the project addresses the solution by improving an indoor air purification system, after research and using NASA resources it was found that mechanisms for air purification can diverse: some are mechanical, electrical, or UVGI. from the major problems of these systems are the accumulation of bacteria inside the filters and forming like a colony inside it, the other thing formation of the ozone layer as a byproduct, also its incapability of removing VOC from the air.
This system is trying to solve the problem of bacteria that stuck in the filter and grow very rapidly inside so it may lave the filter again by using these bacteria which is mostly good for the soil.
It was proved that the existence of bacteria (microbes generally) improves the ability of the plant in removing air contaminants, so the bacteria was driven by the system into the soil as water pushes it.
In this way, the efficiency of air purification systems increases and it can be in service for a longer time through these stages: -
1. The first stage (pre-filter, activated carbon, and HEPA filter): - Pre-filters trap the largest particles which will be running through air purifier and leaves the smallest particles. These large particulates in the air include things like pet fur, dust, and a lot of the other things you can see floating around in the air. They are commonly made of materials that are either cheap and disposable or (more commonly) which are made of more durable and washable ones, so it’s predictable that the filter has a long life span. The filter catches these particles through one of the three ways: diffusion, interception, and impaction. HEPA filter catches vary small particles with a size of 0.3 micrometers so it can catch bacteria.
2. Second Stage (trapping and releasing bacteria): - After the bacteria has been passed from the filter, the objective of the system is getting benefit from it. The after trapping the bacteria for a time, the air contaminated flow will be stopped, then the water will be inserted taking the bacteria with it to the soil and the plants, after irrigating the plant the air purification system continues to work.
3. Third stage (plant as a natural source for purification): -
Plants have the ability to remove VOC that artificial air filters can’t remove and the presence of microbes such as bacteria increases this efficiency, this appears in the mentioned data before, and demonstrated in (figure 6), scrubbers are added as they can improve the performance of the system.
What inspired our team to work on air purification challenge that we truly felt that unrenewable air indoors really affect us especially that currently, home isolation is now a requirement to reduce the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Also, when we read about the crises and the resources that are provided by NASA and ESA space agencies, we got excited to find a unique useful solution for indoors and space long-terms flights or develop the ISS system.so we began to know the latest news and development from the internet and from NASA and ESA resources that helped us to reach our final project.therefore, we used the resources provided, scientific papers related to filtration systems, sketch up the software to draw our 3D prototype, ALSO,3d design software to make a simplified design for our project and Microsoft apps to demonstrate our research paper of project and ppt.during our work, we faced some problems as when we develop something we have to look at all aspect to prevent any technical errors in the system (as using UV lamps to kill bacteria but it is so harmful to human), also, if there is more time we would make something more developed. However, we have reached our PITA system which uses one of the natural sources that keeps our environment sustainable.
the slides and there is a drive link inside it to our research paper to our designed system for more details.
1-Dunbar, B. (n.d.). Air Purification. Retrieved May 31, 2020, from https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/advasc.html
2-Rainey, K. (2016, November 02). Clearing the Air in Space. Retrieved May 31, 2020, from https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/long_duration_sorbent_testbed
3-Home Air Purifiers Eradicate Harmful Pathogens. (n.d.). Retrieved May 31, 2020, from https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2013/cg_4.html
4- Air Quality and Human Health, a Priority for Joint Action. (2018, January 18). Retrieved May 30, 2020, from https://public.wmo.int/en/resources/bulletin/air-qualityand-human-health-priority-joint-action .
5- Dry scrubber - Energy Education. (n.d.). Retrieved May 30, 2020, from https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Dry_scrubber .
6-Scrubber. (n.d.). Retrieved May 30, 2020, from https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Scrubber .
7- Griggs, M. (2019, March 18). Mercury Scrubbers On Power Plants Clean Up Other Pollutants, Too. Retrieved May 30, 2020, from https://www.popsci.com/mercuryscrubbers-power-plants-clean-additional-pollutants/ .
8- Scrubber - Definition, Working, Types: Sovled Questions. (2019, December 02). Retrieved May 30, 2020, from https://www.toppr.com/guides/chemistry/environmentalchemistry/scrubber-defintion-working/ .
9-Zhiqiang Wang, Jingjing Pei, Jensen S. Zhang. (2014). Experimental investigation of the formaldehyde removal mechanisms. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 236-242.
10-- (PDF) A review of air filtration technologies for sustainable and healthy building ventilation. (n.d.). Retrieved May 31, 2020, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316472615_A_review_of_air_filtration_techn ologies_for_sustainable_and_healthy_building_ventilation
11-Kalyani Naika, S. M. (2019). Plant growth promoting microbes: Potential link to sustainable agriculture and environment. Biocatalysis and Agricultural Biotechnology
12-(PDF) A review of air filtration technologies for sustainable and healthy building ventilation. (n.d.). Retrieved May 31, 2020, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316472615_A_review_of_air_filtration_techn ologies_for_sustainable_and_healthy_building_ventilation