In this interview, industry expert Parag Borgaonkar explains how process Raman supports real-time gas analysis for power generation, from natural gas monitoring to hydrogen blending and advanced energy applications.
To start, can you give us an overview of how process Raman spectroscopy can be applied to gas measurement in power generation?
Parag Borgaonkar: Process Raman spectroscopy can be applied to real-time in-line gas measurement by providing fast compositional data directly from the process. In power generation, this is important because operators need to understand how fuel composition is changing and how those changes may affect performance.
The focus is not to replace every existing analyzer immediately, but to show where a solid-state optical measurement can simplify deployment, reduce maintenance, and deliver actionable composition data in seconds.
Process Raman can be especially useful for natural gas, hydrogen blends, and more advanced gas streams that are becoming increasingly important as the power generation landscape changes.
By bringing measurement closer to the process, Raman spectroscopy can help operators make faster decisions, improve fuel assurance, support emission management, and contribute to more efficient turbine operation.
Why does gas composition matter in power generation?
Parag Borgaonkar: Gas composition matters because power generation assets do not simply consume gas as a generic fluid. They consume a mixture of components, and that mixture determines important properties such as heating value, Wobbe index, flame behavior, density, and combustion characteristics.
Changes in methane, ethane, propane, hydrogen (H), or other components can affect how a turbine or burner performs. In many facilities, composition information is still received from periodic laboratory samples or from a gas chromatography cycle that may take several minutes.
That may be sufficient for slow-moving streams, but it becomes limiting during fuel switching, blend changes, startups, or troubleshooting events.
In-line analytics helps close that gap by giving operators more immediate feedback. This supports better root cause analysis and helps teams make smarter control decisions as fuel composition changes.
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How does Raman spectroscopy work for gas analysis?
Parag Borgaonkar: At a high level, Raman spectroscopy is an optical fingerprinting technique. A laser is directed through fiber optics and sampling optics into a gas sample. Most of the light scatters elastically, but a small portion interacts with molecular vibrations and returns at a shifted wavelength.
This shifted light is called Raman scattering. The analyzer reads the scattered spectrum, which contains information about the sample's molecular composition. In process applications, models are then used to convert the spectra into real-time concentration or property predictions.
One of the main advantages is that the measurement can be made remotely through fiber optics, directly at the process interface, while the analyzer remains in a suitable location. This makes Raman a strong platform for in-line, nondestructive gas measurement.
How does process Raman compare with traditional techniques such as gas chromatography and laboratory sampling?
Parag Borgaonkar: Gas chromatography and laboratory methods remain important reference techniques, but they are not always ideal for fast operational decisions.
The key difference is measurement cadence. Process Raman can provide near-continuous measurements in seconds, while GC methods are typically cycle-based and lab methods are batch-based, often taking minutes or longer.
Raman can also avoid carrier gases and routine consumables. Because it is an optical solid-state method, it can reduce the maintenance burden associated with valves, columns, and sample handling. For power generation assets, the value is not just accuracy in isolation but actionable speed when fuel composition is changing.
Having an update in seconds can be more useful for operations than waiting for a slower analyzer cycle. Raman is best viewed as a way to bring fast composition intelligence closer to the process.
What attributes make Raman spectroscopy relevant for hydrocarbon and gas applications?
Parag Borgaonkar: There are five key attributes that make Raman spectroscopy especially relevant for hydrocarbon and gas applications: specificity, sensitivity, speed, stability, and simplicity.
Specificity comes from the fact that different molecules have distinct Raman bands. This allows Raman to discriminate between components such as methane, ethane, propane, and other hydrocarbons. Sensitivity can extend to low levels for selected components, depending on the application and optical configuration.
Speed is one of the major advantages because a full analytical result can be generated in seconds. Stability is also important because the platform is solid-state and does not rely on chromatography columns or carrier gas flows.
Finally, simplicity matters for operators. A measurement that is easy to deploy, maintain, and interpret has a much better chance of being adopted in real plant environments.
What can process Raman measure across hydrocarbon workflows?
Parag Borgaonkar: Process Raman can be applied across a broad range of hydrocarbon workflows. In downstream liquid fuels, it can support measurements of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuels, as well as their physical and performance properties. In midstream applications, it can be used for natural gas and liquid streams.
For upstream and gas applications, the focus is often on natural gas components such as methane, ethane, propane, butane, pentane, nitrogen (N), carbon dioxide(CO2), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and hydrogen.
The important point is that the same core Raman platform can address multiple chemical families and multiple process environments.
