Fabrication and Design of Solar Powered Air
Purifier for improving Air Quality Index
Rushikesh Kadam , Oshin Pojta, Kunal Jagtap Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar (India)
Sumit Shoor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar (India) ABSTRACT
Air pollution has become a serious problem these modern days. Air pollution is present outside in the environment and has become difficult to provide safety inside the house. This polluted air can cause many serious health problems in cities. If someone is suffering from breathing problems like Asthma or Sinus or suffering from any lung problem then air-purifier acts as a surviving tool. Air purifier reduces the chances of health issues caused by indoor pollutants, which directly trigger neurological problems, respiratory infection or symptoms in asthma suffering. Hence, the fabrication of a low-cost solar-powered air-purifier made using a HEPA filter, Activated Carbon Filter, Solar Panel, and some miscellaneous components that can become a low-cost but efficient alternative for surviving in such difficult times. This air purifier uses various processes like filtering large dirt particles on the first pre-filter, then capturing dust particles and smoke molecules at the HEPA-filter, and uses Carbon-filter to capture micro-particles produces clean purified air. The analysis and results conclude that the Air Purifier can produce 96 percent of clean air and can run up to 14 hours a day by a solar-powered system.
KEYWORDS: Air Quality index, HEPA filter, Activated Carbon filter, Solar panel, Air Purifier
1. INTRODUCTION
An air purifier is a device which removes all air pollutants from the air and it is used for improving air quality index. Air purifier made using HEPA filter, Activated Carbon Filter and some miscellaneous components that can become an efficient alternative for surviving in such difficult times. This air purifier uses various processes like filtering large dirt particles on the first pre-filter, then capturing dust particles and smoke molecules at the HEPA-filter, uses Carbon-filter for capturing micro-particles, and hence produces clean purified air. After the Industrial Revolution, air pollution has become a serious problem and has become a major concern in today’s world. Many reports published by various organizations stated that 4.21 million individuals died prematurely in 2012 as a result of air pollution. So we have to work upon this major crisis. In spite of the fact that there are many types of air purifiers that are available in the market, none of them is working on solar energy with good efficiency. Baltrėnas, P. Zagorskis, et al analyzed the
of height and distance. The maximum removal efficiency was observed at a height of 60cm from the ground. Subramanian Sundarrajana evaluated in his research papers that, HEPA filters and activated carbon filters are effective in clearing dirt molecules from the air. HEPA filters do have an efficiency of up to 99.97% in filtering micro particles and disinfect micro-organisms present in the atmosphere [3]. Activated carbon can clear sulphur and its constituents that are in the groups of sulfates and sulfites, having bonded to sodium and iron. Research paper also stated that Sodium and Iron Sulphites and Sulphur can be absorbed by the carbon, but adsorption efficiency can change depending on time [4]. S. B. Divate, S. R. Kadam et al analyzed that activated carbon proves to have more adsorbing efficiency than other filters of the same category. Yoshiko Yoda, Kenji Tamura et al have stated that as air purifiers becoming popular, it is still unclear that air purifiers improve respiratory health. Their study included 32 healthy individuals with two air purifiers (true air purifier and sham air purifier). Duration for this study was 12 weeks. Their study shows a significant drop in PM2.5 Conducted study in Shanghai, China showed around a 57% drop in PM2.5 concentration indoor when the room was kept closed for 48 hours. Their experiment did not show any improvement in respiratory health improvement in healthy adults however, they concluded that more study on a large population requires understanding the long-term effects of air purification on respiratory health.
A study with 23 stable COPD patients showed that exhaled of FeNO( nitric oxide) and FeH2S (Hydrogen sulfide) increased significantly with the increase in air pollutants. It analyzed a link between increasing levels of air pollutants and elevated symptoms of sore throat, cough, nausea and dyspnea. FeH2S might aid as an efficient in the detection of the adverse respiratory effect of air pollution. It also suggests risk to public health in densely populated cities with a high level of air pollution [7]. All the air purifiers available in the market are mostly expensive and they work on the electricity, which gives a hike in electricity bills. Hence, manufacturing a low cost solar controlled air purifier, which totally works on the solar energy, is a need of the moment.
