Development of a continuous-wave terahertz spectrometer for analyzing natural gas

• Grant number: 14/10125-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: January 20, 2015
• End date: January 19, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Analytical Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Celio Pasquini
• Grantee: Francisco Senna Vieira
• Supervisor: Scott A. Diddams
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 13/00502-6 - Analytical Methods Based on Terahertz Spectroscopy and Development of a Continuous-Wave Terahertz Spectrometer., BP.DR

Abstract

Water vapor in natural gas imparts serious problems regarding transportation and storage. Small amounts of water, along with species such as CO2 or H2S, cause corrosion of pipes and containers. Moreover, water may lead to the formation of gas hydrates - clathrates - which can clog the pipes. Among the existing methods for quantifying moisture in natural gas, chilled mirror hygrometry and Karl Fischer titration stand as the most widely accepted reference methods. However, those methods present some limitations, such as interference from H2S and the impossibility of being implemented on-line. Terahertz continuous-wave (THz-CW) spectroscopy based on photomixers enables the detection of gases with high selectivity and sensitivity. In this project, it is proposed the development and evaluation of a THz-CW spectrometer for analyzing natural gas. (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)

VIEIRA, FRANCISCO S.; CRUZ, FLAVIO C.; PLUSQUELLIC, DAVID F.; DIDDAMS, SCOTT A.. Tunable resolution terahertz dual frequency comb spectrometer. Optics Express, v. 24, n. 26, p. 30100-30107, DEC 26 2016. (13/19093-9, 11/13777-8, 08/57857-2, 14/10125-8)