A Passion Avenue For Science
Introduction
Indonesia faces a problem with air and plastic pollution. Indonesia produces around 556.573Mt of CO2 per year through fuel combustion. This contributes to Indonesia regularly having some of the worst air quality in the world. These pollutants pose a major threat to the health of wildlife and humans. Furthermore, Indonesia produces around 3.2 million tonnes of unmanaged plastic waste per year, destroying habitats and killing animals. Most of theseplastics are plastics such as polyvinyl chloride, low-density polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene and other types of polycarbonates and polylactic fibres.
Triboelectrification is the process by which two uncharged bodies become charged through the contact of one body with the other before its separation. This charge can be used to attract pollutants out of the air which is why research has begun into creating triboelectric filters. A study has shown that tribo electrically charged materials are able to consistently capture Particulate Matter (PM) of sizes PM, PM25, and PMo out of the air, showing how triboelectric filters have merit to be used in the future as air filters.
Another aspect of triboelectricity is that triboelectric charge can be stored in polymers for long periods of time, meaning that polymers are an ideal candidate for triboelectric filters to utilize. Previous studies have shown that PTFE spheres utilized in a specialized triboelectric filter have been successfully able to capture particulate matter. This shows how the triboelectric potential of polymers can be used to create air filters which filter harmful matter out of the air.
Filter 3D Design and Data Collection Software
For the development of this project, 2 main softwares are used which are LabVIEW and Autodesk Fusion.
Autodesk Fusion: to design and fabricate the air filter body and sensor casing, Autodesk Fusion 360 was utilized due to its comprehensive suit of 3D, CAD, CAM and CAE tools. This software enabled the precise modeling of complex geometreis and facilitated the creation of detailed, manufacturable designs. After the design was completed, it was sent to a 3D printer to produce the hardware.
LabVIEW: LabVIEW was used to create the data collection program, enabling efficient acquisition and analysis of sensor data. Its graphical programming environment and extensive library of built-in functions simplified the development of complex data acquisition systems. The program seamlessly interfaced with various sensors to collect and process real-time data. It included features for data visualization and allowed for the integration of custom algorithms, enhancing overall functionality and accuracy.
Data Results
The preliminary data for the triboelectric filter indicate that the filter can successfully capture the particulate matter out of the air. The procedure of carrying our the preliminary test was to shake the triboelectric filter for 3 minutes before turning on the vacuum pump drawing air through. The flow rate sensor and particulate matter detectors were also activated to collect data on the particulate matter passing in and out of the filter. The data results collected from this test are quite promising and show that the quality of the air passing out of the filter was cleaner than the quality of the air initially going into the filter.
Conclusion and Future Outlook
The results of the experiments conducted are promising showing that the triboelectric filter created has an effect on the particulate matter in the air and can consistently filter out small amounts of it. This alongside the backing of scientific studies showing that triboelectrically charged materials can be used to attract particulate matter, filtering them out of the air suggests that this field has merit and can potentially be used in the future to develop a legitimate air filter.
The future outlook from this project is to create a product that is cheap, optimized, and highly scalable so that in the future, it can be used as a legitimate means to help mitigate the toxic byproducts of gasoline powered vehicles, thereby helping the climate while we transition from utilizing gasoline powered vehicles to more environmentally friendly options such as electric or hydrogen powered vehicles.
In this work, Mateo and his mentor are utilizing plastic waste and the triboelectric effect to filter particulate matter from air pollution.
Utilizing the Triboelectric Effect of Vibrating Plastic Waste to Create an Air Filtration System
2023