MQ 2 Gas Sensor

Figure 1: MQ-2 Gas Sensor

The MQ 2 gas sensor is used to detect or monitor the concentration and/or presence of
combustible gases in the air. It features a simple drive circuit, stable, long life, fast response, and
a wide scope.1 Due to its high sensitivity to hydrogen, LPG (liquid petroleum gas), methane,
carbon monoxide, alcohol, smoke, and propane; this sensor is traditionally used to help detect
gas leaks in many family and industrial practices. This walkthrough will describe how the MQ 2
sensor functions and how to set up the sensor for use on a Raspberry Pi.

How does the MQ 2 work?

Figure 2: Schematic of MQ-2 Gas Sensor from Datasheet

 The MQ 2 sensor is a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS), also known as a chemiresistor.2
MOS sensors measure the change in resistance when gases are present. This type of sensor
requires the gas to encounter the sensor for a chemical reaction to occur. This chemical reaction
causes a change in resistance, which is then measured to detect the presence or concentration of
the gas. However, the MQ 2 sensor is not specific towards one gas. Therefore, a calculated
concentration of gas may not accurately represent the mixture in the air.
The mechanism to sensing the change in resistance
lies within the structure of the sensor. The MQ 2 sensor
contains an anti-explosion network. This is particularly
important due to the heating element inside the sensor and
its potential contact with a flammable gas. This network is
composed of two layers of stainless-steel mesh. This mesh
also functions to filter our particulates from contaminating
and dirtying the sensing mechanism.3 The mesh is mounted
to a bakelite base. Bakelite is a thermosetting plastic made Stainless-Steel Mesh
from phenol and formaldehyde.4 It does not change shape
and will not melt under heat, therefore, providing a very
stable base for the sensor to rest. Figure 3: Anti-Explosion Mesh on MQ-2
gas sensor
The sensing mechanism is under the anti-explosion
mesh and is connected to six legs. It is constructed of
aluminum oxide (Al2O3) based ceramic and coated with tin dioxide (SnO2) – acts as the gas
sensing layer - to form a ceramic tube. Inside this ceramic tube is a nickel-chromium heating
coil (Ni-Cr). The Ni-Cr coil is connected to two of the six legs surrounding the tube. The other
four legs, composed of platinum wires, send the small changing currents as output signals from
the sensor. In summary, the Ni-Cr coil and the Al2O3 form a heating system to make sure the
sensor is at working temperature and the platinum wires and SnO2 form the sensing system.
When the gas interacts with the sensor, the heat from the system ionizes the gas. This ionization
allows SnO2 to absorb the gas. This adsorption causes a change in the resistance on the sensor.
The output legs then send this resistance as an output signal to the microcontroller.3,5

1. Why is the MQ-2 sensor sensitive to LPG, methane, carbon monoxide, alcohol, smoke,
and propane?

2. How does the sensor read in the presence of gas?

3. Can the MQ-2 sensor tell the difference between LPG, methane, carbon monoxide,
alcohol, smoke, and propane?
Connecting the MQ 2

A0

GND

VCC

Figure 4: Connections used to connect MQ-2 to Breadboard

The MQ 2 is mounted on a breakout board to allow for easy connection to a breadboard

and microcontroller. The breakout board has a sensitivity adjustor that allows for calibration
based on a potentiometric threshold on the digital pin (D0), this is mainly used for detection limit
purposes, such as a fire. This set up will utilize the analog pin only for this setup, it supplies the
output voltage in proportion to the concentration of gas present. The breakout board also
contains a pin for the VCC that supplies a 5V output from the Raspberry Pi (microcontroller) and
a GND that grounds the sensor on the Raspberry Pi.
In order to connect the MQ 2 sensor to the Raspberry Pi, two other sensors are needed. A
level converter is needed to take the 5V output signal to a 3.3V signal and an A/D converter to be
able to read the signal in digital form. It is necessary to step the voltage down because a
raspberry pi can only read signals at 3.3V without potential for damage. The A/D converter
changes the analog signal to a digital signal in or order to calculate the concentration of gas from
the signal instead of just a detection.

Figure 6: MCP3008 A/D converter

Figure 5: TXB0108 Level
Converter

Connect the sensors as follows to the Raspberry Pi breadboard.

MCP3008
Pin 16 (VDD) connects to your positive rail
Pin 15 (VREF) connects to your positive rail
Pin 14 (AGND) connects to your ground rail
Pin 13 (CLK) connects to SCLK on your Pi cobbler
Pin 12(DOUT) connects to MISO on your Pi cobbler
Pin 11(DIN) connects to MOSI on your Pi cobbler
Pin 10 (CS) connects to CE0 on your Pi cobbler
Pin 9(DGND) connects to your ground rail.

