SOUTHWEST SCIENCES INC — Department of Agriculture SBIR Phase I: Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and methane (CH4) are two of the major pollutants associated with a

Description

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and methane (CH4) are two of the major pollutants associated with animal waste and sewage. Their release to the atmosphere has consequences both locally, where H2S can be present at toxic levels that influence human health and quality of life, and globally, where CH4 acts as a greenhouse gas to influence climate change. Southwest Sciences proposes to develop a compact, inexpensive optical sensor for H2S and CH4 with high sensitivity and rapid time response suited for field monitoring of animal manure systems, both as a point concentration sensor as well as a flux (emissions) monitor.The anticipated result from this Phase I effort is to demonstrate the feasibility of the desired ppb detection sensitivity for hydrogen sulfide and high precision ppm sensitivity for methane, while also identifying the design and operating parameters of the prototype field instrument to be built and tested in Phase II. Such an analyzer for hydrogen sulfide and methane will find use in monitoring the emissions from animal production operations, especially animal waste containment. The instrumentation will also find use in air quality monitoring of surrounding communities, as well as broader commercial applications in monitoring of hydrogen sulfide at potentially toxic levels.