Electronic Nose for Toxic Vapor Detection, Identification, and Quantification

A new prototype instrument based on electronic nose (e-nose) technology has demonstrated the ability to qualify (identify) and quantify many vapors at minimum required concentrations in only 90 seconds. It may easily be adapted to detect many toxic vapors. Algorithms were developed to identify vapors, recognize when a vapor is not one of the vapors of interest, estimate the concentrations of the contaminants, as well as identify and quantify mixtures of vapors. A filter system for fuel detection was also developed so that the instrument can zero on a baseline free of fuel contamination. This paper describes the design of the portable e-nose instrument, test equipment setup, test protocols, pattern recognition algorithms, concentration estimation methods, and laboratory test results [1, 2].