For gas measurement specifically, this flexibility is valuable because fuel streams are becoming more variable. A single analytical platform that can be configured for different gas applications can support better process visibility and more informed operational decisions.
How does the MarqMetrix All-In-One X support process gas analysis?
Parag Borgaonkar: The MarqMetrix All-In-One X is a compact analyzer designed to bring Raman spectroscopy into industrial process environments. It uses a 785 nanometer solid-state laser and is built as a process-ready platform for gas analysis.
The key benefits include rugged optical performance, low maintenance, and the ability to transfer models across analyzers. The system can support multiple compositions and derive properties without changing the core hardware.
That means the same basic platform can be configured for natural gas, hydrogen blending, or other processed gas applications with the appropriate probe, sampling interface, and chemometric models.
For power generation users, this matters because it provides a path into in-line measurement without requiring a large analyzer shelter or a complex sample conditioning system in every case.
How can Raman spectroscopy support natural gas analysis?
Parag Borgaonkar: Raman spectroscopy can provide molecularly specific information for natural gas and related light hydrocarbons. Components such as ethane, propane, propylene, n-butane, and isobutane each show distinct spectral features; these differences form the basis for chemical specificity when the bands are well separated.
The calibration model can associate spectral changes with changes in component concentration. This supports the quantification of major hydrocarbons as well as inerts such as nitrogen and carbon dioxide.
Raman does not simply detect total hydrocarbon. Rather, it provides molecularly specific spectral information that can be converted into composition and derived properties such as heating value and Wobbe index.
Once spectra are collected, calibration curves and models turn them into useful process information. In earlier natural gas work, Raman generated 143 results in the same time period that a traditional GC produced one result.
That dense data stream is valuable because operators can observe transient and startup behavior, as well as blend changes that may be missed by slower methods.
Why is real-time measurement important for hydrogen blending and hydrogen quality?
Parag Borgaonkar: Hydrogen blending is one of the clearest examples of why faster composition measurement is becoming important. Adding hydrogen to a fuel mix changes heating value, density, flame speed, and combustion characteristics. These changes can affect turbines, burners, safety limits, and emissions performance.
It is not enough to know the target blend ratio. Operators need confidence in the actual composition as it moves through the line, especially during startup, transition periods, or changing load conditions.
Process Raman is attractive because, as an optical in-line technique, it does not require carrier gases and can provide continuous visibility into the blend at the point of use.
Hydrogen applications also require monitoring for impurities and contamination. For turbines, fuel cells, storage systems, and hydrogen distribution networks, small amounts of contaminants can affect performance, durability, emissions, and safety.
Raman is not a universal replacement for every trace analyzer, but it can be highly valuable when the target species are Raman-active and the measurement can be made in-line.
How can Raman spectroscopy support advanced hydrogen and next-generation energy applications?
Parag Borgaonkar: Raman spectroscopy can support more advanced hydrogen applications, including the measurement of hydrogen spin isomers and isotopes.
Molecular hydrogen exists as two spin isomers: ortho and para. At room temperature, hydrogen is approximately 75% ortho and 25% para, while at liquid temperatures the equilibrium shifts strongly toward para.
This matters because the ortho-to-para conversion is exothermic. If that conversion happens after liquefaction or during storage, it can contribute to boil-off gas and pressure management challenges.
Raman spectroscopy is well-suited to this problem because the spin isomers have distinct spectral signatures, which means Raman can potentially support direct monitoring of conversion state.
Raman spectroscopy is also relevant in advanced energy systems such as nuclear fusion. Fusion fuel cycles often involve hydrogen isotopes, including protium (1H), deuterium (2H), and tritium (3H). These isotopes differ by the number of neutrons in the nucleus, which changes their molecular vibrations and creates unique Raman spectra.
This provides a spectral basis for distinguishing them, supporting fuel composition monitoring, isotope ratio analysis, and impurity tracking in environments where sampling may be difficult, hazardous, or operationally disruptive.
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About Parag Borgaonkar 
Parag Borgaonkar holds an MBA in Marketing from the University of Delaware, an MS in Chemical Engineering from NJIT, and a BE in Chemical Engineering from Pune University. At Thermo Fisher Scientific, he is a Senior Business Development Specialist, bringing commercial and product leadership experience in analytical instrumentation to support growth.
This information has been sourced, reviewed, and adapted from materials provided by Thermo Fisher Scientific – Portable and Handheld Process Raman Spectroscopy.
For more information on this source, please visit Thermo Fisher Scientific – Portable and Handheld Process Raman Spectroscopy.
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