Rapid analysis of acetylene (C2H2) in crack gas has been a significant technology gap in the olefin's industry for many years. Currently, the accepted best practice in the industry is on-line Gas Chromatography (GC); however, it suffers from a slow response time. A much faster, near real-time, analysis would allow tighter acetylene hydrogenation process control (patent pending).

Since 1999, The Dow Chemical Company has been aggressively pursuing solutions to this unmet need. To catalyze a commercial solution, Dow formed a strategic partnership with several external partners (Analytical Specialties, Dept. of Energy and Los Gatos Research). These collaborations have led to the development and commercialization of a near real-time analyzer capable of measuring C2H2 in cracked gas at the part-per-billion level. This technology is based on Off-Axis Integrated Cavity Output Spectroscopy (ICOS). The presentation will outline the ICOS technology, application feasibility study, and analyzer performance and field validation undertaken by Dow.