NWs grown by vapor-phase routes have various advantages, and thus have been applied in the field of gas sensors over the years. In particular, n-type NWs such as SnO2, ZnO, and In2O3 are widely studied because of their simple synthetic preparation and high gas response. However, due to their usually high responses to C2H5OH and NO2, the selective detection of other harmful and toxic gases using oxide NWs remains a challenging issue. Various strategies—such as doping/loading of noble metals, decorating/doping of catalytic metal oxides, and the formation of core–shell structures—have been explored to enhance gas selectivity and sensitivity, and are discussed herein. Additional methods such as the transformation of n-type into p-type NWs and the formation of catalyst-doped hierarchical structures by branch growth have also proven to be promising for the enhancement of gas selectivity. Accordingly, the physicochemical modification of oxide NWs via various methods provides new strategies to achieve the selective detection of a specific gas, and after further investigations, this approach could pave a new way in the field of NW-based semiconductor-type gas sensors.

  2. Origin of natural gas; Tennen gas no kigen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Katayama, Y. [The Institute of Applied Energy, Tokyo (Japan)

    1996-03-20

    Natural gas, which is a general term of flammable hydrocarbon gases such as methane, is classified by origin into the following categories : (1) oil field gas (oil gas), (2) aquifers (bacteria-fermented methane), (3) coal gas (coal field gas), and (4) abiogenetic gas. The natural gas which has (1-4) origins and is now used as resource in a large quantity is (1) oil field gas. This gas is a hydrocarbon gas recovered in the production process of petroleum and contains components such as ethane, propane and butane. To the contrary, (2) aquifers and (3) coal gas have methane as main component. As (4) abiogenetic methane, there are gas formed in inorganic reaction in activities of submarine volcanos and deep gas (earth origin gas). Oil field gas has kerogen origin. Aquifers were formed by fermentation of organic matters. Coal gas was formed by coalification of vitrinite. As abiogenetic methane, there are inorganic reaction formation gas and deep gas, the latter of which exists little as resource. 7 refs., 11 figs., 1 tab.

  3. Quantification of petroleum-type hydrocarbons in avian tissue

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gay, M.L.; Belisle, A.A.; Patton, J.F.

    1980-01-04

    Methods were developed for the analysis of 16 hydrocarbons in avian tissue. Mechanical extraction with pentane was followed by clean-up on Florisil and Silicar. Residues were determined by gas-liquid chromatography and gas-liquid, chromatography-mass spectrometry. The method was applied to the analysis of liver, kidney, fat, and brain tissue of mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) fed a mixture of hydrocarbons. Measurable concentrations of all compounds analyzed were present in all tissues except brain. Highest concentrations were in fat.

  4. Global Coverage Measurement Planning Strategies for Mobile Robots Equipped with a Remote Gas Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Asif Arain

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The problem of gas detection is relevant to many real-world applications, such as leak detection in industrial settings and landfill monitoring. In this paper, we address the problem of gas detection in large areas with a mobile robotic platform equipped with a remote gas sensor. We propose an algorithm that leverages a novel method based on convex relaxation for quickly solving sensor placement problems, and for generating an efficient exploration plan for the robot. To demonstrate the applicability of our method to real-world environments, we performed a large number of experimental trials, both on randomly generated maps and on the map of a real environment. Our approach proves to be highly efficient in terms of computational requirements and to provide nearly-optimal solutions.

  5. Detection of Hydrogen Sulphide Gas Sensor Based Nanostructured Ba2CrMoO6 Thick Films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. V. Kadu

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available Nanocrystalline pure and doped Ba2CrMoO6, having an average crystallite size of 40 nm were synthesized by the sol-gel citrate method. Structural and gas-sensing characteristics were performed by using X-ray diffraction (XRD and sensitivity measurements. The gas sensing properties to reducing gases like Hydrogen sulphide (H2S, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG, carbon monoxide (CO and hydrogen gas (H2 were also discussed. The maximum sensitivity was obtained for 5 wt % Ni doped Ba2CrMoO6 at an operating temperature 250oC for H2S gas. Pd incorporation over 5 wt% Ni doped Ba2CrMoO6 improved the sensitivity, selectivity, response time, and reduced the operating temperature from 250 to 200oC of the sensor for H2S gas. This sensor also shows good satiability.

  6. Bureau of hydrocarbons exploration-production (BEPH) - Monthly information bulletin. September 2006

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2006-09-01

    This newsletter takes stock of the recent highlights in the domain of hydrocarbons exploration and production in the French territory: mining domain (demands of research permits; list of demands under instruction), drilling activity (new drillings, advance of existing exploratory and extension-development drillings); production activity (interventions on wells, crude oil, crude gas, commercialized gas, natural gas-derived hydrocarbons, related products, production shares by company in the Paris and Aquitain basins). (J.S.)

  7. Bureau of hydrocarbons exploration-production (BEPH) - Monthly information bulletin. April 2006

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2006-04-01

    This newsletter takes stock of the recent highlights in the domain of hydrocarbons exploration and production in the French territory: mining domain (demands of research permit, allocations of concession), geophysical survey activity, drilling activity (new drillings, advance of existing exploratory and extension-development drillings); production activity (interventions on wells, crude oil, crude gas, commercialized gas, natural gas-derived hydrocarbons, related products, production shares by company in the Paris and Aquitain basins). (J.S.)

