Is it possible to measure the total composition of air in real time when the air is flowing?

Lets say if the air is flowing and if we put this device it should give the entire composition of the air. If such kind of device is not there,Are there any device by which we can measure the alkalinity of air? How one can measure the alkalinity of air?

 

I am not real sure alkalinity is a relevant term when referring to air.
--
Bob

 

Hi there,

Just some interesting info,

Clean air Composition:

Nitrogen N2 78.084 %
Oxygen O2 20.9476 %
Argon Ar 0.934 %
Carbon Dioxide CO2 0.0314 %
Neon Ne 0.001818 %
Methane CH4 0.0002 %
Helium He 0.000524 %
Krypton Kr 0.000114 %
Hydrogen H2 0.00005 %
Xenon Xe 0.0000087 %

The air's gases are responsible for making the sky appear blue. Gas molecules scatter the Sun's light, and the blue color in the light's spectrum is scattered more thoroughly than other colors.

Normally air also contains some moisture, or water vapor, which we measure as humidity, as well as small particles of dust suspended in the air's gases. Moisture and light combine to create such spectacular visual effects as rainbows and sunsets.

Unfortunately, today's air also contains many pollutants such as ozone, sulfur dioxide, and nitrous oxide. Besides being dangerous to humans, these air pollutants can also injure plants and animals, damage buildings, and even affect the weather.

The instruments you can look at and investigate are the gas chromatograph and spectrometers but I think we are still looking for the continuous air composition meter.

 

Hi
Thanks for your replies.
Does gas chromotograph gives the entire gas composition. I think it only gives the temperature properties. Correct me if i am wrong.

 

Hi sam,
But how can we get the measure of harmful gases composition like sulphur and chlorine etc. Is it possible to get the live data of these harmful gases composition in a flowing fluid?

Thanks
amar

 

To my knowledge, there is no such device capable of measuring total composition of air in real time. GC/MS devices are not capable of continuous sampling.

Might you be looking for something along these lines?

http://www.raesystems.com/products/fixed-detection/transmitters

 

Hi again,

Ask these analyzer experts, I think they should be able to give you what you need. Most of us specialize more in either software or field measurement, control instrumentation and techniques and might have some experience on a couple of analyzers but we are not experts in all the analytical areas of instrumentation. We also need to speak to analyzer specialist vendors if we need analyzers for specific applications.

http://www.teledyne-ai.com/applications.asp

 

Hi again,
The GC is also called a energy analyzer and can actually tell you the composition of a gas sample. We use them to analyze hydrocarbon gas from the wells to see how much propane, butane, methane ext is in the gas. From there the word energy analyzer.

Speak to the vendor about using it on other applications but I think they are only good for combustible gasses since part of the analyzer's process is to burn off the gas in order to analyze it.

 

But at least are there any devices to measure the concentration od sulphur and chlorine content of air in real time?

 

Anyway the question although uncommon is interesting. Many companies have different types of sensors that integrated in a system will do whatever is required. If I am not asking for something that is not acceptable by the moderators, I would like to invite the different sensor's producers to list their environmental sensing devices here so we all might have this thread as a tool.... Of course avoiding any comment that could be considered as commercialization.

GL

 

>gas chromatograph
>and spectrometers but I think we are
>still looking for the continuous air
>composition meter.

So to the guy that posted the passage above:

Can you get a tube to catch the gas, and then hook up sensors to the tube that could measure, all those gases you mentioned.......

And to measure those gases you would have to find substances, or other molecules that would react with the gases you want to measure..........

I want to know how to measure air quality...........And alkaline air cannot grow cancers. That is why you were concerned about pH in the first place........Right!

right now I want to measure the air, because that house the authorities burned down, because it has the largest arsenal in history in the way of explosives, they said. well the air is very , very bad today.....I am ready to put on my gas mask, because I don't know what kind of weapons were in this house....