INEXPENSIVE CAPACITIVE SENSOR AND RAPID PROTOTYPING FOR MEASURING CONCENTRATION OF AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS

Electronics and chemistry are subjects characterized by their appreciable contribution for the well-being and comfort of humanity. Technological innovations on health, food safety and environmental conservation are highlighted among these contributions. Contemporary lifestyle has accelerated demand for new technological innovations to meet current challenges. Electrochemical analysis systems, particularly, are considered highly complex and, in most cases, delegated to experts. Thus, it is important to conduct research to guarantee timely solutions. Currently, capacitive sensor developments have been presented, taking advantage of the relationship between ionic activity from chemical solutions with the energy stored in the capacitor. Furthermore, due to easy implementation and because they are naturally non-invasive, capacitive sensors represent a technological option of great promise in electrochemical analysis systems. This research study aims at providing an inexpensive electronic tool of rapid implementation to allow determination in situ of concentration of an aqueous solution. All this due to the need to increase competitiveness in agribusinesses, specifically on the automation outlook, given that with support of electronics and instrumentation, many processes and procedures exclusively developed in laboratories, could be transferred to the end user. Implementing the proposed system allows to demonstrate its potential use as a quality control tool, e.g., in beverage dispensers, tasting systems incorporated into the f transport of raw materials in liquid state and other agribusiness applications.