  8. Porous TiO₂-Based Gas Sensors for Cyber Chemical Systems to Provide Security and Medical Diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galstyan, Vardan

    2017-12-19

    Gas sensors play an important role in our life, providing control and security of technical processes, environment, transportation and healthcare. Consequently, the development of high performance gas sensor devices is the subject of intense research. TiO₂, with its excellent physical and chemical properties, is a very attractive material for the fabrication of chemical sensors. Meanwhile, the emerging technologies are focused on the fabrication of more flexible and smart systems for precise monitoring and diagnosis in real-time. The proposed cyber chemical systems in this paper are based on the integration of cyber elements with the chemical sensor devices. These systems may have a crucial effect on the environmental and industrial safety, control of carriage of dangerous goods and medicine. This review highlights the recent developments on fabrication of porous TiO₂-based chemical gas sensors for their application in cyber chemical system showing the convenience and feasibility of such a model to provide the security and to perform the diagnostics. The most of reports have demonstrated that the fabrication of doped, mixed and composite structures based on porous TiO₂ may drastically improve its sensing performance. In addition, each component has its unique effect on the sensing properties of material.

  9. Robust Design of SAW Gas Sensors by Taguchi Dynamic Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hsun-Heng Tsai

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper adopts Taguchi’s signal-to-noise ratio analysis to optimize the dynamic characteristics of a SAW gas sensor system whose output response is linearly related to the input signal. The goal of the present dynamic characteristics study is to increase the sensitivity of the measurement system while simultaneously reducing its variability. A time- and cost-efficient finite element analysis method is utilized to investigate the effects of the deposited mass upon the resonant frequency output of the SAW biosensor. The results show that the proposed methodology not only reduces the design cost but also promotes the performance of the sensors.

  10. Automatic Carbon Dioxide-Methane Gas Sensor Based on the Solubility of Gases in Water

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raúl O. Cadena-Pereda

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Biogas methane content is a relevant variable in anaerobic digestion processing where knowledge of process kinetics or an early indicator of digester failure is needed. The contribution of this work is the development of a novel, simple and low cost automatic carbon dioxide-methane gas sensor based on the solubility of gases in water as the precursor of a sensor for biogas quality monitoring. The device described in this work was used for determining the composition of binary mixtures, such as carbon dioxide-methane, in the range of 0–100%. The design and implementation of a digital signal processor and control system into a low-cost Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA platform has permitted the successful application of data acquisition, data distribution and digital data processing, making the construction of a standalone carbon dioxide-methane gas sensor possible.

  11. Automatic carbon dioxide-methane gas sensor based on the solubility of gases in water.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cadena-Pereda, Raúl O; Rivera-Muñoz, Eric M; Herrera-Ruiz, Gilberto; Gomez-Melendez, Domingo J; Anaya-Rivera, Ely K

    2012-01-01

    Biogas methane content is a relevant variable in anaerobic digestion processing where knowledge of process kinetics or an early indicator of digester failure is needed. The contribution of this work is the development of a novel, simple and low cost automatic carbon dioxide-methane gas sensor based on the solubility of gases in water as the precursor of a sensor for biogas quality monitoring. The device described in this work was used for determining the composition of binary mixtures, such as carbon dioxide-methane, in the range of 0-100%. The design and implementation of a digital signal processor and control system into a low-cost Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) platform has permitted the successful application of data acquisition, data distribution and digital data processing, making the construction of a standalone carbon dioxide-methane gas sensor possible.

  12. The Effects of Two Thick Film Deposition Methods on Tin Dioxide Gas Sensor Performance

    OpenAIRE

    Bakrania, Smitesh D.; Wooldridge, Margaret S.

    2009-01-01

    This work demonstrates the variability in performance between SnO2 thick film gas sensors prepared using two types of film deposition methods. SnO2 powders were deposited on sensor platforms with and without the use of binders. Three commonly utilized binder recipes were investigated, and a new binder-less deposition procedure was developed and characterized. The binder recipes yielded sensors with poor film uniformity and poor structural integrity, compared to the binder-less deposition meth...

  13. Possibility of gas sensor based on C_2_0 molecular devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao, Wenkai; Yang, Chuanlu; Zou, Dongqing; Sun, Zhaopeng; Ji, Guomin

    2017-01-01

    We theoretically investigate the possibility of diatomic gas detection (NO, CO, O_2) by making use of the transport properties of the C_2_0 molecular junctions. The calculations are performed by using nonequilibrium Green's function (NEGF) formalism in combination with density functional theory (DFT). In this work, we systematically study the most stable adsorption structural configurations, adsorption energy, and the transport properties on C_2_0 molecular junctions with these diatomic gas molecules. It is found that NO and O_2 gas molecule can be detected selectively. We suggest its possibility of nanosensors for highly sensitive and selective based on C_2_0 molecular junction systems. - Highlights: • The most favorable adsorption site is investigated. • The mechanism of gas sensors is revealed. • NO and O_2 gas molecules can be detected by C_2_0 selectively.

