Physical Optics Corporation — Department of Energy SBIR Phase I: 20c

Description

Hydrocarbon fuels continue to provide the energy required to sustain economic growth- To use indigenous fossil energy resources, it is critical to monitor the environmental effects of the utilization processes on local water supplies- The new effluent limitation guidelines for wastewater discharged to surface waters and municipal sewage treatment plants identify key chemical species, such as selenium, mercury, arsenic, and nitrates, for monitoring concentrations in effluent streams created by steam power generation plants- Selenium is of particular interest due to its toxicity to biological systems and human beings in high concentrations- Environmental problems with selenium occur when chemicals containing selenium are released into soils and waterways by human activities such as coal power plant operations, phosphate mining, and irrigated agriculture- There is a need for a field deployable analytical instrument capable of monitoring the selenium concentrations in power plant effluent streams- To address this need for a field characterization/analysis instrument, development of an on-line, real-time liquid phase selenium monitoring system is proposed- The system is based on a recently developed compact mass spectrometry system for atmospheric gas analysis, combined with an advanced continuous liquid sampling and ionization technique that can be used for wastewaters with high concentrations of suspended solids, corrosive chemicals, and supersaturated sulfates-