Removal of Particulate Matter Using Carbon-Based Charcoal from Simulated Emissions of Smoke by Burning Organic Materials

Overview

The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether natural wood-based charcoals such as pine and juniper are just as effective at air filtration as activated charcoal. For our experiment, we had a controlled environment that consisted of a metal box, a plywood box, and a 3-foot stove pipe that connected the two boxes. We built an air filter that uses charcoal. Once everything was built, we tested the pine, juniper, and activated charcoal by having them filtrate smoke. A fire is made in the metal box and the stove pipe allows the smoke produced by the fire to transfer to the plywood box. Inside the plywood box is the air filter that contains one of the three charcoals and a Purple Air Sensor that measures the particulate matter (PM) in the air due to the smoke. As the smoke is being filtrated by the air filter, the sensor collects the data of the PM levels as they decrease. After all of the charcoals were tested, we studied the data collected by the Purple Air Sensor. The data showed that juniper filtrated the most smoke in a less amount of time compared to pine and activated charcoal. Pine filtrated the second-most amount of smoke from the air while activated charcoal filtrated the least amount of smoke.

Competition history

• JSHS 2020 Category not listed

Resources

• National JSHS abstract book ↗

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