Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)
Sulfur dioxide is an acid tasting, colourless, foul smelling, toxic gas. Major sources are heat and power generating facilities that use poor quality oil or coal containing sulfur.
Health and Environmental Effects
The effects observed include reductions in pulmonary volume, increases in breathing resistance and symptoms such as wheezing, chest tightness or shortness of breath. It also could lead to headache and nausea. Sulfur dioxide is one of the major precursors of acid rain, which accelerates corrosion of buildings and monuments as well as it acidifies soils, lakes and streams. Furthermore, it leads to reduced visibility.
Sulfur Dioxide and the airpointer®
The concentration of sulfur dioxide is measured by Ultraviolet Fluorescence. The sample gas is lighted with an UV lamp, which causes the sulfur dioxide part of the gas to absorb energy. This absorbed energy is emitted as a light pulse (photon) shortly afterwards, which is measured with a photo multiplier tube.
| Component |
EU Directive Method |
Principle of Measurement |
Range |
Units |
Lower Detectable Limit |
Zero Drift |
Span Drift |
| Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) |
Ultraviolet Fluorescence (EN 14212) |
UV Fluorescence |
Dynamic range up to 10 ppm |
ppm,ppb, μg/m3, mg/m3 |
0.5 ppb |
< 1.0 ppb |
± 1 % of reading > 100ppb |
airpointer®