Alcohol breathalyzers are simple and easy to use tools that detect blood alcohol levels. They are intended for personal as well as professional use to control alcohol abuse.
What are breathalyzers and how they work?
Breathalyzers are simple devices to find an estimated measure of blood alcohol content (BAC) from a breath sample. However, they do not directly find the blood alcohol levels. They determine the alcohol concentration in breath sample and calculate the corresponding BAC levels from it. Various technologies such as fuel cell, infrared spectrophotometer and semiconductor technologies are used by breathalyzers.
• Let's first know about electrochemical fuel cell breathalyzers. A chemical reaction occurs in the fuel cell and current is produced when an individual who consumed alcohol exhales into this breathalyzer. According to the readings of the current, BAC is estimated.
• Breathalyzers using infrared spectrophotometer technology measure alcohol levels using infrared light. Alcohol molecules present in the breath sample are absorbed by the infrared light. These devices are table-top models and are used only in research centers and police stations.
• Semiconductor breathalyzers include ethanol-specific sensors to detect alcohol abuse. On passing voltage, current is produced across the sensors which changes with the change in resistance created by the alcoholic molecules. This change in current is used to measure the BAC.
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