Determination of Ethanol Content in Fuels with Phononic Crystal Sensor

Abstract

Introduction. In-line analysis of ethanol content in gasoline blends is currently one of the urgent needs of fuel industry. Developing safe and secure approaches is critical for real applications. A phononic crystal sensor have been introduced as an innovative approach to high performance gasoline sensing. Distinguishing feature of proposed sensor is the absence of any electrical contact with analysed gasoline blend, which allows the use of sensors directly in pipelines without the risk of explosion in an emergency.Aim. Investigation of the possibilities of using phononic sensor structures to determine the ethanol content in liquid hydrocarbons.Materials and methods. A theoretical analysis of sensor structure was carried out on the basis of numerical simulation using COMSOL Multiphysics software. For measurement, substances of ordinary gasoline and gasoline 63–80 with ethanol concentrations in the range of 1–10 % by volume in increments of 2 % were prepared. The phononic crystal sensor was designed as a stainless steel plate with cylindrical holes and a resonant cavity, formed as a running across the wave propagation path slit between two lattices.Results. In-line analysis of measuring the concentration of ethanol in alcohol-containing fuels on a phononic crystal structure with a resonant cavity was carried out. Using the Agilent4395A admittance meter, the transmission spectra of longitudinal acoustic waves through the gasoline-filled sensor structure with were obtained. The non-linear correlation between the composition and the speed of sound of the blend is presented in the article is due to the ability to reduce the speed of sound of the mixture with an increase in ethanol concentration in the range of 0–10 % by volume.Conclusion. A measurement structure on the basis of phononic crystal was created. The measurements of various gasoline-ethanol mixtures show that the sensor has significant sensitivity (0.91 kHz/ms−1 ) with quality factor of 200) to distinguish between regular fuels, gasoline based blends and the presence of additives in standard fuels. The sensor has prospects for in-line analyzes the composition of liquid hydrocarbons.