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FTIR or Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy is a measurement technique whereby spectra is collected based on the response from a pulse of electromagnetic radiation. It can be applied to various types of spectroscopy including infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance and electron spin resonance spectroscopy. Fourier transform spectroscopy is more sensitive and has a much shorter sampling time than conventional spectroscopic techniques.

How it works

In a conventional spectrometer, a sample is exposed to electromagnetic radiation and the response is monitored. The energy of the radiation is varied over the desired range and the response is plotted as a function of radiation energy. At certain resonant frequencies characteristic of the specific sample, the radiation will be absorbed resulting in a series of peaks in the spectrum, which can then be used to identify the sample.

Instead of varying the energy of the electromagnetic radiation, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy exposes the sample to a single pulse of radiation and measures the response. The resulting signal called free induction decay contains a rapidly decaying composite of all possible frequencies. Due to resonance by the sample, resonant frequencies will be dominant in the signal and by performing a mathematical operation called a Fourier Transform on the signal, the frequency response can be calculated. In this way, Fourier Transform Spectrometer can produce the same kind of spectrum as a conventional spectrometer but in a much shorter time.

The principles of the Fourier Transform approach can be compared to the behaviour of a musical tuning fork. If a tuning fork is exposed to sound waves of varying frequencies, it will vibrate when the sound wave frequencies are in ‘tune’. This is similar to conventional spectroscopic techniques, where the radiation frequency is varied and those frequencies where the sample is in ‘tune’ with the radiation detected. The response from a sample exposed to a pulse of radiation is a signal consisting primarily of the characteristic frequencies for that sample. The Fourier Transform is a mathematical technique for determining these characteristic frequencies from a single composite signal.

It’s a logistical nightmare. Trying to balance cost against environmental consideration. The recycling industry has exploded onto the scene throughout the western world. With dwindling resources and high raw materials prices, we’re being forced to recycle more, but in the world of Computers, this means a lot of transportation to get obsolete household computers recycled.

We were recently contacted by a Company based in India with a view to the logistical issues associated with recycling computer hardware. The idea was to transport computers from householders back to a central location for processing. The problem? Balancing the cost of recycling a computer system against the cost of transporting the old hardware.

In America, many recycling companies have implemented a ‘ship to’ service for old or obsolete hardware. It’s a great way of cutting down on costs. If you can off-set the cost of employees and overheads against the cash value of old computers and their constituent component value, then you’re at least breaking even. You can then offer a service free of charge on the basis that the old hardware is shipped to you at cost to the consumer.

The logistical nightmare starts when you try to collect the computers using in-house employees. The costs of drivers and vehicles can add up quickly and result in negative equity. Off-setting these costs means that the recycling company has to charge the people wanting to dispose of their old hardware. Government run schemes use local municipal waste collection points to containerize the old computers, which the recycler then collects, but with some being 400 miles from the municipal waste collection point, the cost of driving that distance can quickly mount up. In effect, the costs associated with these collections have to be passed onto the government run authorities running the waste collection centers. With America being so large, there’s also the carbon cost, where driving such a distance results in what is known as a ‘carbon footprint’ being put on the old computers, before they’ve even been recycled. This footprint remains with the constituent materials when they’re used to manufacture something else. So even before the new product ends up in the shops, its’ got a pretty large carbon footprint associated with it.

In America and it’s constituent states, it’s the author’s belief that recycling of computers really has to be considered state wide rather than Country wide. If a recycler is in New York, then his or her business shouldn’t stray over the state line. That way, costs and energy consumption are kept low and the carbon produced by the business will remain low.