LPG LEAKAGE DETECTION SYSTEM USING PHONE CALLS ALERTS TO PREVENT ACCIDENTS AND AVOID INJURIES, VOL. 1, NO.

1, MAY 2019 1

LPG leakage detection system using phone calls

alerts to prevent accidents and avoid injuries
Wilmar Borges Leal Junior∗ , Humberto Xavier de Araujo∗ , Nailson Martins Dantas Landim∗ ,
Robert Mady Nunes†
∗ Universidade Federal do Tocantins, Brazil

{wilmar.borges, hxaraujo, mac}@uft.edu.br

† Instituto Federal do Tocantins, Brazil

robert.nunes@ifto.edu.br

Abstract—This paper presents a system to improve the security TABLE I

of houses and properties that uses LPG gas. Given its flamma- MQ SENSOR FAMILY
bility, an alarm system is strongly advised. To solve this issue we
successfully developed a connected alarm system that calls the Sensor Sensibility
house owner in a matter of seconds, at the beginning of a gas MQ-2 Methane, Butane, LPG, smoke
leak. Our system deals with limitations on Internet connectivity, MQ-3 Alcohol, Ethanol, smoke
MQ-4 Methane, CNG Gas
using a clever solution to this problem. MQ-5 Natural gas, LPG
Index Terms—Arduino, IoT, microcontroller, GSM, security MQ-6 LPG, butane gas
MQ-7 Carbon Monoxide
MQ-8 Hydrogen Gas
MQ-9 Carbon Monoxide, flammable gasses.
MQ131 Ozone
I. I NTRODUCTION MQ135 Air Quality (Benzene, Alcohol, smoke)
MQ136 Hydrogen Sulfide gas

L PG is present on 95% of households in Brazil and is the

main source of energy for cooking [1]. The most used
form is in gas cylinders. In 2017 were sold 7389 million tons
MQ137
MQ214
MQ216
MQ303A
Ammonia
Methane, Natural gas
Natural gas, Coal gas
Alcohol, Ethanol, smoke
of gas, mostly on 13kg cylinders. With this broad presence, MQ306A LPG, butane gas
security measures need to be made to avoid accidents. Most MQ307A Carbon Monoxide
MQ309A Carbon Monoxide, flammable gasses
of them are avoidable with early detection [2]. MG811 Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
To solve this issue, we made a device that detects a leak in AQ-104 Air quality
the early stage. It uses a gas sensor, a microcontroller, and a
GSM module to call the house owner.
II. S YSTEMS DEVELOPMENT

A. LPG Composition and Detection

LPG is basically composed by propane and butane, with
some small amounts of propylene and butylene [3]. All these
substances are in gaseous form in room temperature. In it’s
liquefied form present in gas cylinders can have a pressure
between 3 to 15 kgf/cm2. For safety these gases are mixed
with Thiol, adding odor and making it detectable by humans.
With this composition, and evaluating the gas sensors avail-
able on the market (Table 1), was chosen the MQ-6 sensor,
the sensibility was established on 180 ppm (parts per million)
To make a prototype we made use of development boards
that could lead to a final product with an accessible price. This
requisite led our work to ATMega based boards (Arduino) [6]
[7] , given its reliability, robustness, and low price. Another
choice was the SIM900 GSM Module, that has a complete cell
phone that can make calls, send messages and even connect
to the Internet.
With the already given gas sensor, we could build the alarm
system as shown on Figure 1. The wiring mapping can be
checked on Table 2 and Table 3.

B. Internet connectivity limitations TABLE II

MQ-6/A RDUINO PINOUT MAPPING
Due to lacks on Internet connection limitations in Brazil,
MQ-6 Sensor Arduino
and to make the device broadly available, we decided to use A0 A2
GSM phone services to improve availability and reliability. D0 (not used)
Internet is becoming more available, but its stability stills an GND GND
VCC 5V
issue in many places. Similar systems send SMS messages [4]
or uses XBee radios [5] to solve the same issue.
LPG LEAKAGE DETECTION SYSTEM USING PHONE CALLS ALERTS TO PREVENT ACCIDENTS AND AVOID INJURIES, VOL. 1, NO. 1, MAY 2019 2

Fig. 1. Prototype schematic diagram

TABLE III
GSM M ODULE /A RDUINO PINOUT MAPPING

GSM Module Arduino

TX RX
RX TX
GND GND Fig. 2. Testing the system
5V 5V

III. T ESTS AND R ESULTS
With the hardware built and the code uploaded to the
microcontroller, we proceeded to tests. In the first test, to
guarantee that the system was effectively working we used
a butane gas lighter and we had success, with the system
immediately starting calling the phone number. The flowchart
in Figure 2 shows the basic structure of our program.
We could notice that even low gas concentrations can trigger
the alarm, making it very effective on leakage detection. After
it, in the second test, we placed the alarm near a kitchen stove
and opened the valve without firing it to purposely leak some
LPG and trigger the alarm. The median time between starting
leaking gas and receiving a call on the destiny was 11 seconds,
as can be seen in Figure 3
A sound alarm works with people nearby the alarm but when
they are away from an issue appears, that is the late discovery
of a leak, leading to accidents. SMS messages can be ignored,
and may not be delivered in proper time.
With a proper call, people can react more quickly, using the
proper measures to avoid a bigger problem.
In further works, we expect to have it not only calling but
making it an Internet-connected device. We already have the
hardware but we have to circumvent the limitations imposed
due to the lack of connectivity before mentioned.

