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Design and Development of a Low-Cost Milk Analyzer

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DOI: 10.1166/sl.2019.4208

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 Copyright © 2019 American Scientific Publishers
All rights reserved SENSOR LETTERS
Printed in the United States of America Vol. 17, 1–6, 2019

Design and Development of a Low-Cost Milk Analyzer

Hemanta Naskar1 ∗ and Siuli Das2
1
Department of Instrumentation and Electronics Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India
2
Department of Instrumentation Engineering, Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology, Nerul, Navi Mumbai 400706, India

(Received: xx Xxxx xxxx. Accepted: xx Xxxx xxxx)

Milk analyzer is a very useful instrument in the dairy industry. Feed is the principle cause of vari-
ation in the composition of fat, although several other factors are believed to influence. The fat
concentration is most sensitive to dietary changes, followed by protein concentration; whereas the
concentration of lactose, vitamins, Solid not fat (SNF), salts and other solid constituents do not
respond to the dietary alterations. Analyzing the percentage of fat, SNF, protein and lactose are
very important. There are two different type of milk analyzers are reported in this work. Both are low
cost and user friendly milk analyzer. One is a milk analyzer using a constant phase element (CPE)
sensor and it is a contact type. The other one is milk analyzer using ultrasound wave. The ultra-
sonic sensor is a noncontact type sensor. When ultrasound wave passed through the milk sample
it is attenuated. The signal conditioning circuit is designed and the performance of milk analyzer is
studied in this work. These two milk analyzers are inexpensive and easy to handle.
Keywords: Milk Analyzer, Conductivity, Solid Not Fat, Constant Phase Element, Ultrasonic
Sensor.

1. INTRODUCTION
Analysis of milk components mainly fat, solid not fat
(SNF), protein, lactose, salts are very important in the
present day. To make greater profit, businessmen add tap
water, urea, chalk dust, whey, liquid whey, detergents etc.
to increase the volume of milk [1, 2]. Adulterated milk
reduces its nutritional value. The milk components analy-
sis is also necessary because the fat concentration is most
sensitive to dietary changes. Whereas the concentration of
lactose, vitamins, solid not fat, salts and other solid con-
stituents do not respond much to the dietary alterations.
The composition of milk (water, fat, protein, lactose, min-
erals and energy) varies considerably with the breed of
cow, stage of lactation, feed, season of the year, and many
other factors. Breeding cows are able to produce more milk
than the requirement of their offspring. The excess milk
produced is harvested by man to make a significant con-
tribution to his diet and income. Milk is considered as the
most nutritious food ever. The whole milk of about 24 gm
would provide about 90 to 150 Kcal depending upon the
fat and milk solid not fat (SNF) content. Besides, milk is
associated with many of the vitamins (A, D and E), Pig-
ments and other compounds enhance the nutritive as well
as the commercial value of milk [3, 4].
∗
Corresponding author; E-mail: hemanta.naskar87@gmail.com
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Critical milk components such as fat and solids not fat
can be accurately analyzed by LACTICHECK Analyzer
through accurate assessment of changes in these parame-
ters. Also, using a mathematical formula, the percentage of
each component is exactly measured which in turn helps
in calculating other characteristics, such as protein, added
water and freezing point [5].
In literature, near-infrared spectroscopy technique is
investigated for the analysis of major components in
milk [6–10]. Lacto-Scope FTIR Advanced utilizes Mid-
Infrared (IR) analysis technology is also a standard method
of analysis of milk components [11]. Electronic Milko
tester [12] is used to calculate fat percentage in milk. Elec-
tronic tester works on the principle of photometric mea-
surement of light scattered by the fat globules present in
the milk sample. Ultrasonic milk analyzer has been utilized
for monitoring fat globules, SNF and protein in raw milk
by using the acoustic properties of milk [13]. It has been
reported to have been further utilized for detection of adul-
teration in fluid food items or for monitoring of microbial
growth using constant phase element sensor [14, 15]. The
main disadvantages of above mentioned analyzers are high
cost, takes more time for measurement and knowledgeable
persons are required to handle these available instruments.
So, the main aim of this paper is to develop a low cost,
portable, user friendly milk analyzer system for analyzing

Sensor Lett. 2019, Vol. 17, No. xx 1546-198X/2019/17/001/006 doi:10.1166/sl.2019.4208 1

