Webinar: Solutions for Ethylene Oxide Source Emissions Monitoring

Solutions for Ethylene Oxide Source Emissions Monitoring On-demand webinar Run time: 40-45 min The measurement of ethylene oxide (EO) from stationary sources takes place globally, and it has recently garnered significant interest in the US due to proposed new emission and exposure standards. There are many unique challenges associated with low level EO monitoring with any technology. These include 1) achieving the instrumental sensitivity to measure EO in the low ppb range for stationary sources, 2) sample transport of a low concentration reactive analyte over potentially long distances in the presence of atmospheric or process interferences, 3) separating the EO from known and unknown potential interferences, 4) instrumental baseline drift issues, 5) developing and meeting QA/QC requirements for continuous emissions monitoring (CEM), and 7) automation, feasibility, and ease of use. To measure any gas at ppb levels in real-time requires ultra-sensitive instrumentation and insensitivity to cross-interferences present in the sample matrix. Due to its molecular weight, EO is difficult to monitor using normal mass spectroscopic technologies. GCs can be incorporated into a CEM, but then batch sample collection systems are necessary that complicate and delay the response time. Sample transport can also be a challenge at these levels, and consideration must be given to sample flow rate, moisture content and temperature. Lastly, adequate QA/QC must be performed to demonstrate that the technology is working properly and providing results that are accurate and defensible. It is also critical that the system have an adequate zeroing process, since any baseline drift or instrument variation may be significantly larger than the EO signal. The EO monitoring challenges mentioned above will be discussed in this webinar along with how they can be handled within ultra-sensitive FTIR-based CEM systems.