Determination of hydrocarbon levels in water via laser-induced acoustics wave

Hydrocarbon contamination in water is a major environmental concern in terms of foreseen collapse of the natural ecosystem. Hydrocarbon level in water was determined by generating acoustic wave via an innovative laser-induced breakdown in conjunction with high-speed photographic coupling with piezoelectric transducer to trace acoustic wave propagation. A Q-switched Nd:YAG (40 mJ) was focused in cuvette-filled hydrocarbon solution at various concentrations (0–2000 ppm) to induce optical breakdown, shock wave generation and later acoustic wave propagation. A nitro-dye (ND) laser (10 mJ) was used as a flash to illuminate and frozen the acoustic wave propagation. Lasers were synchronised using a digital delay generator. The image of acoustic waves was grabbed and recorded via charged couple device (CCD) video camera at the speed of 30 frames/second with the aid of Matrox software version 9. The optical delay (0.8–10.0 μs) between the acoustic wave formation and its frozen time is recorded through photodetectors. A piezo-electric transducer (PZT) was used to trace the acoustic wave (sound signal), which cascades to a digital oscilloscope. The acoustic speed is calculated from the ratio of acoustic wave radius (1–8 mm) and optical time delay. Acoustic wave speed is found to linearly increase with hydrocarbon concentrations. The acoustic signal generation at higher hydrocarbon levels in water is attributed to supplementary mass transfer and impact on the probe. Integrated high-speed photography with transducer detection system authenticated that the signals indeed emerged from the laser-induced acoustic wave instead of photothermal processes. It is established that the acoustic wave speed in water is used as a fingerprint to detect the hydrocarbon levels.