AMBIENT AMMONIA IMPACT DETERMINED by a NOVEL NH3 SENSOR UTILIZING a QUANTUM CASCADE LASER and PHOTOACOUSTIC SPECTROSCOPY

Abstract:

Despite the impact of ambient ammonia (NH3) concentrations on the ecology and our health, the continuous monitoring of NH3 is not yet commonplace. The ammonia molecule has reactive and sticky properties making it difficult to sample, and measuring techniques with sufficient sensitivity and selectivity have been difficult to source.

The technique presented is based on photo acoustic spectroscopy (PAS) with a quantum cascade laser (QCL). Developed for a wide range of environments, from the cleanest Swiss mountaintops to rural alpine pastures for cows, the novel detector has shown its reliability and ruggedness for sensing NH3 concentrations from 0-5,000 ppb (part per billions) levels.

Rural background measurements performed with the new ECO PHYSICS PAS 87 system and in cooperation with the German Institute for Tropospheric Research, will prove the suitability of this approach to reach continuous automated ambient NH3 values for environmental campaigns.