A Portable and Autonomous Mass Spectrometric System for On-Site Environmental Gas Analysis

• DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b03669
• Publication Date: 2016-11-19T15:10:44Z
• Authors: Matthias S. Brenn...; Mark Schmidt; Julian Oser; Rolf Kipfer
• Keywords: Gas analysis; Environmental Analysis

We developed a portable mass spectrometric system ("miniRuedi") for quantificaton of the partial pressures He, Ne (in dry gas), Ar, Kr, N2, O2, CO2, and CH4 in gaseous aqueous matrices environmental systems with an analytical uncertainty 1-3%. The miniRuedi does not require any purification or other preparation sampled gases therefore allows maintenance-free autonomous operation. apparatus is most suitable on-site gas analysis during field work at remote locations due to its small size (60 cm × 40 14 cm), low weight (13 kg), power consumption (50 W). are continuously transferred through capillary pressure reduction into vacuum chamber, where they analyzed using quadrupole spectrometer time resolution ≲1 min. rate (<0.1 mL/min) minimizes interference natural balance systems, unbiased quantification dissolved-gas concentrations water by gas/water equilibration membrane contractors (gas-equilibrium membrane-inlet spectrometry, GE-MIMS). performance demonstrated laboratory tests, utility illustrated applications related soil-gas formation, lake/atmosphere exchange, seafloor emanations.