 Design and Development of a Low-Cost Milk Analyzer
milk components; fat, Solid not fat, protein, lactose, den-
sity which can be easily used in dairy industry as well as
house hold purpose.
Das et al. [16] have analyzed the milk adulteration using
Constant Phase Element (CPE) Sensor by analyzing the
pH level of the milk sample. They have analyzed the adul-
teration of different impurities (tap water, liquid-whey and
urea) by analyzing the change of pH level caused due to
addition of impurities. The main objective of this paper is
to determine the fat, SNF, lactose, protein, salt by analyz-
ing the conductivity of the milk sample using CPE sen-
sor [17–21]. As because of the change of fat content may
not affect the pH level, but conductivity depends upon fat
content of the milk sample. By analyzing the fat content
in a milk sample, amount of solid not fat, lactose, and
protein, salt can be determined.
In this paper, two different types of milk analyzer are
presented. One is a milk analyzer using constant phase ele-
ment (CPE) sensor. The working principle of CPE sensor
is based on the change of phase angle which is constant
within a certain frequency band due to the change of con-
ductivity of milk. And other one is milk analyzer using
ultrasonic sensor. The working principle of ultrasonic sen-
sor is based on the attenuation of ultrasound wave. When
ultrasound wave passed through the milk sample, it is
attenuated. The signal conditioning circuit is designed and
the performance of milk analyzer is studied in this paper.
RESEARCH ARTICLE
2. MATERIALS AND METHODS
2.1. Milk Sample Preparation
To start with, double distilled water is added to pure milk
for sample preparation. A very popular daily brand of
India, Amul Gold has been chosen for the test. The Amul
Gold milk is packed as full cream milk having a minimum
of 6.6% fat and 9.0% SNF (commercially available infor-
mation). Firstly, 50 ml of pure milk has been taken and for
the purpose of testing, 10 test samples in concentration of
0% to 100% (with 10% increment), have been duly pre-
pared. Throughout the process, the temperature has been
maintained at a steady room temperature.
2.2. Fabrication of the CPE Sensor
Two types of CPE sensors have been designed in this
work, i.e., CPE using copper electrode [22] and CPE using
platinized silicon electrode [21]. In both cases, PMMA-
chloroform solution is provided on the surface of the elec-
trodes. The fabrication procedure of CPE sensor using
copper electrode and platinized silicon electrode is dis-
cussed in details in Refs. [22, 23]. Finally copper electrode
constant phase angel sensors result has been shown in this
paper.
2.3. Sensor Output
The output of CPE sensor is the measuring phase angle
(‘’) which depends upon the change of conductivity of
2 Sensor Letters 17, 1–6, 2019
Naskar and Das
milk sample. In the proposed work the change of phase
angle (‘’) due to the change in conductivity of medium
has been utilized to determine the amount of fat, SNF,
lactose, protein, salts in the milk sample. The change of
phase angle will be converted to equivalent voltage which
is directly related to fat content of the milk sample. The
change in (‘’) has been converted to an equivalent voltage
by using the phase detector circuit. After measuring the fat
content and density of the sample, the SNF, lactose, pro-
tein, salts can be determined using standard mathematical
formulas [5].
SNF determination:
SNF % = 0075 × Fat % + 100 − 100/Density/0378
(1)
For cow milk:
Lactose % = SNF % × 055 (2)
Protein % = SNF % × 0367 (3)
Salts % = SNF % × 0083 (4)
3. DESIGN OF THE MILK ANALYZER
The block diagram of design of milk analyzer is shown
in Figure 1. It includes sensor, signal conditioning circuit,
microcontroller based circuit and display unit. Two differ-
ent types of milk analyzer are considered in this work.
One is a milk analyzer using constant phase element (CPE)
sensor. And the other one is milk analyzer using ultrasonic
sensor.
3.1. CPE Based Milk Aanalyser
The working principle of CPE sensor, the signal condi-
tioning circuit and the experimental result are discussed in
this section.
3.1.1. Principle of CPE Sensor Measurement
In this experiment, measuring the phase angle at the out-
put of constant phase element sensor is the cornerstone
of the principle of detection. The variation of phase angle
with changes in the conductivity of the medium is uti-
lized in the present work. Conductivity of the milk sam-
ple changes through adding of the double distilled water,
thereby changing the resultant phase angle. This phase
angle change gives way to equivalent voltage (which is
therefore, directly related or the Milk’s fat content.
Fig. 1. Block diagram of milk analyzer.
Naskar and Das Design and Development of a Low-Cost Milk Analyzer

Table I. Phase angle in different conductivity of milk sample.

