On Board-ship Seawater Heavy Metal Automatic Measurement System Based on Electronic Tongue

Three different kinds of sensors were selected to compose an electronic tongue. Mercury ion selective electrode (ISE) was synthesized and used to detect trace mercury in seawater by adding a special buffer solution. Two thin-film sensors based on light-addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS) were used to detect trivalent iron and sexivalent chromium ion. Two kinds of chalcogenide glass sensitive materials were separately deposited on surface of different LAPS by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. Heavy metals such as copper, lead, zinc and cadmium, were simultaneously measured by stripping voltammetry method. An automatic analysis system on board-ship to detect heavy metals in seawater was developed based on the electronic tongue. Three microcontroller units (MCUs) were separately used to control, measure and communicate. All measurement results are transmitted to information processing centre on ship to monitor pollution degree of heavy metals in-site