Laser-Based Technique for Real-Time Measurement of Emissions in Diesel Engine Exhaust
Artium Technologies, Inc.
150 West Iowa Avenue, Suite 202
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
Telephone: 408-737-2364
http://www.artium.com
Environmental Problem
Recent studies on the adverse health effects of air
pollution show that high levels of soot and other
submicron particles found in large and mid-size cities
increase the risk of premature death from cardiopul-
monary problems and lung cancer. Studies by the
American Cancer Society have concluded that as the
concentration of soot particulates increases, the risk of
early death rises by 4 to 8 percent and increases the
number of aggravated asthma cases, depending on
the concentration and long-term exposure.
Particulate size, mass, and concentration can affect the
health of humans and other organisms, and also can
impact the global climate. It is known that particles in
the 0.3 |im size range can deposit inside the lungs,
and particles smaller than 0.3 |im can find their way
into the alveoli. Recent evidence indicates that, irre-
spective of their chemical composition, these fine
particles have harmful health effects. Soot particulate
emitted from combustion systems fall in this range.
Fortunately, soot particulates emitted by cars, trucks,
power plants, factories, aircraft, and other combustion
processes have been reduced substantially over the
past decade through new technologies developed by
the engine manufacturers. However, vehicular partic-
ulate emissions will need to be reduced further to
meet existing and pending environmental regulations.
The unavailability of suitable instruments capable of
providing accurate measurements of the particulate
matter (PM) at low concentrations has contributed
to our inability to fully understand the adverse health
effects of PM. Advanced PM characterizing instru-
ments are needed for developing test protocols,
standards, and regulations that will help preserve
the environment and limit risks to health.
SBIR Technology Solution
The development of processes and techniques for
limiting the emission of soot particulate and
enforcing regulations requires the concurrent
development of suitable means for reliably measuring
various soot-related parameters. These methods must
have adequate measurement range to be able to
monitor and characterize the pollutant emissions
over a very wide range of concentrations. They also
must be able to operate under a range of environ-
mental conditions from in situ exhaust to atmos-
pheric monitoring. In the case of PM, information
on the particle mass, size, and volume fraction is
needed.
Laser-induced incandescence (LII) has emerged as
a technique for measuring soot concentration and
primary particle size. The Lll method has been
demonstrated as a reliable means for precisely
determining particulate concentration in diesel and
other engine exhausts. Size and the number densi-
ty of primary particles also are measured. The Lll
technique is capable of real-time PM measure-
ments over any engine transient operation. Lll also
is more sensitive, by orders of magnitude, than the
existing gravimetric technique. The wide dynamic
range and lower detection limit of Lll make this
technique a preferred standard instrument for PM
characterization. The research and development
efforts of Artium Technologies, Inc., have clearly
demonstrated these capabilities of the Lll technique.
The primary application for the Lll system is for
monitoring the soot particulate emissions from
engines (diesel, gasoline, and gas turbine). Artium is
convinced that the Lll instrument could be used for
enforcing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) regulations on particulate emissions. Aversion
of the instrument also can be used for research and
development (R&D) purposes. Specifically, this
instrument will produce real-time measurements to
help engine manufacturers develop low emission
engines and products for emissions control by
equipment manufacturers. The instrument also will
be useful in assessing regulatory compliance, as an
alternative to gravimetric procedures that are time
consuming, especially when dealing with the cur-
rent low emissions standards, require dilution and
filtration, and are prone to sampling errors. Artium's
R&D partner, the National Research Council (NRC)
of Canada, is continuing to develop enhancements
that will allow the simultaneous measurement of
the size and shape of the soot aggregates and their
particle size distribution.
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Wireless Operation of Artium's Emissions
Monitoring Technology
SBIR Success Stories

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Commercialization Information
Artium has licensed patents and technology from NRC
Canada and has been actively developing the
instrument under additional National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA) and National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) funding
for the past 8 years. During the period of the EPA
SBIR contract and in subsequent years, Artium formed
a collaborative program with Sandia National
Laboratories and NRC Canada to advance the
technology and become involved in real-world partic-
ulate emissions testing. The California Air Resources
Board (CARB) will evaluate and conduct advanced
development of the instrument. The CARB program
involves working with various engine manufacturers as
well as loan prototype instruments for evaluation in
their laboratories and test cells. They also are working
with NASA to investigate the possibility of applying the
Lll instrument to gas turbine (jet aircraft) engine partic-
ulate emissions monitoring. Several instruments have
been sold to large engine manufacturers for monitoring
diesel and gas turbine particulate emissions. Artium
has established a worldwide marketing system with
representatives in the major industrial countries and is
actively marketing the Lll instrument as a commercial
product. Artium also is developing the method for
online monitoring in the production of carbon black.
Company History
Founded in 1998, Artium Technologies, Inc., based in
Sunnyvale, California, specializes in the innovation
and development of optical diagnostics for sprays,
spray combustion, environmental monitoring, and
cloud physics research. The company has supplied
instruments to various government agencies and
laboratories for studying icing clouds and aircraft
icing, cloud physics, biomedical applications
including coating stents and biological material,
fuel sprays, and soot particulate emissions. Artium
has received several grants and awards from feder-
al and state government agencies including the
EPA, Department of Defense, NASA, NIST, and
CARB.
Ambient particulate matter poses a serious health hazard, especially in urban
areas where there often is a high concentration of vehicles and other combustion
sources.
Instrumentation is needed to enable engine developers to reduce particulate emissions
to safe levels to meet current emissions regulations.
Artium has demonstrated LII as a robust, reliable technology for monitoring
emissions and has made several sales to large engine manufacturers.
SBIR Impact
Artium has established partnerships with NRC Canada and Sandia National Labs to
advance this technology.
SBIR Success Stories

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