  14. Laser-Based and Ultra-Portable Gas Sensor for Indoor and Outdoor Formaldehyde (HCHO) Monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shutter, J. D.; Allen, N.; Paul, J.; Thiebaud, J.; So, S.; Scherer, J. J.; Keutsch, F. N.

    2017-12-01

    While used as a key tracer of oxidative chemistry in the atmosphere, formaldehyde (HCHO) is also a known human carcinogen and is listed and regulated by the United States EPA as a hazardous air pollutant. Combustion processes and photochemical oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are the major outdoor sources of HCHO, and building materials and household products are ubiquitous sources of indoor HCHO. Due to the ease with which humans can be exposed to HCHO, it is imperative to monitor levels of both indoor and outdoor HCHO exposure in both short and long-term studies.High-quality direct and indirect methods of quantifying HCHO mixing ratios exist, but instrument size and user-friendliness can make them cumbersome or impractical for certain types of indoor and long-term outdoor measurements. In this study, we present urban HCHO measurements by using a new, commercially-available, ppbv-level accurate HCHO gas sensor (Aeris Technologies' MIRA Pico VOC Laser-Based Gas Analyzer) that is highly portable (29 cm x 20 cm x 10 cm), lightweight (3 kg), easy-to-use, and has low power (15 W) consumption. Using an ultra-compact multipass cell, an absorption path length of 13 m is achieved, resulting in a sensor capable of achieving ppbv/s sensitivity levels with no significant spectral interferences.To demonstrate the utility of the gas sensor for emissions measurements, a GPS was attached to the sensor's housing in order to map mobile HCHO measurements in real-time around the Boston, Massachusetts, metro area. Furthermore, the sensor was placed in residential and industrial environments to show its usefulness for indoor and outdoor pollution measurements. Lastly, we show the feasibility of using the HCHO sensor (or a network of them) in long-term monitoring stations for hazardous air pollutants.

  15. CO{sub 2} gas sensors based on rare earth oxycarbonates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haensch, Alexander

    2016-07-01

    This title presents a new type of CO{sub 2} gas sensor, that allows the measurement of CO{sub 2} gas with very low effort. The measurement principle is based on two semiconducting materials. One the ''receptor'' and a ''transducer'' form a semiconductor junction. Electronic changes in the receptor change the electrical resistance in the transducer and therefor allow the easy electrical measurement. The reactivity and the reaction mechanism is thoroughly studied. In the first part the basics and resistance measurements are presented. A comparison between different mixtures is done. The main part studies the surface chemistry with operando DRIFT spectroscopy. The chemical reactivity of different target gases and background gases is studied thoroughly. The electronic properties of Oxycarbonates and the combination of oxycarbonate and tin oxide were studied using operando Kelvin probes measurements. The result is that CO{sub 2} alters the electron affinity of the material. Once moisture is present, an additional band bending is visible. The band bending dominated in a humid atmosphere, the work function changes. The electronic connection of oxycarbonate and tin oxide, the work function change of Oxycarbonates can be transferred to the tin oxide. Using the collected data, a basic idea of the operation will be presented by a two-semiconductor materials gas sensor.

  16. A novel methanol sensor based on gas-penetration through a porous polypyrrole-coated polyacrylonitrile nanofiber mat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jun, Tae-Sun; Ho, Thi Anh; Rashid, Muhammad; Kim, Yong Shin

    2013-09-01

    In this work, we propose a novel chemoresistive gas sensor operated under a vertical analyte flow passing through a permeable sensing membrane. Such a configuration is different from the use of a planar sensor implemented under a conventional horizontal flow. A highly porous core-shell polyacrylonitrile-polypyrrole (PAN@PPy) nanofiber mat was prepared as the sensing element via electrospinning and two-step vapor-phase polymerization (VPP). Various analysis methods such as SEM, TEM, FT-IR and XPS measurements were employed in order to characterize structural features of the porous sensing mat. These analyses confirmed that very thin (ca. 10 nm) conductive PPy sheath layers were deposited by VPP on electrospun PAN nanofibers with an average diameter of 258 nm. Preliminary results revealed that the gas penetration-type PAN@PPy sensor had a higher sensor response and shorter detection and recovery times upon exposure to methanol analyte when compared with a conventional horizontal flow sensor due to efficient and fast analyte transfer into the sensing layer.

  17. Transparent conducting films of hierarchically nanostructured polyaniline networks on flexible substrates for high-performance gas sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bai, Shouli; Sun, Chaozheng; Wan, Pengbo; Wang, Cheng; Luo, Ruixian; Li, Yaping; Liu, Junfeng; Sun, Xiaoming

    2015-01-21

    Transparent chemical gas sensors are assembled from a transparent conducting film of hierarchically nanostructured polyaniline (PANI) networks fabricated on a flexible PET substrate, by coating silver nanowires (Ag NWs) followed by the in situ polymerization of aniline near the sacrificial Ag NW template. The sensor exhibits enhanced gas sensing performance at room temperature in both sensitivity and selectivity to NH3 compared to pure PANI film. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. Quantitative analysis of higher hydrocarbons in natural gas using coupled solid-phase extraction / supercritiacal fluid extraction with on-line GC analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Janssen, J.G.M.; Cramers, C.A.M.G.; Meulen-Kuijk, van der L.; Smit, A.L.C.; Sandra, P.; Devos, G.

