Simultaneous detection of NO2 and SO2 gases using differential optical absorption spectroscopy

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Assistant Professor, Malek Ashtar University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) is a technique used to determine the concentration of gaseous pollutants in the environment. This method is used to measure the concentration of pollutants in a vertical column of the atmosphere over long distances. Typically, the absorption spectra of various gases present in the atmosphere overlap in the ultraviolet-visible spectral region. Specifically, the absorption spectra of SO₂ and NO₂ gases overlap in the 290~310 nm wavelength range. As such, the presence of NO₂ can lead to errors in determination of the concentration of SO₂. This paper has thus developed an algorithm to simultaneously determine the concentrations of both SO₂ and NO₂ using the differential absorption method. To test the proposed algorithm, an empirical lab setup was established, and spectroscopic measurement trials were conducted. In this algorithm, the gas absorption spectrum is divided into two components: One fast-changing part and another slow-varying component. The fast-changing component of the absorption spectrum is used for gas detection, while the slow-changing component is used to determine the gas concentration. The experimental setup includes a deuterium-halogen light source, a 25 cm single-pass cell, and a spectrometer. To detect the concentration values for the two gases, various known concentrations of NO₂ and then SO₂ were introduced into the gas cell, and calibration curves were plotted for each gas separately. Subsequently, different concentrations of the SO₂/NO₂ gas mixture were introduced into the gas cell, and a calibration curve was recorded for the gas mixture. Using these curves and the proposed algorithm, the concentrations of the two gases were determined with a %2 accuracy. When both gases were present in the mixture, the detection limits were found to be 72.8 ppm for SO₂ and 140 ppm for NO₂.

Keywords

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Applied Electromagnetics
Volume 13, Issue 1 - Serial Number 30
Spring and Summer
September 2025

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History

  • Receive Date: 05 January 2025
  • Revise Date: 05 March 2025
  • Accept Date: 04 May 2025
  • Publish Date: 21 May 2025

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