The evaluation of a low resolution fourier transform infrared (FTIR) gas analyser for monitoring of solvent emission rates under field conditions

The applicability of a low resolution (8 cm-1) Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) gas analyser with an absorption path length of 3 m was evaluated for the on-line monitoring of organic solvent mixture emissions in a flexographic ink manufacturing plant. The on-line monitoring revealed that the highest variations of solvent concentrations, up to three decades, occurred in the exhaust air. The FTIR analyser with a dynamic range of four decades covers well the concentration ranges typically found in the exhaust air and in the workroom air of ink manufacturing plants. The average emission rate of solvent mixture based on a sampling period of two days was 1.8 kg h-1 consisting of mainly ethanol (70%), ethyl acetate (15%) and propan-2-ol (11%). The detection limits of the analyser for the solvent compounds ranged from 0.3 to 4.3 mg m-3 and the measurement uncertainty was less than 10% in the concentration range of 8-15,000 mg m-3. These characteristics make the apparatus appropriate for most industrial hygiene applications. An FTIR spectrophotometer, equipped with an multipoint sampling unit, facilitates rapid identification of solvent components, real-time display of concentration data relevant to workroom air and environment monitoring as well as process control. Furthermore, the on-line concentration information enabled a rapid selection of representative sampling locations. The spectrophotometer is transportable, rugged and relatively simple to calibrate even in a hostile industrial environment.