IV. C ONCLUSION
This article describes an alert system using phone calls, we
could achieve the desired result, with a fast, cheap and robust
prototype. It can tackle a problem that similar systems have.
LPG LEAKAGE DETECTION SYSTEM USING PHONE CALLS ALERTS TO PREVENT ACCIDENTS AND AVOID INJURIES, VOL. 1, NO. 1, MAY 2019
Fig. 3. Flowchart with a simplified version of the program
R EFERENCES
[1] IBGE, “Instituto brasileiro de geografia e estatı́stica. pesquisa
de orçamentos familiares 2008-2009.” [Online]. Available:
https://biblioteca.ibge.gov.br/visualizacao/livros/liv50063.pdf
[2] D. T. Mujawar, “Development of wireless sensor network system for lpg
gas leakage detection system,” vol. 6, pp. 558–563, 04 2015.
[3] A. L. B. LTDA, “Mistura de gases inflamáveis (propano e butano ).”
[Online]. Available: https://bit.ly/2V433Ia
[4] “Segurança com gás liquefeito de petróleo - GLP.”
[5] N. et al, “Development of multipurpose gas leakage and fire detector with
alarm system.”
[6] M. Roberts, Arduino Básico, 2nd ed. Novatec.
[7] S. Oliveira, Internet das Coisas com ESP8266, Arduino e Raspberry PI.
Novatec.
3
Fig. 4. Median time to call destiny
Wilmar Borges Leal Junior Teacher Federal Institute of Tocantins - IFTO,
master’s student in Computational Modeling of Systems at the Federal Univer-
sity of Tocantins - UFT. Graduated in Licenciatura in Computing. Specialist
in Web Application Development and Architecture and IT Infrastructure e
Management. Cisco Network Academy Instructor.
Humberto Xavier de Araujo Graduação em Engenharia de
Telecomunicações, Mestrado em Engenharia Elétrica pela Universidade
Federal do Pará UFPA (2007) e Doutorado e Pós-doutorado em Engenharia
Elétrica pela Universidade Estadual de Campinas - UNICAMP (2012).
Tem experiência na área de Engenharia Elétrica com ênfase em Engenharia
Eletrônica e Telecomunicações, atuando principalmente nos seguintes temas:
comunicações móveis, micro-ondas, metamateriais, antenas planares e
compatibilidade eletromagnética. Especialidade em microeletrônica, projetos
de Circuitos Integrados Analógicos e de RF, e Antenas Inspiradas em
Metamateriais. Atualmente é Professor Adjunto IV da Universidade Federal
do Tocantins no curso de Engenharia Elétrica, e atua no programa de
Mestrado em Modelagem Computacional de Sistemas na mesma instituição.
Foi Pesquisador Visitante da Universidad Autónoma de México - UNAM no
perı́odo de 11/2016 a 12/2016, através do Edital Jovens Pesquisadores do
Banco Santander. Bolsista Produtividade PROPESQ/UFT.
Nailson Martins Dantas Landim Possui graduação em Tecnólogo em
Sistemas para Internet pelo Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tec-
nologia do Tocantins (2014). Atualmente é técnico em eletroeletrônica da
Universidade Federal do Tocantins e Aluno do Programa de Pós-Graduação
em Modelagem Computacional da Universidade Federal do Tocantins
Robert Mady Nunes Holds a degree in Information Systems from CEULP /
ULBRA-TO (2007), a Specialization in Information Systems Management
from Federal University of Lavras - MG (2011) and is a student of the
LPG LEAKAGE DETECTION SYSTEM USING PHONE CALLS ALERTS TO PREVENT ACCIDENTS AND AVOID INJURIES, VOL. 1, NO. 1, MAY 2019 4

master’s degree in the Postgraduate Program in Teaching Exact Sciences from

University of Vale do Taquari - UNIVATES (2019). He is currently Professor
of Basic, Technical and Technological Education at the Federal Institute of
Education, Science and Technology of Tocantins. Has experience in the area
of Computer Science, both in the technical area and teaching, working mainly
in the field of Computer Networks, Operating Systems and Systems Security.