Patent ID: 7189574
Filing Date: 2007-03-13
Classification: G01N,Y02A,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A method of determining the original amount of nitrogen in a gas mixture, the mixture also containing a least one hydrocarbon constituent, comprising ionizing the gas mixture, by introducing energy into the gas by subjecting the gas to a nonthermal plasma discharge; controlling the amount of energy introduced into the gas, such that nitrogen atoms in the gas and hydrogen atoms from at least one hydrocarbon constituent of the gas are dissociated and reform to ammonia; wherein the energy is sufficient for dissociation of the nitrogen but insufficient for dissociation of methyl; measuring the amount of ammonia in the gas; wherein the ionizing and controlling steps are performed by routing the gas mixture through a nonthermal plasma discharge chamber, and wherein the measuring step is performed by subsequently routing the gas into a nondispersive infrared absorption detection chamber; and estimating the original amount of nitrogen in the gas mixture, based on the amount of ammonia measured in the preceding step.