Detection of aerosols in an industrial context using LIBS (Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy)

Christophe Dutouquet (1) , Olivier Le Bihan (1) , Emeric Frejafon (1)

1 INERIS - Institut National de l'Environnement Industriel et des Risques

Aerosols released in the course of industrial processes may represent a threat for workers and the environment. Possible emission of micrometric / submicrometric particles such as CNT (carbon nanotube) powders at production sites or heavy metals at exhaust stacks of foundries and incinerators are two telling examples. The above considerations emphasize the need to develop an instrument allowing in-situ and real-time elemental identification and mass concentration determination of airborne particles. A LIBS-based (Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) system may be the appropriate tool to deal with such delicate issues. LIBS consists in focusing a powerful laser pulse on a material (solid, liquid, gas, aerosol, nanoparticle flow) whose elemental composition is to be determined. The strong heating of the sample at the focusing spot leads to the ignition of a hot and luminous transient ionized gas called plasma. Plasma light contains the signature of all the chemical elements the interrogated material is made of. This signature is read by sending the emitted light through a spectrometer equipped with a detector. The LIBS signal presents itself as an optical emission spectroscopy spectrum displaying lines corresponding to the detected elements...

Domains: Environmental Sciences

Christophe Dutouquet, Olivier Le Bihan, Emeric Frejafon. Detection of aerosols in an industrial context using LIBS (Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy). Aerosol Technology 2018, Jun 2018, Bilbao, Spain. ⟨ineris-03239667⟩