Phase angle (degree)

Added Milk Conductivity
water (ml) (ml) (mS) Day 1 Day 2 Day 3

0 50 3.5 −21012 −21211 −21147

5 50 3.3 −2086 −2067 −20752
10 50 3.1 −20571 −20551 −20443
15 50 2.9 −19125 −19229 −20012
20 50 2.7 −18107 −18315 −18209
25 50 2.5 −1753 −1785 −17455
30 50 2.4 −16676 −1671 −1685
35 50 2.3 −15785 −157 −15691
40 50 2.2 −14234 −1433 −14435
45 50 2.1 −13356 −13344 −13445
50 50 2.0 −12572 −12449 −1242

3.1.2. Phase Angle Measurement

The phase angle is measured in different conductivity of
milk sample and is shown in Table I. The phase angle
value in different conductivity of milk sample graph is
shown in Figure 2. A linear fit, y = mx + c consists of
‘m’, ‘c’ and fit factor (R2 ) values are shown in Figure 2
for all the three days. It is worth to mention that CPE sen-
sor shows reproducibility in consecutive three days. From
Figure 2, it is observed that fit factor values (R2 = 0931)
are close to 1 which indicates that the relation of phase
angle and conductivity values are almost linear. The slopes
(m) and intercepts (c) values are negative (i.e., −5.777 and
−2.026) which shows phase angle increases with decrease
Fig. 3. Phase angle measurement in added double distilled water in
milk (ml).
can be concluded that phase angle increases with increase
of water in milk.
3.1.3. Results for CPE Based Milk Analyzer
The fat content of the milk sample is measured in terms of
voltage using the phase detector circuit [24]. The density
values are measured by lactometer. After measuring the
fat percentage and density we have calculated SNF, lac-

of conductivity value as shown in Figure 2.
From Table I and Figure 3, it is clear that by adding
double distilled water in milk, the conductivity decreases
and phase angle increases. From Figure 3, it is found that
fit factor is approximately 0.9 which is close to 1 which
indicates that relationship is almost linear. The slopes are
positive and same (0.18) for 3 consecutive days. Hence it
RESEARCH ARTICLE
tose and salts by using Eqs. (1–4) respectively. ATMEGA
32 microcontroller is used for calculating the SNF, protein
and other parameters which are finally displayed through
LCD. The experimental results are shown in Table II. Con-
ductivity (mS) versus phase angle (degree) is characterized
in Figure 2 and output voltage (V ) for different fat values
is presented in Figure 4. From Table II and Figure 4 it
is observed that as water in milk increases; fat percentage
decreases and corresponding voltage decreases and calcu-
lated SNF, protein, lactose and salts percentage decreases.
It is worth to mention that experiment is repeated for three
times to check the repeatability and average value is tab-
ulated in Table II. The input output relationship between
percentage of fat and corresponding voltage is given by
the equation,

y = 0291x + 0207 R2 = 0981 (5)

From Eq. (5) it is clear that R2 value is close to 1 which

indicates that relationship is almost linear and shown in
Figure 4.

3.2. Milk Analyzer Using Ultrasonic Sensor

In this section, a prototype of milk analyzer using ultra-
sonic sensor is reported which is low cost, simple and easy
Fig. 2. Phase angle measurement in different conductivity in milk to use. This milk analyzer can analyze the percentage of
sample. fat, SNF, protein, density, lactose and salt content of milk.

Sensor Letters 17, 1–6, 2019 3

 Design and Development of a Low-Cost Milk Analyzer Naskar and Das

Table II. Output voltages for different fat percentage milk.

Added water (ml) Milk sample (ml) Fat (%) Output voltage (V ) Density (gm/cc) SNF (%) Protein (%) Lactose (%) Salt (%)

0 50 6.6 2.153 1.033 9.76 4.64 4.39 0.73

5 55 6.4 2.079 1.028 8.47 4.02 3.81 0.64
10 60 6.1 1.996 1.027 8.11 3.85 3.65 0.61
15 65 5.8 1.950 1.025 7.58 3.60 3.41 0.57
20 70 5.5 1.759 1.022 6.77 3.22 3.05 0.51
25 75 5.2 1.658 1.019 5.98 2.84 2.70 0.45
30 80 4.9 1.601 1.018 5.63 2.67 2.53 0.42
35 85 4.6 1.549 1.017 5.33 2.53 2.40 0.40
40 90 4.4 1.499 1.016 5.04 2.40 2.27 0.38
45 95 4.2 1.450 1.015 4.74 2.25 2.13 0.36
50 100 4.0 1.412 1.014 4.45 2.11 2.00 0.33

The main advantage of this ultrasonic milk analyzer; it is
very small device, easy to fabricate.
3.2.1. Principle of Ultrasonic Sensor Measurement
An ultrasonic sensor transmits the ultrasonic wave and
detects the reflected ultrasonic wave from an object. This
principle is also used in ultrasonic milk analyzer which
can analyze the percentage of fat, SNF, protein, density,
lactose, salt etc.
The working principle of ultrasonic sensor is based on
the piezoelectric property. When ac voltage is applied to
piezoelectric ceramics, mechanical distortion is generated
according to the applied voltage and frequency. On the
other hand, when mechanical force is applied to the piezo-
electric ceramics, an electric charge is produced. This prin-
RESEARCH ARTICLE
The ultrasonic transmitter and receiver are fixed in the
glass cell and were aligned horizontally opposite to each
other and placed 14 mm apart. ZT40-16 is an ultrasonic
transmitter and ZR40-16 is a receiver used for this setup.
3.2.3. Signal Conditioning Circuit for
Ultrasonic Milk Analyzer
The signal conditioning circuit of ultrasonic milk analyzer
is shown in Figure 5. Here two UA741 operational ampli-
fiers are used. The input signal of ultrasonic transmitter
is 20 V (peak–peaks), 40 kHz sinusoidal and the output
of ultrasonic receiver is charge signal. So, the first opera-
tional amplifier is used as a charge amplifier which con-
verts charge to voltage. This output voltage is a noisy
signal. The high pass filter is used to eliminating the noise.

