Recipient Organization
INTELLIGENT OPTICAL SYSTEMS, INC.
19601 MARINER AVE
TORRANCE,CA 90503
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Subsurface agricultural drainage can greatly increase agricultural productivity in the midwestern United States, but in some cases pollutants move through these systems. One specific water quality concern is nitrate, a form of nitrogen that moves readily through the soil and is often present in high amounts in drainage waters. The water quality of our streams, rivers, and lakes can be degraded by nitrate in tile drainage. Moreover, because many streams and rivers in this region lead to the Mississippi River, nitrate in midwestern agricultural drainage also contributes to the hypoxic zone (or Dead Zone) in the Gulf of Mexico. Therefore, it is critical to have networks of widely distributed nitrate sensors with real-time reporting capabilities to monitor nitrate levels in many locations, so that we can make better decisions about drainage water management and treatment.Intelligent Optical Systems (IOS) is planning to develop a low-cost nitrate monitoring system that is self-powered, rapidly deployable, and wireless for continuous water monitoring. In Phase I, a nitrate sensor will be fabricated and its sensitivity, selectivity, and stability will be characterized.
Animal Health Component
30%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
0%
Applied
30%
Developmental
70%
Goals / Objectives
The overall goal of this project is to demonstrate the feasibility of a low-cost deployable device for real-time monitoring of nitrate in drainage water. The following specific objectives have been established in order to reach this goal.Objective 1. Select optical sensor chemistry for nitrate measurement.Objective 2. Demonstrate through initial testing that the nitrate sensor cross-response has an acceptable figure of merit.Objective 3. Demonstrate that the nitrate sensor can detect 0-50 mg/L of nitrate in drainage water.
Project Methods
The measurement platform is based on mature IOS optical detection technology that combines highly effective fluorescent indicators with an optical detection system. The sensor element will comprise an indicator chemistry whose optical properties depend on the nitrate concentration, supported in a chemically and mechanically passive polymer film. The sensing materials will be engineered to exhibit biocide activity to prevent biofouling, eliminating the need for constant cleaning and recalibration. The optical signal will be captured by an LED-photodiode pair, compatible with low-cost and highly reliable instrumentation.