1.1 COMPONENTS
1.1.1 SOLAR PANEL:
table 1: solar panel specification
fig 1: solar panel
1.1.2 BATTERY 1.1.3 Arduino Uno ATmega328P
fig 3: 12v 7ah battery fig 4: arduino uno atmega328p development board [8]
Type of Module 40W
Maximum Power 40W
Tolerance +/- 3%
Open Circuit Voltage 22.2V
Short Circuit Current 2.37A
Maximum Power Voltage 18.2V
Maximum Power Current 2.2A
Module Efficiency 12.84%
Solar Cell Efficiency 17.3%
1.1.4 BRUSHLESS MOTOR 1.1.5 HEPA +CARBON FILTER
fig 5: brushless dc motor fig 6: hepa + activated carbon filter
2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND:
Time taken to charge a 12V/7Ah battery from 40W Solar panel:
Solar panel and components specifications:
12 volt/7Ah battery
40-watt solar panel
solar charge controller
In order to estimate charge controller’s maximum output: 40W / 12V = 3.33A
Taking power losses (20%) and efficiency of solar-charge controller: 75% * 3.33A * (1 - (20 / 100)) * (75 / 100) = 1.998A (~2A)
Taking Lead-Acid battery efficiency:
85% * 7Ah *(1 / (85 / 100)) = 5.95Ah (~6Ah)
Time to charge entire battery approximately, if it charges 2A per hour: 6Ah / 2A = 3 hrs
Taking into account, most of the charge controllers have absorption charging time 2 hrs: 3 hrs + 2 hrs = 5hrs
Therefore, it will take around 5 hrs to charge the 12V/7Ah battery entirely.
Time taken by 0.5A Air Purifier Motor Fan to discharge 12V/7Ah battery:
To calculate the No. of hrs, a motor of 0.5 amp motor that runs on 7Ah battery, if the battery is fully charged:
7Ah/ 0.5 = 14h
So, the Solar Powered Air Purifier System can run approximately up to 14 hrs from 7Ah battery, if the battery is fully charged.
Calculating Air Quality Percentage:
Assuming normal smoke conditions, the MQ135 sensor provides reading from 0 to 300 PPM (for ammonia or benzene gases - 0 to 900 PPM):
Sensor Percentage = (Air Quality Reading * 100) / 300.
Program for Arduino UNO :
#include <LiquidCrystal_I2C.h> #include <Servo.h> #include <Wire.h> LiquidCrystal_I2C lcd(0x27, 16, 2); Servo esc; void setup() { lcd.begin(); Serial.begin(9600); lcd.backlight(); lcd.print("Hello, everyone!"); esc.attach(7); esc.writeMicroseconds(1000); Serial.begin(9600); pinMode(A1, INPUT); Serial.begin(9600); pinMode(A2, INPUT); Serial.begin(9600); } void loop() {
long potentiometer = analogRead(A0);
potentiometer = map(potentiometer, 0, 1023, 1000, 2000); Serial.print(F("% potentiometer Read: "));
Serial.println(potentiometer);
esc.writeMicroseconds(potentiometer);
int mq1 = analogRead(A1);
delay(1000);
int mq2 = analogRead(A2);
Serial.print(F("% AirQuality Sensor - Air Out: ")); Serial.println(mq2);
lcd.clear();
lcd.print("Polluted |IN:"+mq1); lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
lcd.print(" Air |OUT:"+mq2); delay(1000);
}
3. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
fig 8: creo-design of air-purifier. fig 9: exploded view of air-purifier
The Solar Panel captures sunlight and converts solar-energy into electrical-energy, then sends it to Solar Charge Controller to handle the unstable current. The Solar Charge Controller supplies stabilized current with 12 Volts to the battery. The battery stores the current according to its respective capacity.
