Detection of Gaseous Ethanol by the Use of Ambient Temperature Platinum Catalyst

An ethanol sensor system is build and tested by means of a platinum in-line catalytic converter on ambient temperature, which acts as a zero reference with an electrochemical sensor, sensitive to ethanol. The system is selective to ethanol and proposed to measure ethanol gas concentrations from fruit. The system's performance was investigated regarding sensitivity and cross sensitivity for several volatile organic compounds (VOCs) commonly emitted by fruit (e.g. apples). The ethanol gas sensor system was tested with fruit samples in a test facility close to a storage environment.