Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is an air pollutant produced by combustion of fossil fuels and by some industrial processes like pulp and paper, glass manufacturing, waste incineration, iron and steel production. It has long-term adverse effects on human health and the environment, causing respiratory problems and contributing to the formation of acid rain and particulate sulfur pollutants such as smog. Detection of SO2 is essential to ensure compliance with environmental regulations and the safety of workers.
Servomex offers sulfur dioxide monitor for environmental and personal safety monitoring. They use electrochemical, photometric or ion chromatography technology to measure SO2. The most popular technique for sulphur dioxide detection is using the electrochemical principle where the metal oxide semiconductor sensor generates an electrical signal that is proportional to the concentration of SO2 in the sampled air. This signal is then converted into a concentration value on the display.
Detecting SO2: The Functionality of Sulfur Dioxide Sensors
Other SO2 detectors use photometric technology where the gas molecules interact with the surface of an optical filter to produce a color change that is proportional to the concentration of SO2. The color change is then used to calculate the SO2 concentration. This type of meter is ideal when the background concentration may interfere with the measurement.
ion chromatography-based SO2 monitoring involves adsorbing SO2 on sorbent filters with glycerol and potassium hydroxide solutions to make a determination of the SO2 concentration using ion chromatography. The benefits of this method are that it is relatively easy to use, water vapor does not interfere and the sorbent can be stored for analysis.
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