The Department of Energy (DOE) hopes to use thermal treatment to reduce the volume of its waste materials, minimizing waste handling and storage problems. New Environmental Protection Agency regulations on the amount or rate of heavy metal release into the atmosphere from thermal treatment and process offgases are currently planned. A method to monitor thermal treatment off-gases for these regulated heavy metals is essential to demonstrate compliance. LaserInduced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS), which uses the emission from a laser-induced spark for elemental analysis, appears to offer sufficient sensitivity to be useful for detection of heavy metals at or below the regulated levels. This technique has already proven useful for the detection of airborne beryllium metal in a portable system. Application of this technique to the analysis of thermal treatment off-gases has several potential problems. This Phase I project will investigate the effects of the surrounding gas temperature on the calibration when the metal is in the form of hot vapor or particles of inorganic compounds. Calibrations of cadmium under these different conditions are planned to verify the calibration reliability.Anticipated Results /Potential Commercial Applications as described by the awardee:Application of the techniques of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy to the analysis of heavy metals in off-gases appears to be useful. With new regulations on the release of heavy metals into the atmosphere, many potential customers exist for a device based on this technique.
