E-SCAN: Electrochemical Scanning of Carbonates, an In Situ Approach for Screening and Quantifying Inorganic Carbon in Soil

A modified three-electrode system was utilized with a correlated ion-capture film that is functional to changes in soil carbonate moieties to determine an understudied pool of soil carbon that is vital toward holistic carbon sequestration-carbonous soil minerals (CSM). This composite sensor was tested on soils with varying carbonate contents using cyclic voltammetry, chromatocoulometry (DC-based), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to determine signal output as a function of increasing dose. To determine the in-field capability, a portable potentiostat device was integrated into a probe head setup that could be inserted into soil for testing. The results from these experiments showed a linearity of R-2 > 0.97 and a measurable sensing range from 0.01% (100 ppm) to 1% (10 000 ppm). Therefore, a first-of-a-kind in-soil sensor system was developed for determining carbonate content in real soil samples using electrochemistry that can be tested in-field to survey the field-deployable and point-of-use capability of the system.

Automated summary

A sensor system was developed in this study to determine carbonate content in soil. The system showed high linearity and a wide measurement range, making it suitable for field testing and application.