Detection of mercury in air by time-resolved laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy technique

Abstract

For several years the laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technique has been applied successfully to the problem of detecting small traces of pollutants in gases. The possible application of this method for the individuation of mercury in air is discussed. The laboratory prototype of the detection system is described in detail, and the sensitivity of the system for the diagnostics of small traces of mercury is determined. The reduced dimensions of the experimental apparatus and its relatively low cost make the LIBS method competitive with other laser-based methods for in situ analysis.

History

“…Sabsabi and Cielo (Canada) started publishing their work on aluminum alloy targets with papers in 1992 and 1995 Cielo, 1992, 1995). Palleschi's group in Pisa, Italy began addressing applications with respect to pollutant detection such as the paper by Lazzari et al on the detection of mercury in air (Lazzari et al, 1994).…”

In-situ diagnostics of chemically reacting flows using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

“…Local fuel-air ratio has been measured by Ferioli et al [20] in engine combustion chamber by using the ratio of the measured carbon and oxygen peaks in the LIBS data. As noted in the previous section, metal emission from incinerators and coal-burning power plants has also been measured using LIBS [6,7]; however, these are not direct, in-situ measurements inside the flame. Rather, they are measurements of the post-combustion emission products.…”

Performance Evaluation of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectrometry as a Multimetal Continuous Emission Monitor

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] In the LIBS technique, a high-power laser beam is used to vaporize and excite the sample in situ in a single step. This is accomplished by focusing a pulsed laser beam at the test point to produce a laser-induced plasma.…”