Maker Mohammed Nihal has constructed a desktop environmental monitor that goals to make use of locally-gathered sensor knowledge to foretell the probability of acid rainfall.
“Acid rain kinds when dangerous air pollution like Sulfur Dioxide (SO₂) and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂) mix with moisture within the ambiance,” Nihal explains. “This challenge predicts the possibilities of acid rain earlier than it happens by monitoring SO₂, NO₂, humidity, and temperature in actual time.”
A trio of sensors and an Arduino Nano present forecasting of acid rain threat on this environmental monitoring challenge. (📷: Mohammed Nihal)
Slightly than counting on distant monitoring stations which can be too sparsely unfold for correct native forecasting, Nihal’s acid rain alert is predicated on knowledge from on-board sensors: an MQ-136 fuel sensor tracks hydrogen sulfide focus, a second sensor tracks nitrogen dioxide focus, and a traditional DHT11 is used to observe temperature and humidity.
Knowledge from every of the sensors, put in in a 3D-printed chassis designed to resemble a cloud, is processed by an Arduino Nano microcontroller board and an “Acid Rain Danger Rating” is derived. A 16×2 LCD panel on the entrance gives at-a-glance readouts of this rating — and allows you to know if the washing you simply frolicked to dry is prone to dissolve.
The challenge is documented in full, together with supply code, on Instructables. “Let the MQ-136 sensor heat up for two–5 minutes,” Nihal advises anybody concerned about constructing their very own, “for secure readings.”
