A recent study by Sweelssen et al. in which Spectral Engines NIRONE S Sensor was used in accordance of development of capacitive gas sensor array to measure LNG (Liquefied natural gas). The sensitivity and selectivity of the new sensor was compared to a compact analyzer employing tunable filter infrared spectrometry i.e. Spectral Engine’s NIRONE sensors.
Current economic and political changes as well as demands of higher sustainability in energy production drive an accelerated reduction of the use of the nationally produced natural gas, and require a shift towards Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) from different sources and sustainable solutions such as biogas and hydrogen. The chemical composition of these gasses deviate from the composition of the traditional sources and require new monitoring methods. Earlier, many sensor solutions are proposed to measure the composition and quality of natural gas. The laboratory techniques are costly and cumbersome to use. Thus, more cost-effective and smaller alternatives are needed.
The NIRONE S2.0 sensor utilized in the study is small, low cost and has a low power requirement, making it suitable for use within production environments. The work showed that the TFIR sensor (NIRONE) is more sensitive for the smaller hydrocarbons, and shows a higher cross-sensitivity for the higher hydrocarbons. It should be marked that this depends more on the chemical structure of the molecules than on the molecular size: i.e., the accuracy for the iso-alkanes is better than for the n-alkanes. The TFIR sensor (NIRONE) results are based on a smaller limited number of samples and the more conclusive results are to be presented in a forthcoming paper.
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