Development of a low cost system for nitrate and contamination detections in natural water supply based on a planar electromagnetic sensor

The main objective of the present work is to develop a low-cost system for detection of nitrate and contamination in natural water resources based on a planar electromagnetic sensor. The functions and attributes of the low cost system based on planar meander and interdigital structure are discussed. The performance of the system was observed where the sensor was tested with two aqueous solutions of nitrates forms namely, sodium nitrates (NaNO₃) and ammonium nitrates (NH₄NO₃), each of different concentration between 5 mg and 20 mg dissolved in 1 litre of mili-q water. Furthermore, it was also tested with various kinds of natural water samples taken from natural sources around New Zealand. The results from the first set of experiments show good linear correlations with the amount of concentration of nitrate forms in mili-q water. Favourably, the second experiment´s outcomes involving the water sample taken from various places around New Zealand also show a good correlation of contamination level as compared with results obtained from Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) measurement. The improvements for future consideration are also discussed.