ME3 C2H4 Ethylene Sensor from Winsor

Other Hardware Sensors
41

HinaAfreen:
Hi,kindly tell me, if a electrochemical module has TTL output, then values will be shown on serial monitor??
And does values dispaly in ppm?

Found winsen module over here: Winsen ZE11 C2H4 High-performance Gas Detect Electrochemical Module for Arduino | eBay

It has UART output and therefore can directly be connected to arduino UNO.

It uses winsen gas sensor with a board attached. You can directly connect the module to arduino UNO and read data from the UART port and display onto serial monitor.

42

developerunify:
Found winsen module over here: Winsen ZE11 C2H4 High-performance Gas Detect Electrochemical Module for Arduino | eBay

It has UART output and therefore can directly be connected to arduino UNO.

It uses winsen gas sensor with a board attached. You can directly connect the module to arduino UNO and read data from the UART port and display onto serial monitor.

43

Thanks developerunify.
I have already emailed to winsen about ZE11-C2H4 and in datasheet of module Ethylene is not mentioned and they also confirmed in email.

ze11-electrochemical-module-manualv1_3.pdf (532 KB)

44

HinaAfreen:
Thanks developerunify.
I have already emailed to winsen about ZE11-C2H4 and in datasheet of module Ethylene is not mentioned and they also confirmed in email.

As far as my understanding goes, I think ZE11 is a generic module and it can be used with any gas sensor. Because I also found out ZE11-C6H6 which means ZE11 is used for benzene gas detection. Found the ZE11-C6H6 benzene from this link, which means ZE11 board is combined with different sensors.

The board is same as ZE11 because it has UART output to connect to arduino but different gas sensors are used with same board.

I think it would need a bit of calibration in case you buy it. You can just ask dansole instead if he received the same board many years ago.

45

Hi Dansole, kindly tell, did you receive the board same like ZE11?

46

The module my sensors came with was similar but look a bit different, I think developerunify is correct that they develop a standard serial conversion board to go with any of their sensors.
I will have a look next week when I am at work and try to post some pics.
From what I remember I didn't end up using the serial output as I had a 16bit ADC connected anyway for another sensor so took advantage of that.
I may have had some trouble working with the serial output but can't remember exactly- it was some years ago :confused: and the ZE11 looks new so may not have the same issues.
The other thing to consider is how to calibrate?
If the board spits out your result in ppm directly it would need some method of setting a zero and span calibration possibly through the serial communication as well. Does Winsen explain how to do this in the specs?
I vaguely remember this being a concern at the time and may be the reason I used the analog output through an ADC.

47

Thanks Dansole, i will wait for your reply till Monday.
ZE11-C2H4 specifications are as follows:
ZE11 is a general-purpose and high-performance electrochemical module. It can detect the benzene,dimethyl benzene,ethylene oxide,chloro ethylene based on electrochemical principle, it has good selectivity and stability. A temperature sensor is built-in for temperature compensation. It has the digital output and analog voltage output at the same time which facilities the usage and calibration and shorten the development period. It is a combination of mature electrochemical detection principle and sophisticated circuit design, to meet customers' different detection needs.

Features

High sensitivity & resolution

Low power consumption & long working life

UART and analog voltage output

Good stability and excellent anti-interference ability

Temperature compensation and excellent linear output

Main Applications

Petroleum and chemical industry, environment protection filed, detection of benzene,dimethyl benzene,ethylene oxide,chloro ethylene and vinyl benzene

Technical Parameters

Model: ZE11

Detection Target: benzene,dimethyl benzene, ethylene oxide,chloro ethylene/ ethylene

Output: UART OUTPUT ; DAC (0.4～2V standard voltage output); Sensor amplified voltage signal

Working Voltage: DC 5.0V±0.1V

Preheat time: ≤3minutes

Response​ Time: ≤60s

Detection Range: 0-100ppm(C2H4)

Operating Temperature: -20～50 Degrees Celsius

Dimension: Ø32mm*31.2mm

PS: The sensor we used for the ZE11 module is ME4-C2H4, but the gas calibration is done with vinyl chloride instead of ethylene and the measurement range is 0-100ppm, it also reacted to ethylene.