    1993-01-01

    Characterisation of natural gas with respect to the hydrocarbon content is a challenging analytical problem due to the extremely low concentrations and the complexity of the matrix. In this publication a method is described for fully on-line preconcentration and analysis of n-nonane and higher

  19. Deployment Algorithms of Wireless Sensor Networks for Near-surface Underground Oil and Gas Pipeline Monitoring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hua-Ping YU

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Oil and gas pipelines are the infrastructure of national economic development. Deployment problem of wireless underground sensor networks (WUSN for oil and gas pipeline systems is a fundamental problem. This paper firstly analyzed the wireless channel characteristics and energy consumption model in near-surface underground soil, and then studied the spatial structure of oil and gas pipelines and introduced the three-layer system structure of WUSN for oil and gas pipelines monitoring. Secondly, the optimal deployment strategy in XY plane and XZ plane which were projected from three-dimensional oil and gas pipeline structure was analyzed. Thirdly, the technical framework of using kinetic energy of the fluid in pipelines to recharge sensor nodes and partition strategy for energy consumption balance based on the wireless communication technology of magnetic induction waveguide were proposed, which can effectively improve the energy performance and connectivity of the network, and provide theoretical guidance and practical basis for the monitoring of long oil and gas pipeline network, the city tap water pipe network and sewage pipe network.

  20. Production of hydrogen from hydrocarbons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lohmueller, R

    1984-03-01

    Hydrocarbons are the preferred starting materials for the industrial production of hydrogen. Most hydrogen is produced by steam reforming of light hydrocarbons. Partial oxidation of heavy oil and residue is used for the production of H/sub 2/ and synthesis gas in large plants. In both cases gas purification was improved. Hydrogen-rich gases like coke oven gas, refinery-offgas, and offgases from the chemical and petrochemical industry have high potential for becoming a major source of hydrogen. Processes for recovering H/sub 2/ (and by-products) are condensation and rectification at low temperatures and, most attractive and versatile for the production of very pure H/sub 2/, adsorption (PSA). The environmental impact of H/sub 2/ production lies mainly in the emission of CO/sub 2/ and heat. Other forms of pollution can be considerably reduced by conventional methods. The economy of H/sub 2/ production depends essentially on price and availability of the raw materials.

  1. Effect of Humid Aging on the Oxygen Adsorption in SnO2 Gas Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Koichi Suematsu

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available To investigate the effect of aging at 580 °C in wet air (humid aging on the oxygen adsorption on the surface of SnO2 particles, the electric properties and the sensor response to hydrogen in dry and humid atmospheres for SnO2 resistive-type gas sensors were evaluated. The electric resistance in dry and wet atmospheres at 350 °C was strongly increased by humid aging. From the results of oxygen partial pressure dependence of the electric resistance, the oxygen adsorption equilibrium constants (K1; for O− adsorption, K2; for O2− adsorption were estimated on the basis of the theoretical model of oxygen adsorption. The K1 and K2 in dry and wet atmospheres at 350 °C were increased by humid aging at 580 °C, indicating an increase in the adsorption amount of both O− and O2−. These results suggest that hydroxyl poisoning on the oxygen adsorption is suppressed by humid aging. The sensor response to hydrogen in dry and wet atmosphere at 350 °C was clearly improved by humid aging. Such an improvement of the sensor response seems to be caused by increasing the oxygen adsorption amount. Thus, the humid aging offers an effective way to improve the sensor response of SnO2 resistive-type gas sensors in dry and wet atmospheres.

  2. Wearable, wireless gas sensors using highly stretchable and transparent structures of nanowires and graphene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Jihun; Kim, Joohee; Kim, Kukjoo; Kim, So-Yun; Cheong, Woon Hyung; Park, Kyeongmin; Song, Joo Hyeb; Namgoong, Gyeongho; Kim, Jae Joon; Heo, Jaeyeong; Bien, Franklin; Park, Jang-Ung

    2016-05-01

    Herein, we report the fabrication of a highly stretchable, transparent gas sensor based on silver nanowire-graphene hybrid nanostructures. Due to its superb mechanical and optical characteristics, the fabricated sensor demonstrates outstanding and stable performances even under extreme mechanical deformation (stable until 20% of strain). The integration of a Bluetooth system or an inductive antenna enables the wireless operation of the sensor. In addition, the mechanical robustness of the materials allows the device to be transferred onto various nonplanar substrates, including a watch, a bicycle light, and the leaves of live plants, thereby achieving next-generation sensing electronics for the `Internet of Things' area.Herein, we report the fabrication of a highly stretchable, transparent gas sensor based on silver nanowire-graphene hybrid nanostructures. Due to its superb mechanical and optical characteristics, the fabricated sensor demonstrates outstanding and stable performances even under extreme mechanical deformation (stable until 20% of strain). The integration of a Bluetooth system or an inductive antenna enables the wireless operation of the sensor. In addition, the mechanical robustness of the materials allows the device to be transferred onto various nonplanar substrates, including a watch, a bicycle light, and the leaves of live plants, thereby achieving next-generation sensing electronics for the `Internet of Things' area. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c6nr01468b

