Note: Plasma optical emission spectroscopy for water vapor quantification and detection during vacuum drying process.

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Plasma Physics
• Spectroscopy

Background:

• Accurate quantification of water vapor is crucial in various industrial processes.
• Traditional methods for water vapor measurement can be complex or limited in scope.
• Developing sensitive and direct measurement techniques is an ongoing challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel methodology for quantifying water vapor concentration in gaseous streams.
• To investigate the use of plasma optical emission spectroscopy (POES) for this purpose.
• To apply the developed method to a real-world industrial process.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a direct current (dc) plasma source and an optical emission spectrometer.
• Measured the emission intensity of H-alpha at 656.2 nm from a low-pressure plasma cell.
• Correlated H-alpha emission intensity with varying water vapor concentrations under different operating parameters.

Main Results:

• The H-alpha emission at 656.2 nm demonstrated high sensitivity to water vapor concentration.
• Consistent linear relationships were observed between emission signals and water concentration across various operating conditions.
• The method was successfully applied to quantify water vapor during the vacuum drying of a mock nuclear fuel assembly.

Conclusions:

• Plasma optical emission spectroscopy offers a viable and sensitive method for quantifying water vapor.
• The H-alpha emission line provides a reliable spectral signature for water vapor detection.
• This technique has practical applications in monitoring and controlling industrial drying processes.