Estimation of cyanide concentration in the factory drains using taste sensor

This paper describes an application of a taste sensor for detection of cyanide in the factory drain. Total cyanide of the water quality standard is the amounts of free cyanide and complex cyanide. Generally, total cyanide is detected with pretreatment of distillation and pH adjustment. Therefore, detection of total cyanide needs a pretreatment time. The taste sensor consists of multichannel sensors with lipid membranes which are modeled on living organisms. One of characteristics of this sensor is a global selectivity. So, we tried to detect total cyanide using the taste sensor. We could detect total cyanide under the guideline limit. It was possible to detect free cyanide below the concentration 3 ppm in the factory drain. Measurement time is within five minutes. We found that total cyanide can be detected with a simple pretreatment. The evaluation of the water quality using the taste sensor is an effective method, and is suited for constant monitoring of the factory drain quality. The taste sensor can be considered to have very powerful performance and advantage for real-time monitoring of water quality.