  3. Investigation of Gasochromic Rhodium Complexes Towards Their Reactivity to CO and Integration into an Optical Gas Sensor for Fire Gas Detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carolin Pannek

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available The detection of the toxic gas carbon monoxide (CO in the low ppm range is required in different applications. We present a study of the reactivity of different gasochromic rhodium complexes towards the toxic gas carbon monoxide (CO. Therefore, variations of binuclear rhodium complexes with different ligands were prepared. They were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, 1H NMR spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. All complexes are spectroscopically distinguishable and temperature stable up to at least 187 °C. The gasochromic behavior of all different compounds was tested. Therefore, the compounds were dissolved in toluene and exposed to 100 ppm CO for 10 min to investigate their gas sensitivity and reaction velocity. The changes in the transmission spectra were recorded by UV/vis spectroscopy. Furthermore, a significant influence of the solvent to the color dyes’ gasochromic reaction and behavior was observed. After characterization, one complex was transferred as sensing element into an optical gas sensor. Two different measurement principles (reflection- and waveguide-based were built up and tested towards their capability as gasochromic CO sensors. Finally, different gas-dependent measurements were carried out.

  4. Shear stress from hot-film sensors in unsteady gas flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cole, K.D.

    1991-01-01

    In this paper a data analysis procedure is proposed for obtaining unsteady wall shear stress from flush-mounted hot-film anemometer measurements. The method is based on a two-dimensional heat transfer model of the unsteady heat transfer in both the hot-film sensor and in the gas flow. The sensor thermal properties are found from preliminary calibration experiments at zero flow. Numerical experiments are used to demonstrate the data analysis method using simulated sensor signals that are corrupted with noise. The numerical experiments show that noise in the data propagates into the results so that data smoothing may be important in analyzing experimental data. Because the data analysis procedure is linear, a linear digital filter is constructed that could be used for processing large amounts of experimental data. However, further refinements will be needed before the method can be applied to experimental data

  5. Preparation and characterization of Ag-doped In2O3 nanoparticles gas sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anand, Kanica; Kaur, Jasmeet; Singh, Ravi Chand; Thangaraj, Rengasamy

    2017-08-01

    Pure and Ag-doped In2O3 nanoparticles are synthesized by the co-precipitation method and are characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. Gas sensing properties of the sensors has been investigated towards methanol, ethanol, acetone and LPG at different operating temperatures. It is found that the sensor response magnitude of the 3% Ag-doped In2O3 nanoparticles sensors is higher to 50 ppm of ethanol at 300 °C, to acetone at 350 °C and to LPG at 400 °C. This is mainly attributed to the large number of oxygen vacancies and defects in doped sensors as corroborated by the photoluminescence studies.

  6. Gas sensors for ammonia detection based on polyaniline-coated multi-wall carbon nanotubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    He Lifang; Jia Yong; Meng Fanli; Li Minqiang; Liu Jinhuai

    2009-01-01

    Polyaniline-coated multi-wall carbon nanotubes (PANI-coated MWNTs) were prepared by in situ polymerization method. Field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis were used to characterize the as-prepared PANI-coated MWNTs. Obtained results indicated that PANI was uniformly coated on MWNTs, and the thickness of the coatings can be controlled by changing the weight ratios of aniline monomer and MWNTs in the polymerization process. Sensors were fabricated by spin-coating onto pre-patterned electrodes, and ammonia gas sensing properties of the as-prepared PANI-coated MWNTs were studied. The results showed a good response and reproducibility towards ammonia at room temperature. In addition, PANI-coated MWNTs exhibited a linear response to ammonia in the range of 0.2-15 ppm. The effects of the thickness of PANI coatings on the gas sensing properties were also investigated in detail. The results suggest a potential application of PANI-coated MWNTs in gas sensor for detecting ammonia.

  7. All-in-one: a versatile gas sensor based on fiber enhanced Raman spectroscopy for monitoring postharvest fruit conservation and ripening.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jochum, Tobias; Rahal, Leila; Suckert, Renè J; Popp, Jürgen; Frosch, Torsten

    2016-03-21

    In today's fruit conservation rooms the ripening of harvested fruit is delayed by precise management of the interior oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) levels. Ethylene (C2H4), a natural plant hormone, is commonly used to trigger fruit ripening shortly before entering the market. Monitoring of these critical process gases, also of the increasingly favored cooling agent ammonia (NH3), is a crucial task in modern postharvest fruit management. The goal of this work was to develop and characterize a gas sensor setup based on fiber enhanced Raman spectroscopy for fast (time resolution of a few minutes) and non-destructive process gas monitoring throughout the complete postharvest production chain encompassing storage and transport in fruit conservation chambers as well as commercial fruit ripening in industrial ripening rooms. Exploiting a micro-structured hollow-core photonic crystal fiber for analyte gas confinement and sensitivity enhancement, the sensor features simultaneous quantification of O2, CO2, NH3 and C2H4 without cross-sensitivity in just one single measurement. Laboratory measurements of typical fruit conservation gas mixtures showed that the sensor is capable of quantifying O2 and CO2 concentration levels with accuracy of 3% or less with respect to reference concentrations. The sensor detected ammonia concentrations, relevant for chemical alarm purposes. Due to the high spectral resolution of the gas sensor, ethylene could be quantified simultaneously with O2 and CO2 in a multi-component mixture. These results indicate that fiber enhanced Raman sensors have a potential to become universally usable on-site gas sensors for controlled atmosphere applications in postharvest fruit management.

