Synthesis gas (syngas) is a mixture of gases made from a variety of gasification processes, such as coal gasification. The gas mixture is then used to synthesise commercially useful products, such as methanol and ammonia, or used as a source of energy for power generation. The main advantage is transport: gas is easier and cheaper to pump and transport than coal. For process control it is important to know the composition of the gases produced by gasification. This allows the chemical rate of a reaction to be optimised, or the energy value of the combustion gas to be adjusted for fuel efficiency. A convenient, non-destructive way to do this is to use mass spectrometry, which can identify the gases and measure the compositions in real-time. Hiden offers gas analysis systems, based on quadrupole mass spectrometers, such as the QGA gas analysis system. A flowing gas stream can be measured with the QGA taking a small sample and giving an output of gas composition in real time. Small changes in composition are detected and can be used for process monitoring and control.
