Chinese Journal of Chromatography ›› 2022, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (8): 763-771.DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1123.2022.02011

• Technical Notes • Previous Articles    

Monitoring of atmospheric CH4, CO, CO2, N2O and SF6 using three-channel gas chromatography

HONG Haixiang1, ZANG Kunpeng1,2, CHEN Yuanyuan1,2, LIN Yi1,2, LI Jiaxin1, QING Xuemei1, QIU Shanshan1, XIONG Haoyu1, JIANG Kai1, FANG Shuangxi1,2,*()   

  1. 1. College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
    2. Institute of Zhejiang Carbon Neutral Innovation, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
  • Received:2022-02-21 Online:2022-08-08 Published:2022-07-29
  • Contact: FANG Shuangxi
  • Supported by:
    National Key Research and Development Program of China(2020YFA0607502)

Abstract:

China is approaching a critical period of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. To assess the impact of carbon peak and carbon neutrality measures, an accurate understanding of the variations of the spatial and temporal distribution of greenhouse gases is crucial. Gas chromatography, a classical approach for greenhouse gas observation, can be employed for the high-precision analysis of partial greenhouse gases. In this research, a new greenhouse gas analytical system capable of measuring five gases (CH4, CO, CO2, N2O and SF6) on a single instrument was developed based on the traditional gas chromatography approach. The following are the chromatographic operation conditions. The carrier gases were high purity N2(99.999%) and argon-methane (5% methane in argon, 99.9999%), and a stainless steel switching valve triggered the injection. Compressed CH4, CO, CO2, N2O and SF6 mixed standard gases were stored in a 0.029 m3 aluminum alloy steel cylinder for this experiment. After numerous rounds of calibration by Greenhouse Gas Laboratory of Atmospheric Sounding Center of China Meteorological Administration, the gas scale met the primary standard of World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The main performance of the system, including the measurement precision, accuracy and linear response, was tested. The results showed that the detection performance of the system met the quality standards of WMO/Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW). Precision test results indicated that the relative standard deviations (RSDs) of the mole fractions of CH4, CO, CO2, N2O and SF6 were 0.08%, 1.90%, 0.05%, 0.08%, and 0.66%, respectively. For the linear and accuracy test, the C1-C5 tested standard gases were employed and the deviations of five gases (CH4, CO, CO2, N2O and SF6) between the calculated mole fractions of the regression equation and calibrated mole fractions were 0.15×10-9, 0.20×10-9, 0.37×10-6, 0.35×10-9 and 0.02×10-12, respectively. For CH4, CO, CO2, N2O and SF6, the linear regression coefficients (R2) between the peak areas or heights and calibrated mole fractions were 0.9999. The linear regression residual and accuracy could roughly meet the expanded target of WMO/GAW quality control. The atmospheric greenhouse gases in the Hangzhou urban area were continuously measured from May 2021 to July 2021 using the developed system. The results revealed that atmospheric CH4, CO, CO2 and N2O have visible diurnal variation characteristics that were primarily affected by anthropogenic emissions. The target standard gases were measured every 2 h to monitor the stability of the system operation, and the gas mole fractions of the system response were routinely computed and compared with the assigned calibrated values. The results demonstrated that the system had good stability during the observation period and could meet the requirements of high-precision monitoring. The comprehensive test and trial operation results showed that the developed system had good precision, accuracy, linearity and stability.

Key words: gas chromatography (GC), greenhouse gases, on-line monitoring, carbon neutral

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