Knowledge Bank

The interface of a high resolution $(0.06cm-1)$ Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer, a high speed data acquisition system capable of performing half million point transforms in 22 minutes, a dual InSb/HgCdTe detector and a 24 inch aperture Dall-Kirkham telescope and installation of the resulting system in a van has made possible the remote measurement of high resolution spectra at very high signal-to-noise ratio. The direct measurement of emission from warm gases from stacks and flares offers advantages over long path absorption measurements in that it provides source specific pollutant emission rates particularly when used with a plume velocity determination by direct means or with a laser Doppler velocimeter. High resolution $(0.1cm-1)$ spectra from two waste gas burn off flares will be presented; one burning chlorine and the other vinyl chloride. The temperature of the flares is determined from the HCl band at $2885cm-1$. Then using this temperature and black body calibrations the emittance of the HCl is calculated. Spectra from other species in the flare such as vinyl chloride will also be shown.