Towards Underwater Detection of Diluted Bitumen with Interdigital Sensors

TL;DR

This paper explores using interdigital capacitive sensors to detect diluted bitumen in freshwater, demonstrating their potential for real-time underwater spill monitoring with promising linear detection responses.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of interdigital sensors for underwater dilbit detection and evaluates their effectiveness across different concentrations.

Findings

All sensor designs detected electrical changes with dilbit presence.

Sensors exhibited linear impedance responses to different dilbit concentrations.

Results support integration into autonomous underwater monitoring systems.

Abstract

Diluted bitumen spills in freshwater environments pose significant challenges for detection and remediation due to the complex behaviour of the material once released, rendering traditional oil monitoring techniques, such as aerial surveys and fluorometry, ineffective. This study investigates the feasibility of utilizing interdigital capacitive sensors to detect dilbit in water via frequency-dependent impedance measurements. Three sensor designs were fabricated and tested with a vector network analyzer across samples with varying dilbit concentrations. All sensor designs detected electrical changes, exhibiting linear regions and strong potential for quantitative sensing. These findings support the integration of the sensors into autonomous underwater robotic platforms for real-time, distributed monitoring of dilbit spills in freshwater systems.