Dielectric Characterization and Adulteration Detection in Edible Oils Using a Compact RF Sensor
摘要
This study presents a compact, non-destructive (ND) radio frequency (RF) sensor designed to detect adulteration and analyse the dielectric properties of pure olive oil from two distinct brands using dielectric spectroscopy. The sensor, with dimensions of 55 × 17 × 1.6 mm³, operates at resonance frequency of 1.62 GHz and is specifically tailored for characterizing and evaluating the oil under test (OUT). Initially, the sensor was employed to test pure samples of olive, palm, soya, and mustard oils, each yielding distinct frequency shifts. To assess adulteration, mixtures of olive oil with palm, mustard, and soya oils were directly applied to the sensor surface. Experimental results confirmed the sensor’s ability to accurately identify adulteration levels between 10%, 20% and 30%. The sensor demonstrated a maximum sensitivity of 0.21 and a peak quality factor (Q) of 29.14. These strong performance results, along with the close match between simulation and real test data, confirm that the sensor works well for identifying different types of adulteration present in OUT.