ciple of ultrasonic sensor is used in this work.
3.2.2. Setup Description
The experimental setup includes the rectangular glass
which is made by perplex glass. The length of rectangular
glass is 70 mm, height is 65 mm, and width is 40 mm [25].
Finally, this noise free sinusoidal signal is amplified by a
simple gain amplifier whose gain is 11. The output voltage
(V0 ) of amplifier is AC sinusoidal.
3.2.4. Results for Ultrasonic Milk Analyzer
The experimental results are shown in consecutive two
days in Table III. Here the density decreases with decreas-
ing the percentage of fat. And output voltage increases
with the increasing of the percentage of fat. Here also,
after measuring the percentage of fat and density we have

C1 47pF
Ultrasonic receiver

R4
R1

47K 47K
Ultrasonic 10M
transmitter
.001uF UA
Milk R3 741
UA Vo
sample 741

holder C2

R2 4.547K
20 V(p-p),
40KHz

Fig. 4. Output voltage for different % of fat in CPE based milk

analyzer. Fig. 5. Signal conditioning circuit for ultrasonic milk analyzer.

4 Sensor Letters 17, 1–6, 2019

Naskar and Das Design and Development of a Low-Cost Milk Analyzer

Table III. Output voltages for different fat percentages.

Added water Output voltage Output voltage

to milk (%) Fat (%) Density (gm/cc) at day 1 (V) at day 2 (V) SNF (%) Protein (%) Lactose (%) Salt (%)

0 6.6 1.033 2.42 2.40 9.76 4.64 4.39 0.73

10 6.4 1.028 2.30 2.29 8.47 4.02 3.81 0.64
20 5.9 1.027 2.20 2.20 8.11 3.85 3.65 0.61
30 5.7 1.025 2.14 2.16 7.58 3.60 3.41 0.57
40 5.4 1.022 2.03 2.00 6.77 3.22 3.05 0.51
50 5.2 1.019 1.96 1.95 5.98 2.84 2.70 0.45
60 4.9 1.018 1.85 1.85 5.63 2.67 2.53 0.42
70 4.6 1.017 1.75 1.75 5.33 2.53 2.40 0.40
80 4.4 1.016 1.64 1.60 5.04 2.40 2.27 0.38
90 4.2 1.015 1.58 1.52 4.74 2.25 2.13 0.36
100 4.0 1.014 1.50 1.45 4.45 2.11 2.00 0.33

is measured by lactometer. After measuring the density

and fat content in milk we can measure the SNF, protein,
lactose and salt value in milk. These milk analyzers are
very small instrument and low cost. The ultrasonic sensor
is used as a non-contact type but CPE sensor is contact
type milk analyzer. Signal conditioning circuit for ultra-
sonic milk analyzer as well as CPE milk analyzer is very
simple. But most of the available milk analyzers in the
present market are costly and signal conditioning circuit is
also very complex.

Acknowledgments: The authors are thankful to Indian

Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. The authors are also
like to thanks Dr. Karabi Biswas, of Department of

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Electrical Engineering of Indian institute of Technology,
Kharagpur for her help and suggestions. The authors are
also thankful to dairy laboratory, Department of agricul-
Fig. 6. Output voltage for different fat content. tural, IIT Kharagpur.

calculated the percentage of SNF, protein, lactose, salts
value and tabulated in Table III. It is to be noted that per-
centage of SNF, protein, lactose and salt values decreases
with decrease of output voltage.
The output voltage for different percentage of fat is
shown in Figure 6. From Table III and Figure 6, it is evi-
dent that ultrasonic sensor is showing reproducibility in
both the days. Form Figure 6 it is also found that the fit
factor is approximately 0.9 which is close to 1 that means
the input output relationship is almost linear. The slopes
are positive and same for both the days.
4. CONCLUSION
In this paper, two types of milk analyzers have been
reported. One is CPE milk analyzer by using constant
phase element (CPE) sensor and second one is ultrasonic
sensor. The working principle of CPE sensor is based on
the measurement of phase angle due to the conductivity
of milk sample, while ultrasonic milk analyzer is based on
attenuation of ultrasound wave. Both the milk analyzers
successfully measured the fat content and density of milk
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