MIE.16 – Organic Air Filter

• Ramin Ayrempour
• Fernando Estrada Vallejo
• Anoushka Sen
• Anuj Soni

Historically, air purifiers reduce the number of physical particles in the air such as dust, dander, and dirt. However, they struggle with reducing the gaseous molecules in the air such as carbon dioxide (CO2). The TruSens Z-3000 air purifier currently uses a combination of a particle capture media and a gas capture media to purify the air. Most companies use a form of activated carbon media for the capture of gasses, which is very inefficient at capturing CO2. Organic gas filters are hypothesized to increase the capture of CO2 from the air and meet consumer demand for a green and renewable solution. By implementing the use of an organic filter, the team and sponsor believed it would lead to an increase in CO2 capture. Our team designed and incorporated an organic filter, which was made from reindeer moss, into the TruSens Z-3000 air purifier. However, through prolonged testing of the organic filter in the Z-3000 air purifier, the opposite result was achieved. The reindeer moss is unable to sustain itself over a long period of time, making it an unfavorable choice of material for the purpose of this project as it releases CO2 as it decays in the air purified.