Design, Fabrication and Evaluation of an Integrated CO2-Odour Sensor for Grain Quality Monitoring

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Canada's grain handling system has evolved with the need to satisfy overseas customers in an expedient and efficient manner. To maintain Canada's reputation of exporting high-quality grain, research on methodologies to preserve the harvested grain is needed. Stored-grain bulks are ecological systems where communities of insects, mites, and micro flora interact with grain to cause spoilage. Carbon dioxide and odour volatiles from biological pests increase during spoilage can be used as a reliable indicator of incipient grain spoilage.Measuring the air quality inside a grain bin has not been done because it is cumbersome and requires access to expensive gas analyzers. Nano and micro fabrication technologies offer the prospect of measuring carbon dioxide and odour volatiles using smart multicapable micro sensor.The overall objective of this research is to develop a scientifically valid and commercially feasible integrated carbon dioxide-odour sensor to detect deterioration of cereal grains during storage in large bulks. The integrated sensor will be developed using polymer sensing approach and evaluated in laboratory and full-size bins. The developed micro sensor will give quick results and higher accuracy than the current methods. The advantage of this smart sensor is that, the monitoring is rapid and can be performed on-line and in situ. The sensor will be cheaper than the current technology with great functionality. These sensors could be connected to existing temperature cables to continuously monitor the air quality with unprecedented precision. The sensor will revolutionize the management of grain to preserve its quality and thus quality of processed foods made from the grain.