Photoacoustic analyzer for the artifact-free parallel detection of soot and NO2 in engine exhaust

Soot particles and NO(2) are among the most hazardous emissions from diesel combustion engines. Currently, no analytical system exists which allows for the simultaneous, time-resolved online analysis of these two components. Furthermore, state-of-the-art NO(2) analyzers for exhaust gas require particle filtration prior to the analysis, which may induce artifacts and measurement errors. We present a photoacoustic instrument which overcomes these drawbacks. The sensitivity of the instrument (LOD(NO(2)) = 0.3 ppm, LOD(soot) = 0.54 μg m(-3), limit of detection/quantification) as well as the temporal resolutions are dictated by the needs of typical automotive applications. Also required for this specific application, we developed PA cells which can be heated to 80 °C, while the microphones maintain a temperature of 45 °C. Setup and specific parameters of the instrument are discussed, and the results of typical engine tests are compared to reference analytical instrumentation.