SensNews November 2018

17 Sensor100 November 2018 Moss rapidly detects, tracks air pollutants in real time Moss, one of the world’s oldest plants, is surprisingly in tune with the atmosphere around it. Now in a study appearing in ACS’ journal Analytical Chemistry, scien- tists report that they have found a simple and inexpensive way to detect air pollut- ants, specifically sulfur dioxide, in real time based on subtle changes in moss leaves. The discovery could rapidly alert authori- ties to potentially dangerous alterations in air quality using a sustainable, natural plant sensor. Using a highly sensitive, inexpensive webcam, the research team found that moss leaves exposed to sulfur dioxide slightly shrank or curled and changed color from green to yellow. Some of these changes, analyzed with an imaging algorithm, began within 10 sec- onds of exposure to the pollutant. However, once the sulfur dioxide was removed from the chamber, the moss leaves gradually recovered. ACS News Service , October 17 Autonomous robots patrol explosion risk areas The risk of a petrol plant explosion or a potential disaster on an oil refinery could be dramatically reduced thanks to a new generation of tiny chemical sensors that use light and sound to ‘listen to’ gas leaks. Fitted to an autonomous patrolling robot, the tiny ‘Pho- to-Acoustic’ gas sensors will be part of a wireless network continuously monitoring pipelines that can instantly iden- tify petroleum, hydrogen sulphide and a number of toxic gases, before alerting operatives in an oil rig or chemical plant. Reported by: EngineerLive 23 October Subtle changes in moss leaves can indicate air pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide, are present. Credit:Alexander62/Shutterstock.com