True NO2 – What’s it to you?

So, what’s the big deal about Nitrogen Dioxide?

NO2 is an air pollutant and belongs to the family of nitrogen oxides, which are collectively  known as NOx. NO2 is one of the six criteria pollutants recognized by the US EPA, and has been recognized by the Canadian Council of Minister of the Environment (CCME) as a priority contaminant in air quality. NO2 is primarily produced through combustion processes; once in  the atmosphere, it can negatively impact the human respiratory system by inflaming the lining of our lungs and increasing the likelihood of contracting lung infections. It is also detrimental to the environment as NO2 is a contributor to acid rain, creates haze and causes poor visibility, and acts as nutrient pollutant in our ecosystems. To top it off, NO2 is a major precursor to another toxic pollutant, ozone, which is linked to pre-mature death, asthma, and decreased crop productivity.

Standard measurement techniques – do they still make the cut?

As our understanding of NO2 and its effects has increased over the last few decades, the policy governing NO2 emissions has become increasingly strict. This put an even greater pressure on existing measurement technologies to provide accurate data. Chemiluminescence is the standard reference method for indirect NO2 measurement, and is the technique you’ll most likely see being used in an analyzer at a monitoring station. However, there is a fundamental problem with standard NO/NO2 chemiluminescence analyzers – in many circumstances, they over-report NO2 and NOx by a large margin. Studies have shown that NO2 concentrations can be  over-reported by greater than 35% in heavily populated urban areas. So how and why does this over-reporting happen? Standard chemiluminescence analyzers use a heated metal converter to turn NO2 into nitrogen oxide (NO) as part of the measurement process. Other nitrogen compounds (NOz) found within industrial sources and ambient air are also converted to NO inside of these converters, inflating the NO2 readings made by the analyzer.Industry, government, and academia are in need of a new NO2 measurement technique which is accurate, reliable and cost effective. There are some commercially available analyzers that employ different techniques to measure NO2 (direct measurement, selective conversion of NO2 to NO, etc.), but the question remains:What happens to the plethora of existing chemiluminescence NOX analyzers in use today?

 The solution? PhoNO – a ‘true’ NO2 converter

Global Analyzer Systems has developed a photolytic converter called the PhoNO, which can be used as a simple external add-on to existing chemiluminescence analyzers to provide the same indirect but ‘true’ NO2 measurement. This product features a unique approach for the conversion of NO2 to NO, using high intensity ultraviolet light to selectively photo-dissociate NO2 molecules to NO. This technology has recently been proven through laboratory and field trials as a direct replacement, or retrofit, of standard issue heated metal converters. With its quick installation, internal data logging capabilities, and converter efficiency tracking, this cost effective add-on is a robust solution to measure true NO2 with existing chemiluminescence NOx measurement technology.

Who should attend?

• Environmental reporting and regulatory compliance professionals
• Engineering and environmental consultants
• Process and production engineers, specialists and managers
• Ambient air modeling professionals
• Regulators
• Government policy advisors
• Technology innovators and developers
• Sustainability project leaders
• Experienced professionals interested in learning about new technologies

Visit our website at www.gasl.ca to learn how you can be part of the True NO2 solution!