Development and testing of an electrochemical methane sensor

In this article, the development of an electrochemical methane sensor is presented. The mixed potential based sensor is based on tin doped indium oxide (ITO) and platinum electrodes and yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte. The sensor was fabricated using the inexpensive tape-cast method. The sensor responded to methane with a response time of 15 s. The staircase response to methane indicated a 44 mV sensor response to 100 ppm of methane. The sensor response indicated a log-linear relationship with the methane concentration. Upon 500 h of sensor testing, a 5% reduction in methane sensitivity was observed. The cross-sensitivity study on the sensor indicated minimal interference to NO, NO2, and CO2. To improve the sensitivity to methane, a signal conditioning method referred to as the pulsed discharge technique (PDT) was applied. A fourfold increase in methane sensitivity was observed when the sensor was subjected to PDT. Future studies include the miniaturization of the sensor with integrated heater design.