Supercontinuum lidar for industrial process analysis

Abstract

Real-time monitoring of flue gas parameters in combustion processes is central to the optimization of the process efficiency and reduction of pollutants emission. We report simultaneous measurement of the average water vapor temperature and concentration over a 9m distance in a full-scale industrial boiler by broadband lidar employing a custom supercontinuum source covering the wavelengths of ro-vibrational absorption of water molecules at 1.2 - 1.55 μm. The measured average temperature and concentration are in excellent agreement with reference measurements. We also take advantage of the backscattering from the aerosol particles present in the boiler to map the water vapor concentration profile in the boiler up to a distance of 2.7m with a spatial resolution of 30 cm. Our results open novel perspectives for 3D profiling of temperature and gas concentration in industrial environments.