CYT1076 Red level converter

LV to Pi 3.3V Positive Rail

HV to Pi 5V Positive Rail
HV side GND to GND on Pi
LV side GND to GND on Pi

MQ-2

VCC to Pi 5V Positive Rail

GND to GND on Pi
A0 to CYT1076 HV1
CYT1076 LV1 to A0 on MCP3008

10K resistor from A0 to GND

Figure 7: Schematic of MQ-2 Hookup

 4. How would you connect multiple MQ-2 sensors to the breadboard?

5. How many data streams can be connected on the MCP3008 and CYT1076 sensors?

Coding the MQ-2

Coding for the MQ-2 sensor depends entirely on how it’s going to be used. To use it for
detection only requires a very simple code that will not be covered here, but can be found at Last
Minute Engineers for the Arduino.3 This walk-through will cover how to code the MQ-2 to
calculate ppm concentrations of gas using a fresh air calibration.
The concentration (ppm) of gases is calculated based of the resistance ratio (RS/R0). RS
is the measured change in resistance when the sensing mechanism detects gas and R0 is the
stable sensor resistance in fresh air or no gas presence. Using Ohm’s law and the sensor
𝑉𝐶−𝑅𝐿
schematic, 𝑅𝑆 = 𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 − 𝑅𝐿. VC is the voltage current (in this case 5V from the pi), Vout is
the output voltage (measured analog/digital value), and RL is the load resistance (this set up is at
10K). R0 can then be calculated using this equation, R0 = RS/Fresh air ratio value from
datasheet.
In order to convert the digital signal to concentration units, the datasheet chart is used
again. A simple calibration line has y = mx + b, however, the MQ-2 gas sensor is not linear. It
follows a log-log scale so a bit more calculation is needed. So the y = mx + b equation can be
converted to log(y) = m*log(x) + b. Now using the chart, the slope and intercept can be
𝑦
𝑙𝑜𝑔( ⁄𝑦0)
calculated, where 𝑚 = and 𝑏 = log(𝑦) − 𝑚 ∗ log(𝑥). Once these values are obtained,
𝑙𝑜𝑔(𝑥⁄𝑥0)
the concentration of gas can now be calculated as
[log(𝑦)−𝑏]⁄
𝑥(𝑝𝑝𝑚) = 10 𝑚. (Remember that y is
equal to RS/R0.

Example calculation for LPG:

At 1000ppm the values are (1000,0.8) and at 10000

the values are (10000, 0.27). So
𝑙𝑜𝑔(0.27⁄ )
𝑚 = 𝑙𝑜𝑔(10000⁄0.8 = 0.47
1000)
And
𝑏 = log(0.8) + 0.47 ∗ log(1000) = 1.31.

Figure 8: Sensitivity Diagram for MQ-2

 6. Calculate the slope and y-intercept for two of the other gases in the sensitivity
diagram.

7. Calculate the concentration of those gases if the RS/R0 value is equal to 1, 6, and 10.

Once all the parameters have been calculated, coding for the sensor can begin. The first part will
be to code for the fresh air calibration to obtain the RS and R0 value in clean air. The second
part of the code will detect the presence of gas and output a ppm concentration reading. Coding
is as follows in the Thonny IDE:

These are the libraries needed to run the MCP3008 and to calculate the ppm concentrations of
the gas. (These libraries should already be installed on Raspberry Pi when purchased).

In order to obtain the digital output values, the correct location must be set in the code. The MQ-
2 sensor was connected to the first channel on the MCP3008, which is set up as channel 0.

The sensorValue is the digital signal value coming from the MQ-2 sensor readings. In order to
calibrate in fresh air and average of 500 readings is taken. The initial value starts at 0 to allow
for addition of each reading to one another.
This part of the code averages the readings and converts to the RS value in air. From this voltage
we can calculate the R0 in fresh air.

Using the R0 value calculated from above, this part of the code measures in real time for gas.
Once the ratio is obtained, the concentration of gas can be calculated.

To see the values, simply use a print statement. The sensor can cycle as many times as desired.

Homework:

Create a code to allow three MQ-2 sensors to run simultaneously and have them calibrated for
three different gases. Have the sensors take a measurement every 10 minutes for 6 hours and
save the ppm results to a spreadsheet. Test your sensors with a lighter to see if there is an
increase in any of the gases.

Write a code to then graph the results.

Turn in code and data plot.

The values obtained from this calibration are approximate and are not meant to be exact values.

References
(1) Arduino Playground - MQGasSensors https://playground.arduino.cc/Main/MQGasSensors
(accessed Feb 7, 2019).
(2) Chemiresistor. Wikipedia; 2019.
(3) lmewp1908. In-Depth: How MQ2 Gas/Smoke Sensor Works? & Interface It with Arduino.
Last Minute Engineers, 2018.
(4) Is it Bakelite? https://www.realorrepro.com/article/Is-it-Bakelite (accessed Feb 6, 2019).
(5) EngineersGarage. Insight - Learn the Working of a Gas Sensor
https://www.engineersgarage.com/insight/how-gas-sensor-works (accessed Feb 6, 2019).