Real-time optical fibre sensor for hydro-alcoholic solutions

The fast determination of ethanol–water concentration in alcohol distillation plants is a primordial requirement to preserve the quality and reduce production losses. The present research proposes an optical fibre sensor for the measurement of hydro-alcoholic concentration in liquids based on the Fresnel reflection principle. The reflection intensities of ethanol samples with 0–100% of water content were measured at different temperatures for 1310 nm and 1550 nm wavelengths. Calibration curves were prepared by fitting the experimental data and implemented in a computer algorithm. According to the functional tests, the sensor is capable of identifying samples with less than 1% error on concentration and providing practically real-time analysis.