§ 91.317 - Carbon monoxide analyzer calibration.

§ 91.317 Carbon monoxide analyzer calibration.

(a) Calibrate the NDIR carbon monoxide analyzer described in this section.

(b) Initial and periodic interference check. Prior to its introduction into service and annually thereafter, check the NDIR carbon monoxide analyzer for response to water vapor and CO₂.

(1) Follow good engineering practices for instrument start-up and operation. Adjust the analyzer to optimize performance on the most sensitive range to be used.

(2) Zero the carbon monoxide analyzer with either purified synthetic air or zero-grade nitrogen.

(3) Bubble a mixture of three percent CO₂ in N₂ through water at room temperature and record analyzer response.

(4) An analyzer response of more than one percent of full scale for ranges above 300 ppm full scale or more than three ppm on ranges below 300 ppm full scale requires corrective action. (Use of conditioning columns is one form of corrective action which may be taken.)

(c) Initial and periodic calibration. Calibrate the NDIR carbon monoxide analyzer prior to its introduction into service and monthly thereafter.

(1) Adjust the analyzer to optimize performance.

(2) Zero the carbon monoxide analyzer with either purified synthetic air or zero-grade nitrogen.

(3) Calibrate on each used operating range with carbon monoxide-in-N₂ calibration gases having nominal concentrations between 10 and 90 percent of that range. A minimum of six evenly spaced points covering at least 80 percent of the 10 to 90 range (64 percent) is required (see following table).

Example calibration points (percent)	Acceptable for calibration?
20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70	No, range covered is 50 percent, not 64 percent.
20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90	Yes.
10, 25, 40, 55, 70, 85	Yes.
10, 30, 50, 70, 90	No, though equally spaced and entire range covered, a minimum of six points is needed.

(4) Additional calibration points may be generated. For each range calibrated, if the deviation from a least-squares best-fit straight line is two percent or less of the value at each data point, concentration values may be calculated by use of a single calibration factor for that range. If the deviation exceeds two percent at any point, use the best-fit non-linear equation which represents the data to within two percent of each test point to determine concentration.