Oil Spill Detection in Irrigation Ditches Using Optical Sensor with Internet of Things (IoT) Platform

Abstract

Abstract Oil spill pollution occurs due to human activities such as oil excavation, handling ship and handling machine in farming. The harmful consequences of oil contamination on aquatic life have become increasingly apparent. Traditional methods of monitoring and detection, such as visual inspection and physical sampling, are time-consuming and labor-intensive, and may not be able to detect small oil discharges. We have developed an innovative approach to detect oil spills in irrigation ditches by integrating optical sensors with Internet of Things (IoT) platform. It can provide early detection of oil spills by using sensor technology and networking, hence minimizing potential ecological and economic implications. The main system consists of blue light emitting diode (LED), a photodiode and ESP32 as the microcontroller. The photodiode measures the amount of light that propagates through a slick of oil to detect the presence of oil in water. Engine oil is used as the sample prototype since the leaking can occur from old farm machine or mishandling of the machine. The photodiode detects light, and the light is converted to resistance value. The resistance value for water without oil is varied from 300kΩ to 500kΩ and there is oil presence in the water if the resistance value is measured below 18kΩ. Lower resistance value causes lower detected light and lower light penetration inside the water. The value is then displayed in Blynk application, and an alert will pop-up to remind the user of the oil presence. Testing analysis was done by varying distances (6 cm to 9 cm) from light source to photodiode, varying oil volume (50 ml to 200 ml) and varying exposure time of oil with water (1-6 hours). From the experiment, an 8cm distance between light source and sensor was chosen for the optimum measurement of light. We observe that the average resistance values decrease with the increase of oil volume and exposure time. It proves that increasing oil volumes and exposure time can reduce the penetration of light inside the water that eventually affects aquatic life. Overall, the system demonstrates its potential to improve the monitoring and detection of oil discharges in irrigation ditches. The low-cost and easy-to-use design of the system makes it suitable for widespread deployment in irrigation networks.