Minimum_Specifications.docx

Minimum Specifications

1. Hardware:

a. The instrument shall be able to scan at a minimum of 5 Hz.

b. The instrument shall be able to scan at 0.03 Hz without degrading the minimum required quantification accuracy of key target compounds (see below).

c. The instrument shall have ½ wave number resolution

d. The instrument should have a gas cell greater than 5 meters with a total cell volume of less than 200 Ml. In addition, the system should have the option to replace the cell with a 10m path length cell with an internal volume of no more than 400mL.

e. The instrument should come with a liquid-nitrogen cooled MCT detector

f. The instrument should be rack-mountable.

g. The instrument should include a way to filter particles from the flow.

h. The instrument should run on 120 volts.

2. Software:

a. Accompanying software should continuously check all critical instrument parameters and report if any parameters are out of specification.

b. The instrument should come with a calibration library and software methods/recipes that allow quantification (to a minimum accuracy state below) of key target compounds, including CH4, C2H2, C2H4, C2H6, C3H8, C6H6, CO, CO2, HCN, and SF6.

i. Minimum detection limits at a 0.03 Hz sampling rate are given in the table below. Expected and typical concentrations are also listed for a number of target compounds.

ii. The calibration library should be valid above 100 C and below 250 C.

iii. Minimum required accuracy for the instrument is 20 parts per billion uncertainty (two standard deviations) or better for SF6 and 10 parts per million uncertainty for hydrocarbons less than C3.

iv. The software should be able to identify missing compounds from a method

c. The software should allow user-designed screening to remove parts of a spectral region used for quantification to improve accuracy of target compounds.

d. Since we may be purchasing additional instruments, all calibrations shall be interchangeable between similar model FTIRs with little loss of accuracy (less than 5%). This accuracy should be achieved by simply loading the calibrations onto the second instrument without need for any site adjustments. Similarly, any new library spectra should be addable to the existing library by NIST or our partners/collaborators.

3. Support

a. Installation and training on the instrument at NIST

b. Development of software recipes for quantification of target compounds in the presence of a 2% H2O and 2% CO2 background

c. One year instrument warranty