Cryomechanical Preconcentration System for Trace Gas Analysis

Advanced cryogenic cooling systems are required to enable the high levels of sensitivity and precision needed for the measurements of trace atmospheric gases and isotopes that are used to evaluate anthropogenic impacts on the atmosphere and assess compliance with international regulations. This SBIR Phase II project will commercialize a robust cryogen-free pre-concentrator based on a Stirling cryocooler and a novel sample trap design. This system was successfully demonstrated in Phase I to have better thermal performance with lower maintenance than current pre-concentration systems used in NASA programs. The new sample traps are backward compatible with the existing cryogenic system to provide continued support for research groups using pre-concentrators with less advanced cooling. In Phase II, alternative sample traps will be developed to expand the utility of the pre-concentrator to a broader set of atmospheric trace gases, and to enhance the sensitivity of optical-based isotopic measurements. Selective and sensitive detection of greenhouse gases and ozone depleting substances will be further enhanced by coupling the pre-concentrator, via a gas chromatograph, to the high resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometer system evaluated in Phase I. In Phase II, improvements in the data acquisition and analysis software of this combined system will enable rapid automated analysis for field and laboratory measurements while providing new chemically-resolved information that was previously unavailable.

NASA is the head US agency for monitoring ozone depleting substances, and plays a leading role in US Global Climate Change Research Program (USGCRP). The system developed in this SBIR project will provide a significant advancement in capability for measuring ozone depleting substances and greenhouse gases. It will be a desirable upgrade to the stations in the NASA-sponsored Advanced Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE) and will provide new technology for other NASA-sponsored atmospheric research programs.

Atmospheric research and climate change programs sponsored by other federal agencies, such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE), as well as a wide range of international collaborators, will benefit from the technology developed by this project.

This is a mature technology (TRL 9) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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