From Battery to its connection to Electronic Speed Controller at 12V, the speed controller powers 12V Brushless DC Motor Fan and Arduino Board through speed controller’s pins connected as shown. In order to control DC motor’s speed, the speed controller needs to take input readings from another device using its signal pin, which in this case is Arduino board. To provide certain input to speed controller, Arduino board reads potentiometer (10K ohm used), supplies relative input to speed controller, and helps in motor speed control. Instead of using Arduino board and Potentiometer’s speed control, a Servo-Tester can also be used. The Fan then pushes Polluted Air through the Air Filters, where various types of filters provide filtration and outputs clean air. Air Quality sensors MQ135 connected to front and back of Air Purifier read the Polluted Air going inside and Clean Air coming outside.
fig 8: air purifier front-view with 40w solar panel
4. Result and Analysis:
fig 9: air quality results from fabricated air purifier
Values in chart are actual air-quality sensor readings (0-300 ppm), Breathable clean room air up to 10% or
~20 ppm of Air Quality Sensor. This analysis is done by providing smoke (around 200 ppm) by artificially
creating it under home environment.
The above results are the readings noted by the MQ135 air quality sensor mounted at the back of the purifier, from there the polluted air going inside the air-purifier, and the sensor mounted at the front, reading the quality of air purified by the purifier coming outside from the front.
Table 2: air quality readings from polluted air going in and out of the purifier.
5. Conclusion:
Maximum Air Index Value = 205 ppm,
Corresponding Filter Air Index Value (assuming ~6 ppm error due to polluted air interference) = 18 ppm, Air Purification Percentage = (205-17/205)*100 = 91.7 % (~92 %)
This fabricated Solar Powered Air Purifier not only provides clean air but also keeps in consideration that people worry more about unnecessary high electricity consumption. This purifier provides upto 92 percent
Air Quality Results (In PPM)
Polluted Air In Polluted Air Out
20 18.9 20 18 20 19 23 19 23 18 35.1 18 42.9 19 79 19 41 19 195 19 108 19 87 21 86 22 43 22 52 22 112 27 109 28 118 25 181 23 178 24 205 23 117 24 133 22 203.1 21
In addition, this low cost Solar-Powered Air-Purifier can be used in those places where electricity is not available. It can also be made a portable air purifier and remotely controllable. By adding temperature controlled cooling via DHT11 and adding timed fragrance dispenser using a sprayer, providing a unique, luxurious and affordable product in the market at less cost.
6. REFERENCES:
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[2] S. Sundarrajan, K. L. Tan, S. H. Lim, and S. Ramakrishna, “Electrospun nanofibers for air filtration applications,” Procedia Eng., vol. 75, pp. 159–163, 2014, doi: 10.1016/j.proeng.2013.11.034. [3] A. R. K. B and A. Ms, “Self-Sustainable Air Purifier with Air Cooling System,” vol. 7, no. 10, pp.
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[4] S. Ge, Z. Liu, Y. Furuta, and W. Peng, “Characteristics of activated carbon remove sulfur particles against smog,”
Saudi J. Biol. Sci., vol. 24, no. 6, pp. 1370–1374, 2017, doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2016.12.016.
[5] S. B. Divate and R. V Hinge, “Review on Research Removal of Phenol from Wastewater by Using Different Methods,” Int. J. Sci. Res. Publ., vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 2250–3153, 2014
[6] Y. Yoda, K. Tamura, S. Adachi, N. Otani, S. F. Nakayama, and M. Shima, “Effects of the use of air purifier on indoor environment and respiratory system among healthy adults,” Int. J. Environ. Res.
Public Health, vol. 17, no. 10, 2020
[7] Wu S, Wang B, Yang D, Wei H, Li H, Pan L, Huang J, Wang X, Qin Y, Zheng C, Shima M, Deng F, Guo X. Ambient particulate air pollution and circulating antioxidant enzymes: A repeated-measure study in healthy adults in Beijing, China.
[8] Kim, S. M., Choi, Y., & Suh, J. (2020). Applications of the open-source hardware Arduino platform in the mining industry: A review. Applied Sciences (Switzerland), 10(14)
