Non-contact identification of essential oils with IR sensors and analysis of components with an electronic nose

Abstract In this study, the odour values of rosemary, mint, black cumin, lavender, and thyme oils were determined by an electronic nose working with an Arduino microprocessor. The components of the plants were compared with the sensor data, and the most sensitive sensors were determined by sorting according to the highest components. The study data indicated that the MQ3 sensor exhibited the highest sensitivity for thyme, black cumin, and lavender oils, which contain 63% carvacrol, 38% thymoquinone, and 36% linalool, respectively. Also, MQ7 was the most sensitive sensor for menthone (68%) in mint oil and eucalyptol (45%) in rosemary oil. In addition, a low-cost and non-contact device that works with an infrared sensor has been developed to detect the identity of the oil added into the vial. The study data showed that low-cost Arduino-based IR and odour sensors can determine the identity and component percentage of oils. The fact that the developed device can detect with 100 percent accuracy even in case of peppermint and rosemary oils, which are very similar in appearance, shows that the study data will be an inspiration for contactless determination of oil quality and type.