Sensitive measurement of trace mercury using low pressure laser-induced plasma

The emission of trace heavy metals, such as mercury (Hg), from power plants and other industries is a severe environmental problem concerning the public health. The laser-induced plasma technique was employed to measure Hg under various conditions, which reveals several merits of this method at low pressure. The main interferences of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), which include the black-body-like emission from plasma itself and coexisting molecular and atomic emissions, decreased significantly using low pressure laser-induced plasma. Under low pressure conditions, Hg signal was rather clear without serious influence even if there is no delay time from the laser irradiation, which means the gated detection device is not necessary. This method featured the detection limit of 0.3 ppm at pressure 700 Pa. Additionally, the feasible of this method in real applications was demonstrated by measuring Hg in combustion gas which performed preferable results.