Fraunhofer Liaison Office BrazilDevelopment of photoacoustic sensors for gas detection, application on biological systems
The cooperation with the Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, Laboratorio de Ciencias Fisicas – Centro de Ciencias e Tecnologias (UENF) in Campos in Brazil started in 2002 with the University of Heidelberg which has been continued with a cooperation with the Fraunhofer IBP Stuttgart on the field of “Development of photoacoustic sensors for gas detection, application on biological systems”.
The cooperation is pointed towards the study of the influence of temperature, humidity and the concentrations of different gases (O2, CO2, C2H4, etc.) on the ripening process of tropical fruits and development of a method for extending their shelf life by using an optimal combination of controlled atmosphere and cooling. The aims of the cooperative research are the development of a photoacoustic multicomponent sensor for controlling the concentration of the important components in the atmosphere of fruit storage containers and the application of the PA sensor by different biological systems including the measurement of ammonia released by zeolite concentrate.
The cooperation program makes it possible that scientists of the two countries visit each other and they carry out common photoacoustic experiments. Already several common scientific papers have been published.
The cooperation is being supported by the “German Academic Exchange Service” (“Deutsche Akademische Austauschdienst”; DAAD) and the Brazilian Institution for Exchange Service “Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior“ (CAPES).