  8. Transfer of preheat-treated SnO 2 via a sacrificial bridge-type ZnO layer for ethanol gas sensor

    KAUST Repository

    Lee, Da Hoon

    2017-08-05

    The progress in developing the microelectromechanical system (MEMS) heater-based SnO2 gas sensors was hindered by the subsequent heat treatment of the tin oxide (SnO2), nevertheless it is required to obtain excellent sensor characteristics. During the sintering process, the MEMS heater and the contact electrodes can be degraded at such a high temperature, which could reduce the sensor response and reliability. In this research, we presented a process of preheating the printed SnO2 sensing layer on top of a sacrificial bridge-type ZnO layer at such a high temperature, followed by transferring it onto the contact electrodes of sensor device by selective etching of the sacrificial ZnO layer. Therefore, the sensor device was not exposed to the high sintering temperature. The SnO2 gas sensor fabricated by the transfer process exhibited a rectangular sensing curve behavior with a rapid response of 52 s at 20 ppm ethanol concentration. In addition, reliable and repeatable sensing characteristics were obtained even at an ethanol gas concentration of 5 ppm.

  9. Transfer of preheat-treated SnO 2 via a sacrificial bridge-type ZnO layer for ethanol gas sensor

    KAUST Repository

    Lee, Da Hoon; Kang, Sun Kil; Pak, Yusin; Lim, Namsoo; Lee, Ryeri; Kumaresan, Yogeenth; Lee, Sungeun; Lee, Chaedeok; Ham, Moon-Ho; Jung, Gun Young

    2017-01-01

    The progress in developing the microelectromechanical system (MEMS) heater-based SnO2 gas sensors was hindered by the subsequent heat treatment of the tin oxide (SnO2), nevertheless it is required to obtain excellent sensor characteristics. During the sintering process, the MEMS heater and the contact electrodes can be degraded at such a high temperature, which could reduce the sensor response and reliability. In this research, we presented a process of preheating the printed SnO2 sensing layer on top of a sacrificial bridge-type ZnO layer at such a high temperature, followed by transferring it onto the contact electrodes of sensor device by selective etching of the sacrificial ZnO layer. Therefore, the sensor device was not exposed to the high sintering temperature. The SnO2 gas sensor fabricated by the transfer process exhibited a rectangular sensing curve behavior with a rapid response of 52 s at 20 ppm ethanol concentration. In addition, reliable and repeatable sensing characteristics were obtained even at an ethanol gas concentration of 5 ppm.

  10. Nanomolecular gas sensor architectures based on functionalized carbon nanotubes for vapor detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hines, Deon; Zhang, Henan; Rümmeli, Mark H.; Adebimpe, David; Akins, Daniel L.

    2015-05-01

    There is enormous interest in detection of simple & complex odors by mean of electronic instrumentation. Specifically, our work focuses on creating derivatized-nanotube-based "electronic noses" for the detection and identification of gases, and other materials. We have grafted single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with an array of electron-donating and electron withdrawing moieties and have characterized some of the physicochemical properties of the modified nanotubes. Gas sensing elements have been fabricated by spin coating the functionalized nanotubes onto interdigitated electrodes (IDE's), creating an array of sensors. Each element in the sensor array can contain a different functionalized matrix. This facilitates the construction of chemical sensor arrays with high selectivity and sensitivity; a methodology that mimics the mammalian olfactory system. Exposure of these coated IDEs to organic vapors and the successful classification of the data obtained under DC monitoring, indicate that the system can function as gas sensors of high repeatability and selectivity for a wide range of common analytes. Since the detection of explosive materials is also of concern in this research, our next phase focuses on explosives such as, TNT, RDX, and Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP). Sensor data from individual detection are assessed on their own individual merits, after which they are amalgamated and reclassified to present each vapor as unique data point on a 2-dimensional map and with minimum loss of information. This approach can assist the nation's need for a technology to defeat IEDs through the use of methods that detect unique chemical signatures associated with explosive molecules and byproducts.

  11. Bureau of hydrocarbons exploration-production (BEPH) - Monthly information bulletin. June 2006

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2006-06-01

    This newsletter takes stock of the recent highlights in the domain of hydrocarbons exploration and production in the French territory: mining domain (demands, allocations and extension of research permits and concessions; list of demands under instruction), drilling activity (new drillings, advance of existing exploratory and extension-development drillings); production activity (interventions on wells, crude oil, crude gas, commercialized gas, natural gas-derived hydrocarbons, related products, production shares by company in the Paris and Aquitain basins). (J.S.)

