Development of an optical sensor for determination of moisture in air and natural gas

• Grant number: 11/00322-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Effective date (Start): April 01, 2011
• Effective date (End): March 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Analytical Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Ivo Milton Raimundo Junior
• Grantee: Juliana Santiago dos Santos
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 08/57808-1 - National Institute of Advanced Analytical Science and Technology, AP.TEM

Abstract

Monitoring of moisture along pipelines has great importance to the natural gas industry as moisture can lead to corrosion of equipment and formation of hydrates that cause several problems with the handling, onshore and offshore transports as well as blockage of valves and pipelines. In general, moisture prediction in natural gas is performed by low cost techniques; however, they present low accuracy and are affected by contamination and temperature and pressure changes. In this manner, this project proposes the development of an optical fiber sensor for determining moisture in natural gas based on the Fabry-Perot interferometer, using a hydrophilic film deposited on fiber tip as a sensor element. The materials Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), Nafion, Polyethylene glycol (PEG), Agarose, Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), Polystyrene sulfonic acid (PSSA), Polyethyleneimine (PEI) can be evaluated as sensing phase whose refractive index variation with water absorption will result in a change of reflected optical signal, allowing to obtain the moisture content. In addition, parameters such as sensibility, reproducibility, response time, lifetime, and reversibility will be evaluated. The development of this project can provide a simple, low cost optical sensor that will permit monitoring moisture in natural gas, in order to minimize the formation of hydrates, guaranteeing the pipelines integrity and activities security, besides avoiding loss due to their removal, productivity decrease and equipment damage. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

GOUVEIA, MARCELO A.; PELLEGRINI, PALOMA E. S.; DOS SANTOS, JULIANA S.; RAIMUNDO, JR., IVO M.; CORDEIRO, CRISTIANO M. B.. Analysis of immersed silica optical microfiber knot resonator and its application as a moisture sensor. APPLIED OPTICS, v. 53, n. 31, p. 7454-7461, NOV 1 2014. (11/00322-2, 08/57808-1)

SANTOS, JULIANA S.; RAIMUNDO, JR., IVO M.; CORDEIRO, CRISTIANO M. B.; BIAZOLI, CLAUDECIR R.; GOUVEIA, CARLOS A. J.; JORGE, PEDRO A. S.. Characterisation of a Nafion film by optical fibre Fabry-Perot interferometry for humidity sensing. SENSORS AND ACTUATORS B-CHEMICAL, v. 196, p. 99-105, JUN 2014. (11/00322-2, 08/57808-1)

GOUVEIA, MARCELO A.; PELLEGRINI, PALOMA E. S.; DOS SANTOS, JULIANA S.; RAIMUNDO, IVO M., JR.; CORDEIRO, CRISTIANO M. B.. Analysis of immersed silica optical microfiber knot resonator and its application as a moisture sensor. APPLIED OPTICS, v. 53, n. 31, p. 8-pg., 2014-11-01. (08/57808-1, 11/00322-2)