Samara Scientists Will Develop a Device for Analyzing Gases in Liquid Media

The Innovation Promotion Foundation summed up the results of its Competition “Start-1”. Following the results of the competitive selection, 158 applications in the amount of 784.5 million rubles were recommended for financing. Among the winners, there is a representative of Samara University – Ekaterina Novikova, Associate Professor of the Department of Chemistry, Director of “MAS-N” LLC, with her project “Developing Prototypes of Dynamic Extraction Membrane Systems for Detecting Gases Dissolved in Liquid Media”.

“Competing in the contests by the Innovation Promotion Foundation is quite high”, says Ekaterina. “Programs of the Foundation attract many participants because of several factors, including a significant grant amount and a wide range of themes, for which applications can be submitted. There are also clear requirements for the results: winners are required to create a working prototype or an experimental model. This indicates the focus on serious, well elaborated projects, which increases the overall level of competition. But high competition should not discourage. Each submitted application is an experience and improving competencies”.

The Federal Program “Start” is aimed at establishing new small-sized innovative enterprises and supporting existing ones seeking to develop and master manufacturing new goods, products, technologies or services by using the results of own scientific, technical and technological research, which are at an early stage of development and have significant capacity for commercialization.

“We have focused not just on a scientific task, but on solving a specific problem that is urgent in the market. Developing dynamic extraction membrane systems will help apply a fast and precise method for analyzing gases in liquids, which is crucially important, for example, in the energy sector. We want to create not “technology for the sake of technology”, but a tool that “closes” a real gap in chemical analysis”, explained the associate professor of the Department of Chemistry. “Another point is the team’s experience. Igor Platonov, Doctor of Technical Sciences, the scientific supervisor of the project, has extensive experience in practical analytical chemistry, chromatography and analytical instrumentation. Under his guidance, several projects in this area have been implemented and a huge number of grant applications have been prepared at various levels. The team’s well-coordinated work made it possible for us to present to the experts not a half-baked scheme, but a well-elaborated project, with our understanding all stages of its implementation”.

As part of this project, the scientists are going to develop a device for conducting sample preparation for detecting gases in liquid media. The device is needed for optimizing the process of detecting dissolved gases in transformer oil, in order to increase rapidness, accuracy and sensitivity of the analysis, as well as reduce the cost of a single analysis due to automating the process and increasing the volume of research, and, among other things high mobility of the device being developed and the possibility of its inclusion in the gas circuits of portable gas chromatographs.

“Analyzing transformer oil is a critically important task in the modern energy industry, ensuring reliability and safety of power systems. Its significance is determined by the need for early detection of defects in transformer equipment to prevent emergencies, diagnostics of developing potential malfunctions and minimizing risks of sudden equipment failures”, Ekaterina gave examples of the practical use of the development. “Regularly analyzing transformer oil is an economically reasonable and technically necessary measure aimed at ensuring stable operation of power equipment and preventing serious accidents in power systems. This device can also be adapted to analyze any gases in liquid media, for example, greenhouse gases (methane and carbon dioxide) in water”.