title: Flow-based ammonia gas analyzer with an open channel scrubber for indoor environments.
abstract: A robust and fully automated indoor ammonia gas monitoring system with an open channel scrubber (OCS) was developed. The sample gas channel dimensions, hydrophilic surface treatment to produce a thin absorbing solution layer, and solution flow rate of the OCS were optimized to connect the OCS as in-line gas collector and avoid sample humidity effects. The OCS effluent containing absorbed ammonia in sample gas was injected into a derivatization solution flow. Derivatization was achieved with o-phthalaldehyde and sulfite in pH 11 buffer solution. The product, 1-sulfonateisoindole, is detected with a home-made fluorescence detector. The limit of detection of the analyzer based on three times the standard deviation of baseline noise was 0.9 ppbv. Sample gas could be analyzed 40 times per hour. Furthermore, relative humidity of up to 90% did not interfere considerably with the analyzer. Interference from amines was not observed. The developed gas analysis system was calibrated using a solution-based method. The system was used to analyze ammonia in an indoor environment along with an off-site method, traditional impinger gas collection followed by ion chromatographic analysis, for comparison. The results obtained using both methods agreed well. Therefore, the developed system can perform on-site monitoring of ammonia in indoor environments with improved time resolution compared with that of other methods.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan. Electronic address: ohira@sci.kumamoto-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Shin-Ichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ohira
authors.forename: Minako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Heima
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamasaki
authors.forename: Toshinori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Tomoko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koga
authors.forename: Kei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Toda
mesh_terms: D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis*; D000641:Ammonia / Q000032:analysis*; D002138:Calibration; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D017022:Flow Injection Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D006813:Humidity; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D054833:Isoindoles / Q000737:chemistry; D057230:Limit of Detection; D059629:Signal-To-Noise Ratio; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D013447:Sulfites / Q000737:chemistry; D009764:o-Phthalaldehyde / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D054833:Isoindoles; D013447:Sulfites; D009764:o-Phthalaldehyde; D000641:Ammonia
keywords: Ammonia; Flow injection analysis; Indoor environment; Open channel scrubber