A novel strategy has been developed for analysis of wavelength-scanned, wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS) with tunable diode lasers (TDLs). The method simulates WMS signals to compare with measurements to determine gas properties (e.g., temperature, pressure and concentration of the absorbing species). Injection-current-tuned TDLs have simultaneous wavelength and intensity variation, which severely complicates the Fourier expansion of the simulated WMS signal into harmonics of the modulation frequency (fm). The new method differs from previous WMS analysis strategies in two significant ways: (1) the measured laser intensity is used to simulate the transmitted laser intensity and (2) digital lock-in and low-pass filter software is used to expand both simulated and measured transmitted laser intensities into harmonics of the modulation frequency, WMS-nfm (n = 1, 2, 3,…), avoiding the need for an analytic model of intensity modulation or Fourier expansion of the simulated WMS harmonics. This analysis scheme is valid at any optical depth, modulation index, and at all values of scanned-laser wavelength. The method is demonstrated and validated with WMS of H2O dilute in air (1 atm, 296 K, near 1392 nm). WMS-nfm harmonics for n = 1 to 6 are extracted and the simulation and measurements are found in good agreement for the entire WMS lineshape. The use of 1f-normalization strategies to realize calibration-free wavelength-scanned WMS is also discussed.

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In-situ laser-absorption measurements of CO, CO 2 , CH 4 and H 2 O were demonstrated in the synthesis gas products of coal gasification (here called syngas) from an engineering-scale transport reactor. A wavelength-scanned, wavelength-modulation spectroscopy scheme was used to counter environmental challenges including severe loss in transmitted light intensity due to particulate scattering and beam steering in the synthesis gas stream. Separate lasers were used for each species (CO near 2326nm, CO 2 near 2017nm, CH 4 near 2290nm, and H 2 O near 1352nm) and a novel fiber bundle was utilized to combine all four beams on a common optical path. Line-of-sight laser absorption utilized sapphire windows in the synthesis gas product pipe downstream of the gasifier reactor by approximately 5 seconds flow time. Time multiplexing enabled low-noise measurement of the transmitted light with a single detector. Successful measurements of the four species mole fractions were performed throughout the 54 day measurement campaign, including a significant period of unattended operation. The mole fractions of the