The invention relates generally to carbon dioxide purity detection and more specifically to fiber optic carbon dioxide purity sensors and packages.
The detection and measurement of various combustible and toxic gases are important functions in a wide variety of industries. For example, carbon dioxide (CO2) purity detection and measurement are often desired or required functions in fields such as demand-control ventilation, transportation, carbon capture, the food processing, oil refinery and chemical industries, and industrial system maintenance.
CO2 purity detection has been investigated for many years, and many kinds of sensing embodiments based on electrical, optical, and electrochemical sensors have been introduced into the marketplace. Existing CO2 purity monitoring instruments are typically based on thermal conductivity detection (TCD) or Nondispersive Infrared (NDIR) optical detection methods. TCD is a general-purpose gas analysis method with non-specific and nondestructive characteristics but does not provide high resolution for accurate CO2 gas purity analysis because of thermal drifting issues. Similarly, NDIR optical detection has limitations in measuring purity of CO2 when CO2 is blended with other hydrocarbon gases. Other methods for monitoring CO2 purity include the use of gas density and differential pressure based measurements. Fluorescence detection based on dye embedded polymeric thin film material integrated with a bared fiber tip is another optical method for monitoring CO2 gas purity in a fluid medium. However, these methods are subject to variations in light absorption due to variations in temperature, pressure, and density of the CO2 gas, and thereby result in baseline drift and accuracy degradation.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved carbon dioxide purity measurement sensor and system to address one or more of the aforementioned issues.