Researchers from China and Italy have developed a highly sensitive and selective optical sensor using quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) for carbon monoxide (CO) detection in sulfur hexafluoride (SF6 ) decomposition. High-voltage apparatuses, utilizing SF6 as gas-insulating medium, require rapid and continuous monitoring. Detecting CO as one of the SF6 decomposition products allows
early diagnosis of apparatus failure. With the spectrophone consisting of an 8 kHz T-shaped quartz tuning fork and a pair of resonator tubes for photoacoustic detection, a quantum cascade laser (QCL) with central wavelength of 4.61 µm is used as the light source of the optical sensor. This novel design achieved a minimum detection limit of 10 ppb at 10 seconds of signal integration time for CO detection in
SF6 decomposition.
The following link provide access to the case study:
http://polysense.poliba.it/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/cs-ld05.pdf