48

@developerunify, kindly refer any material about all output format as:
It has all these output formats:

TTL-UART
I2C
ALARM
AVO Analog Voltage Output
PWM

49

HinaAfreen:
@developerunify, kindly refer any material about all output format as:
It has all these output formats:

TTL-UART
I2C
ALARM
AVO Analog Voltage Output
PWM

They have only these 2: UART and analog voltage output. I think UART output is what you would need because it will directly give you the values in ppm and you can read it using SoftwareSerial library and as for analog voltage output you can read using this

I did find the same module on the other site over here which is same product as the ebay link. I did check both of their descriptions, I don't think they have all the outputs you mentioned in the previous post. They both look the same to me. Maybe you should just buy a single piece 1st to save cost of $66.

50

Hi developerunify, these four outputs are not supported by winsen sensor ZE11-C2H4. There are only two UART and AVO. So , it seemes good for me t buy ZE11-C2H4.
Thanks for your guidance. Is any external transmitter board is also needed to connect ZE11-C2H4 to Arduino UNO? And also needed a library file?

51

Kindly tell me about a calibration of ZE11-C2H4 module? Does it needed?

52

HinaAfreen:
Hi developerunify, these four outputs are not supported by winsen sensor ZE11-C2H4. There are only two UART and AVO. So , it seemes good for me t buy ZE11-C2H4.
Thanks for your guidance. Is any external transmitter board is also needed to connect ZE11-C2H4 to Arduino UNO? And also needed a library file?

Is any external transmitter board is also needed to connect ZE11-C2H4 to Arduino UNO? -----> No. If you see the pictures in the link (Winsen ZE11 C2H4 High-performance Gas Detect Electrochemical Module for Arduino | eBay) and also the other link, you could see a connector at the bottom. Most probably that is the connector for UART consisting of these 4 pins for these signals (5V PWR, GND, RX, TX).

Since you are connecting 3 gas sensors to 1 arduino UNO you would require Software Serial library. You can obtain it from here and also an example on how to use the library (https://www.arduino.cc/en/Reference/SoftwareSerial)

53

I am very much thankful to you developerunify.
Whta you recommend for calibration? Is it needed? Now, I want to place order finally. Do you provide guidelines in future?

54

dansole:
What is your application HinaAfreen?

If you don't require specificity to ethylene ie you are not measuring an environment with a mix of volatiles then this may be good enough: Adafruit MiCS5524 CO, Alcohol and VOC Gas Sensor Breakout : ID 3199 : Adafruit Industries, Unique & fun DIY electronics and kits

The one in your attachment looks good though, are you not able to purchase that one directly?

The PIDS I have used are:
OEM Sensors & Detectors - PID Gas Monitors | AMETEK MOCON
They are very good but pricey.

They wont take to much to set up with an arduino, maybe a bit of voltage regulation, but to get the best response you will probably want better than the standard arduino ADC:
ADS1115 16-Bit ADC - 4 Channel with Programmable Gain Amplifier [STEMMA QT / Qwiic] : ID 1085 : Adafruit Industries, Unique & fun DIY electronics and kits

As per the above post by dansole and the link he posted (ADS1115 16-Bit ADC - 4 Channel with Programmable Gain Amplifier [STEMMA QT / Qwiic] : ID 1085 : Adafruit Industries, Unique & fun DIY electronics and kits), it would be better to use that 16 bit ADC board for Analog Voltage Output. Just searched for it, you can find it much cheaper from here (https://www.ebay.com/itm/312503053984) instead of adafruit.

HinaAfreen:
Kindly tell me about a calibration of ZE11-C2H4 module? Does it needed?

Yes I think calibration would be required as per the item description in the link (Winsen ZE11 C2H4 High-performance Gas Detect Electrochemical Module for Arduino | eBay). It would be better if you ask dansole on the calibration part since he would be more adept to answer than me. Or else you could ask for the code he had written (if he still has it?). You could use his calibration code itself.

