Development of Mid-infrared Laser-based Methane Sensor for Atmospheric Detection and Air-quality Monitoring

Undergraduate #332
Discipline: Physics
Subcategory: Electrical Engineering

Caio Soares Azevedo - Delaware State University
Co-Author(s): Seth Fair, Jayvon Young, Tariq Zerrad, M. Hliang, and Amir Khan, Delaware State University

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Greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution have significant impacts on local, and global climate, and human health. Air quality in the United States is tracked using a network of national monitors located across the country. The monitors (or sensors) use established technologies that provide accurate regional data on air-quality for use in implementing the nation’s air quality standards, enforcement and research. Measuring air pollution is essential towards understating of societal problems of global warming. Accurate detection of several greenhouse gas species (e.g., methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide) is challenging due to large uncertainties in sources of emissions, and complicated atmospheric chemistry. In this project we design and develop opto-mechanical and communications protocol for precise and accurate sensing of a portable, wireless, and fully automated sensor. For data communications design, we use a set of single board computers (Raspberry Pi or R-Pi) and microcontroller modules (Arduino) to acquire (in real-time) trace gas concentration and metrological data (temperature, humidity, pressure and GPS) data from the laser-based Sensor on a wireless protocol. The analog and digital metrological sensor data was synchronized between R-Pi and base computer in order to process and analyze data from the field. In addition, a field prototype of a methane senor operating at 3270 nm wavelengths was developed using mechanical and a long pathlength optical Herriott Cell design. The overall goal is to develop a robust field prototype that can measure precise concentration of important greenhouse gases in real-time capable of fast spatial and temporal sampling of the earth’s atmosphere.

Funder Acknowledgement(s): NSF Crest, NASA, MIRO, EPA.

Faculty Advisor: M. Amir Khan, mkhan@desu.edu

Role: I designed this system for air quality.