Performance of Single Point Monitor in Measuring Ammonia and Hydrogen Sulfide Gases

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2004-01-01
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Xin, Hongwei
Hoff, Steven
Kerr, Brian
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Xin, Hongwei
Distinguished Professor Emeritus
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Hoff, Steven
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Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

Since 1905, the Department of Agricultural Engineering, now the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ABE), has been a leader in providing engineering solutions to agricultural problems in the United States and the world. The department’s original mission was to mechanize agriculture. That mission has evolved to encompass a global view of the entire food production system–the wise management of natural resources in the production, processing, storage, handling, and use of food fiber and other biological products.

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In 1905 Agricultural Engineering was recognized as a subdivision of the Department of Agronomy, and in 1907 it was recognized as a unique department. It was renamed the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering in 1990. The department merged with the Department of Industrial Education and Technology in 2004.

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1905–present

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  • Department of Agricultural Engineering (1907–1990)

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Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Abstract

Performance of Single Point Monitors (SPMs) was evaluated for measuring aerial ammonia (NH3, 0 to 30 ppm) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S, 0 to 90 ppb) under laboratory and field conditions. Calibration gas or NH3/H2S-ladden air at various dew-point temperatures (tdp) were introduced simultaneously to the SPMs under evaluation and a chemiluminescence NH3 analyzer or a pulsed-fluorescence H2S analyzer. Coefficient of variation for “as-is” readings among the SPMs, a measurement of unit interchangeability, was up to 15% for H2S and up to 25% for NH3. Linear relationships existed between readings of the SPMs and those of the respective gas analyzer, with the slope increasing with moisture content of the calibration or sample air. Specifically, H2S readings by the SPMs averaged, respectively, 66%, 80%, 87%, and 97% of those by the analyzer for calibration gas at tdp of -22.C (dry), 9.C, 13.C, and 16.C. In comparison, NH3 readings by the SPMs averaged 42%, 86%, 102%, and 178% of those by the analyzer for calibration gas at tdp of -22.C, 8.5.C to 10.C, 12.5.C to 14.C, and 16.C to 17.C, respectively. Correctional equations were developed to compensate for the moisture interference effect on SPM readings of both gases. The corrected SPM readings for H2S measurement with an overall correctional equation generally achieved 90% to 107% agreement with the respective analyzer readings. However, such corrections for NH3 measurements proved not as effective (59% to 90% agreement). To improve the quality of H2S data obtained with SPMs moisture content of the sample air should be concurrently measured and moisture compensation can be made using an overall correctional equation.

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This article is from Applied Engineering in Agriculture 20, no. 6 (2004): 863–872.

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Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 UTC 2004
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