  12. Fault Detection Using the Clustering-kNN Rule for Gas Sensor Arrays

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jingli Yang

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The k-nearest neighbour (kNN rule, which naturally handles the possible non-linearity of data, is introduced to solve the fault detection problem of gas sensor arrays. In traditional fault detection methods based on the kNN rule, the detection process of each new test sample involves all samples in the entire training sample set. Therefore, these methods can be computation intensive in monitoring processes with a large volume of variables and training samples and may be impossible for real-time monitoring. To address this problem, a novel clustering-kNN rule is presented. The landmark-based spectral clustering (LSC algorithm, which has low computational complexity, is employed to divide the entire training sample set into several clusters. Further, the kNN rule is only conducted in the cluster that is nearest to the test sample; thus, the efficiency of the fault detection methods can be enhanced by reducing the number of training samples involved in the detection process of each test sample. The performance of the proposed clustering-kNN rule is fully verified in numerical simulations with both linear and non-linear models and a real gas sensor array experimental system with different kinds of faults. The results of simulations and experiments demonstrate that the clustering-kNN rule can greatly enhance both the accuracy and efficiency of fault detection methods and provide an excellent solution to reliable and real-time monitoring of gas sensor arrays.

  13. Fault Detection Using the Clustering-kNN Rule for Gas Sensor Arrays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Jingli; Sun, Zhen; Chen, Yinsheng

    2016-01-01

    The k-nearest neighbour (kNN) rule, which naturally handles the possible non-linearity of data, is introduced to solve the fault detection problem of gas sensor arrays. In traditional fault detection methods based on the kNN rule, the detection process of each new test sample involves all samples in the entire training sample set. Therefore, these methods can be computation intensive in monitoring processes with a large volume of variables and training samples and may be impossible for real-time monitoring. To address this problem, a novel clustering-kNN rule is presented. The landmark-based spectral clustering (LSC) algorithm, which has low computational complexity, is employed to divide the entire training sample set into several clusters. Further, the kNN rule is only conducted in the cluster that is nearest to the test sample; thus, the efficiency of the fault detection methods can be enhanced by reducing the number of training samples involved in the detection process of each test sample. The performance of the proposed clustering-kNN rule is fully verified in numerical simulations with both linear and non-linear models and a real gas sensor array experimental system with different kinds of faults. The results of simulations and experiments demonstrate that the clustering-kNN rule can greatly enhance both the accuracy and efficiency of fault detection methods and provide an excellent solution to reliable and real-time monitoring of gas sensor arrays. PMID:27929412

  14. Influence of Fabricating Process on Gas Sensing Properties of ZnO Nanofiber-Based Sensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu Lei; Wang Rui; Liu Yong; Dong Liang

    2011-01-01

    ZnO nanofibers are synthesized by an electrospinning method and characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Two types of gas sensors are fabricated by loading these nanofibers as the sensing materials and their performances are investigated in detail. Compared with the sensors based on traditional ceramic tubes with Au electrodes (traditional sensors), the sensors fabricated by spinning ZnO nanofibers on ceramic planes with Ag-Pd electrodes (plane sensors) exhibit much higher sensing properties. The sensitivity for the plane sensors is about 30 to 100 ppm ethanol at 300°C, while the value is only 13 for the traditional sensors. The response and recovery times are about 2 and 3s for the plane sensors and are 3 and 6s for the traditional sensors, respectively. Lower minimum-detection-limit is also found for the plane sensors. These improvements are explained by considering the morphological damage in the fabricating process for traditional sensors. The results suggest that the plane sensors are more suitable to sensing investigation for higher veracity. (general)

  15. Experimental on two sensors combination used in horizontal pipe gas-water two-phase flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Hao; Dong, Feng

    2014-01-01

    Gas-water two phase flow phenomenon widely exists in production and living and the measurement of it is meaningful. A new type of long-waist cone flow sensor has been designed to measure two-phase mass flow rate. Six rings structure of conductance probe is used to measure volume fraction and axial velocity. The calibration of them have been made. Two sensors have been combined in horizontal pipeline experiment to measure two-phase flow mass flow rate. Several model of gas-water two-phase flow has been discussed. The calculation errors of total mass flow rate measurement is less than 5% based on the revised homogeneous flow model

  16. Sensing Properties of Pd-Loaded Co3O4 Film for a ppb-Level NO Gas Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takafumi Akamatsu

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available We prepared 0.1 wt%–30 wt% Pd-loaded Co3O4 by a colloidal mixing method and investigated the sensing properties of a Pd-loaded Co3O4 sensor element, such as the sensor response, 90% response time, 90% recovery time, and signal-to-noise (S/N ratio, toward low nitric oxide (NO gas levels in the range from 50 to 200 parts per billion. The structural properties of the Pd-loaded Co3O4 powder were investigated using X-ray diffraction analysis and transmission electron microscopy. Pd in the powder existed as PdO. The sensor elements with 0.1 wt%–10 wt% Pd content have higher sensor properties than those without any Pd content. The response of the sensor element with a 30 wt% Pd content decreased markedly because of the aggregation and poor dispersibility of the PdO particles. High sensor response and S/N ratio toward the NO gas were achieved when a sensor element with 10 wt% Pd content was used.

