Albert Widmann with the car engine running. He had nearly died of carbon monoxide poisoning from the exhaust fumes. This engine exhaust testing inspired the development of gas vans. Back in Berlin, Reinhard Heydrich immediately set to work within the RSHA for the development of, in the words of Heydrich's subordinate Walter Rauff, a "more humane method of execution" than the "Einsatzgruppen" firing squads which had been used. When a prototype gas van was driven to KTI, Widmann explained to his young chemists that by adjusting the timing of the ignition, one could maximize the amount of poisonous carbon monoxide in the
Exhaust gas analyzer measuring the percentage of oxygen in the exhaust. When gasoline engines operate with a stoichiometric mixture of 14.7: 1 the value of LAMBDA (λ) is "1". Mixing ratio = weight of fuel / weight of air With this relationship theoretically a complete combustion of gasoline is achieved and greenhouse gas emissions would be minimal. The coefficient is defined as Lambda coefficient If Lambda > 1 = lean mixture, excess of air. If Lambda < 1 = rich mixture, excess of gasoline. NDIR sensors are spectroscopic sensors to detect CO in a gaseous environment by its characteristic absorption. The key components