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THE APPLICATION OF JET REMPI/TOFMS TO REAL-TIME MONITORING OF DIOXINS
Citation:
Gullett*, B K., L. Oudejans, H. Oser, AND M. Coggiola. THE APPLICATION OF JET REMPI/TOFMS TO REAL-TIME MONITORING OF DIOXINS. Presented at 3rd International Conference on Combustion, Incineration/Pyrolysis and Emission Control, Hangzhou, CHINA, October 21 - 23, 2004.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
An advanced rapid monitoring technology, Jet Resonance Enhanced Multi-Photon Ionization, (Jet REMPI) is being applied to the measurement of air toxics, including chlorinated dibenzodioxins and dibenzofurans (CDD/CDF), for mechanistic understanding, process monitoring, and regulatory compliance purposes. Jet REMPI is a measurement technique which uses photoionization and mass spectrometry combined with a supersonic jet inlet to detect aromatic organics in real time as low as ~ 30 ppt with high selectivity and isomer-specific sensitivity that is critical in CDD/CDF monitoring. Efforts to examine formation mechanisms of CDD/CDF in combustion processes have been significantly hampered by the lack of a suitable measurement method. Concentrations of the 17 most toxic CDD/CDF isomers can be in the parts per quadrillion range, and conventional sampling and analysis may take 2-6 weeks. The lag time between sampling and results and the cumulative nature of extractive sampling provide insufficient process feedback and temporal resolution making mechanistic determinations virtually impossible with conventional methods. This paper discusses the application of Jet REMPI to combustion systems, focusing on trace product compounds, including lowly chlorinated CDD/CDF species, as potential toxicity indicator compounds. Data will be shown highlighting the system performance, its current state of development, and future plans.