  17. Improved resolution of hydrocarbon structures and constitutional isomers in complex mixtures using Gas Chromatography-Vacuum Ultraviolet-Mass Spectrometry (GC-VUV-MS)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aerosol Dynamics Inc; Aerodyne Research, Inc.,; Tofwerk AG, Thun; Isaacman, Gabriel; Wilson, Kevin R.; Chan, Arthur W. H.; Worton, David R.; Kimmel, Joel R.; Nah, Theodora; Hohaus, Thorsten; Gonin, Marc; Kroll, Jesse H.; Worsnop, Doug R.; Goldstein, Allen H.

    2011-09-13

    Understanding the composition of complex hydrocarbon mixtures is important for environmental studies in a variety of fields, but many prevalent compounds cannot be confidently identified using traditional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) techniques. This work uses vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) ionization to elucidate the structures of a traditionally"unresolved complex mixture" by separating components by GC retention time, tR, and mass-to-charge ratio, m/Q, which are used to determine carbon number, NC, and the number of rings and double bonds, NDBE. Constitutional isomers are resolved based on tR, enabling the most complete quantitative analysis to date of structural isomers in an environmentally-relevant hydrocarbon mixture. Unknown compounds are classified in this work by carbon number, degree of saturation, presence of rings, and degree of branching, providing structural constraints. The capabilities of this analysis are explored using diesel fuel, in which constitutional isomer distribution patterns are shown to be reproducible between carbon numbers and follow predictable rules. Nearly half of the aliphatic hydrocarbon mass is shown to be branched, suggesting branching is more important in diesel fuel than previously shown. The classification of unknown hydrocarbons and the resolution of constitutional isomers significantly improves resolution capabilities for any complex hydrocarbon mixture.

  18. Low Power Operation of Temperature-Modulated Metal Oxide Semiconductor Gas Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Javier Burgués

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Mobile applications based on gas sensing present new opportunities for low-cost air quality monitoring, safety, and healthcare. Metal oxide semiconductor (MOX gas sensors represent the most prominent technology for integration into portable devices, such as smartphones and wearables. Traditionally, MOX sensors have been continuously powered to increase the stability of the sensing layer. However, continuous power is not feasible in many battery-operated applications due to power consumption limitations or the intended intermittent device operation. This work benchmarks two low-power, duty-cycling, and on-demand modes against the continuous power one. The duty-cycling mode periodically turns the sensors on and off and represents a trade-off between power consumption and stability. On-demand operation achieves the lowest power consumption by powering the sensors only while taking a measurement. Twelve thermally modulated SB-500-12 (FIS Inc. Jacksonville, FL, USA sensors were exposed to low concentrations of carbon monoxide (0–9 ppm with environmental conditions, such as ambient humidity (15–75% relative humidity and temperature (21–27 °C, varying within the indicated ranges. Partial Least Squares (PLS models were built using calibration data, and the prediction error in external validation samples was evaluated during the two weeks following calibration. We found that on-demand operation produced a deformation of the sensor conductance patterns, which led to an increase in the prediction error by almost a factor of 5 as compared to continuous operation (2.2 versus 0.45 ppm. Applying a 10% duty-cycling operation of 10-min periods reduced this prediction error to a factor of 2 (0.9 versus 0.45 ppm. The proposed duty-cycling powering scheme saved up to 90% energy as compared to the continuous operating mode. This low-power mode may be advantageous for applications that do not require continuous and periodic measurements, and which can tolerate

  19. [A mobile sensor for remote detection of natural gas leakage].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Shuai; Liu, Wen-qing; Zhang, Yu-jun; Kan, Rui-feng; Ruan, Jun; Wang, Li-ming; Yu, Dian-qiang; Dong, Jin-ting; Han, Xiao-lei; Cui, Yi-ben; Liu, Jian-guo

    2012-02-01

    The detection of natural gas pipeline leak becomes a significant issue for body security, environmental protection and security of state property. However, the leak detection is difficult, because of the pipeline's covering many areas, operating conditions and complicated environment. A mobile sensor for remote detection of natural gas leakage based on scanning wavelength differential absorption spectroscopy (SWDAS) is introduced. The improved soft threshold wavelet denoising was proposed by analyzing the characteristics of reflection spectrum. And the results showed that the signal to noise ratio (SNR) was increased three times. When light intensity is 530 nA, the minimum remote sensitivity will be 80 ppm x m. A widely used SWDAS can make quantitative remote sensing of natural gas leak and locate the leak source precisely in a faster, safer and more intelligent way.

  20. Cryogenic treatment of gas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bravo, Jose Luis [Houston, TX; Harvey, III, Albert Destrehan; Vinegar, Harold J [Bellaire, TX

    2012-04-03

    Systems and methods of treating a gas stream are described. A method of treating a gas stream includes cryogenically separating a first gas stream to form a second gas stream and a third stream. The third stream is cryogenically contacted with a carbon dioxide stream to form a fourth and fifth stream. A majority of the second gas stream includes methane and/or molecular hydrogen. A majority of the third stream includes one or more carbon oxides, hydrocarbons having a carbon number of at least 2, one or more sulfur compounds, or mixtures thereof. A majority of the fourth stream includes one or more of the carbon oxides and hydrocarbons having a carbon number of at least 2. A majority of the fifth stream includes hydrocarbons having a carbon number of at least 3 and one or more of the sulfur compounds.