55

developerunify:
As per the above post by dansole and the link he posted (ADS1115 16-Bit ADC - 4 Channel with Programmable Gain Amplifier [STEMMA QT / Qwiic] : ID 1085 : Adafruit Industries, Unique & fun DIY electronics and kits), it would be better to use that 16 bit ADC board for Analog Voltage Output. Just searched for it, you can find it much cheaper from here (https://www.ebay.com/itm/312503053984) instead of adafruit.

Yes I think calibration would be required as per the item description in the link (Winsen ZE11 C2H4 High-performance Gas Detect Electrochemical Module for Arduino | eBay). It would be better if you ask dansole on the calibration part since he would be more adept to answer than me. Or else you could ask for the code he had written (if he still has it?). You could use his calibration code itself.

Hi dansole, kindly provide guidelines and what is your opinion?

56

Here are some pics of my setup.

While it may work out of the box, you will need to calibrate to use the sensor for any period of time as it will drift. Use a known standard of ethylene less than then sensor's maximum, I used 100ppm.
I think that's why I used the analog output instead of the serial as I couldn't figure out how to send the concentration back over the serial to the module.
You willl need to measure the voltage outputted by the sensor when in 0ppm ethylene (compressed air or use ethylene absorber) and at 100pppm with the standard and program your arduino with the results, something like:

Eth conc. = [(reading voltage - zero voltage) / 100ppm voltage - zero voltage] * 100

There are trickier ways to calibrate such as modifying the voltage output with a potentiometer as you apply the standard, but I found this method easier and reliable.

You have to avoid applying pressure to the sensor using a cap like the one in the photo with gas applied slowly using a tube into one hole with the other hole open.

Also watch out for the effect of humidity, compressed gases are generally very low humidity and might influence your calibration, you can bubble the sample through water to bring it up before applying to the sensor.

My set up pictured used an Adafruit logger shield, ADS1115 ADC, LCD screen and logged to the sdcard, I was on batteries so had to be mindful of power consumption.

I used seperate code for calibrating before an experiment and then for taking measurements.
I will try to find it to share with you (has been a while) :slight_smile:

57

Hi, dansole, setup is not shown?
kindly guide about calibration?

58

Can you see the pics?
Let me know if anything isn't clear, or if you need more info.
cheers,
dan

59

Thanks a lot dansole. I have read and see all descriptions and images you shared.

  1. Is C2H4 sensor is separate from board and you had calibrated the sensor by yourself and attach with board?
  2. You have to avoid applying pressure to the sensor using a cap like the one in the photo with gas applied slowly using a tube into one hole with the other hole open.
    i can not understand this?
  3. Eth conc. = [(reading voltage - zero voltage) / 100ppm voltage - zero voltage] * 100
    thanks for this specially.
  4. Did you use external power supply adapter as shown in setup?
60
  1. The loose sensor is one I removed from a board, I did use some directly during prototyping but they worked much better with the board.
  2. the car in the 5th image is placed over the sensor with a tube of the calibration gas 100ppm eth or N2 flowing very slowly over the sensor, you need a release hole and be careful not to turn the gas on suddenly to avoid excess gas pressure on sensor.
  3. These values were determined and entered into the arduino code:

float cal0 = 0.6200; //voltage reading at zero ppm
float cal100 = 1.3451; //voltage reading at 100 ppm

your sensor may be different but these are the values I got at zero and 100ppm eth.
the calc I used was a bit different to what I said above:

float eth = (100 / (cal100 - cal0))*((average/counter) - cal0);

i am averaging a number of readings over different periods of time depending if calibrating or just reading.

I can share the complete code with you if you want but there is a whole heap of junk in there around the LCD and sdcard setup that I used that is probably not useful to you now, the libraries will definitely have changed by now. (and wheres the fun in that?)

  1. I used a usb connection to computer in general when calibrating and a usb powerbank to run the unit for up to a week when logging.