Design and Fabrication of a Gas Sensor for Food Freshness Detection
| dc.contributor.author | Biswas, Bedabrata | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-10-15T07:48:06Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-10-15T07:48:06Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Food spoilage is a serious issue that affects both food safety and the economy, leading to health risks and financial losses. Various factors contribute to food deterioration such as natural chemical processes, biological activity, microbial growth, etc. Thus a food’s texture, taste, color, and smell can be changed. One of the clear indicators of spoilage is the release of specific gases. Various gases such as ammonia and formaldehyde are released which result from bacterial activity and chemical reactions. Detecting these gases can help determine whether food is still fresh. There are different methods to assess food spoilage, ranging from simple sensory eval uations to advanced electronic devices. Among these techniques, gas sensors, biosensors, spectroscopy, and electronic noses are popular and effective. Gas sensors provide real-time detection of spoilage gases, while biosensors, which use biological elements like enzymes, offer highly precise results. Spectroscopy techniques, such as infrared and ultraviolet light analysis, help identify chemical changes in food. Electronic noses combine multiple gas sensors and mimic the human sense of smell to improve detection accuracy. Though these methods are useful, some challenges remain. Continued research is necessary to enhance these technologies for limited accuracy, high costs, and lack of portability. Here, we focused on developing compact, highly sensitive gas sensors capable of quickly detecting spoilage-related gases. By improving sensor technology, this research contributes to better food safety measures. However, there are several challenges in designing better detection systems. Many sensors respond to multiple gases at once, making it difficult to pinpoint spoilage indicators. Some sensors take too long to deliver results, while others are too large or complex for practical use outside laboratory settings. Additionally, many existing sensors struggle to detect very low concentrations of spoilage gases. To address these challenges, this research explores different gas sensor technologies, including metal oxide, electrochemical, optical, and MEMS-based sensors. Their working principles, advantages, and limitations are analyzed in the context of food spoilage detection, highlighting gaps in current research. A key development in this study is a Metal-Insulator Semiconductor (MIS) capacitive sensor designed to detect formaldehyde in fish treated with formalin. Constructed using silver and reduced graphene oxide on a silicon wafer, this sensor achieves high sensitivity (142.1 pF/ppm) and provides results within 85 seconds, offering a reliable solution for real-time food safety monitoring. Another major advancement in this research is a resisto-capacitive sensor developed for ammonia detection, a key spoilage gas in fish. This sensor, featuring a gold electrode with a tin oxide layer, delivers quick response and recovery times of 69 and 135 seconds, respec tively. Experimental results confirm its accuracy in determining fish freshness under various storage conditions. Moreover, the study investigates microheater design and optimization, which play a crucial role in enhancing sensor performance. Different microheater structures, viz. tree-type, ladder-type, U-shaped, and spiral-type designs, are tested, with advanced simulations used to improve their efficiency and reliability. A gas sensor, for enhancing food spoilage detection has been successfully developed in this research to address key challenges in food safety monitoring. Formaldehyde is ef fectively detected by the MIS capacitive sensor. Ammonia is accurately identified using the resisto-capacitive sensor, reducing cross-selectivity issues in assessing fish freshness. Sensor performance is further improved through the integration of microheater technology. Future research will focus on increasing accuracy, minimizing sensor size, incorporating machine learning for smarter analysis, and adding wireless features for real-time food monitoring | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://nits.ndl.gov.in/handle/123456789/252 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Department of Electronics & Instrumentation Engineering, NITS | |
| dc.relation.ispartofseries | TH778; TH778 | |
| dc.title | Design and Fabrication of a Gas Sensor for Food Freshness Detection |
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