BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, ARCHITECTURE, and FINE ARTS

Mechanical and Petroleum Engineering Department

AUTOMOTIVE EXHAUST PIPE FILTER USING CRUSHED EGG SHELLS

A Research Project
Presented to

Dr. Sicily B. Tiu

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement

for Research Project in Modern Biology

De Torres, Juliet P.
Diata, Reizel Anne D.
Kengemar, Joshua
Llarena, Jaecel R.
Raymundo, Edvan Jasmyne A.
Umali, Kassandra Yllaine E.
PETROLEUM ENGINEERING – 1302

July 2019
 CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

Air pollution is defined as the presence of certain chemicals in the air as

pollutants into the air that draws adverse effects not just to the human health, but to the

whole planet. These chemicals are brought about by a myriad of activities, mostly by

humans, such as but not limited to fuel combustion from vehicles, heat and power

generation from coal and oil power plants, smoke from manufacturing industries,

incineration of waste, and even the simplest act of cooking at home (Ambag, 2018).

Adult humans having an average respiration rate of 12 to 20 breaths per minute

generates 20 opportunities a minute for the adult to take in the oxygen their body will

need for it to properly function. Nevertheless, this also means 20 opportunities a minute

that the body can take in air that contain harmful chemicals that can be a root of

numerous health complications including aggravated cardiovascular and respiratory

illness, added stress to heart and lungs, damaged cells in the respiratory system,

accelerated aging of the lungs, loss of lung capacity and decreased lung function,

development of diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, and possibly cancer,

and shortened life span (de Pietro, 2019).

Within the boundaries of Asia’s megacities, road transport is one of the most

evident contributors to increasing toxic air pollution levels. According to studies, by

2020, two-thirds people will be living in urban areas, concentrated around five
metropolitan areas, one being in the Philippines (City of Manila). The International

Energy Agency states that by 2040, it s predicted that the number of vehicles will

increase towards 62 million (an increase of 66% in comparison with today’s number of

vehicles). These added vehicles will additionally cram into cities already populated by a

myriad of automobiles, which means an increase of levels of air pollutants (Argyriou,

2019).

The health of Filipinos continues to be at risk as air pollution unremittingly

imposes several dangerous threats, especially to those who are living in urbanized areas.

In 2016, it resulted that vehicle emissions are leading as a factor that contributes 69% to

this country’s overall air pollution. Since the population is progressively rising as years

go by, along with the number of vehicles, the busy roads become busier, as these roads

get more congested by several types of vehicles; in which according to Rene Pineda,

Partnership for Clean Air president, are the factors why air pollution is not dispersing

(UNTV News & Rescue, 2016).

The worldwide problem of pollution in air has continued to rise at a constant rate

due to some uncontrolled sources such as vehicles, planes, and trains sustaining their

exhaust levels. Due to this, air pollution is infiltrated not only in urban but as well as in

rural areas. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 92% of this

world’s human population is exposed to air pollution levels that according to WHO,

exceed the “safe” limit they have set (Allanigue, 2018).

Automobiles have been one of the most evident contributors to air pollution. One

sees it every time that smoke billows from the vehicles’ exhaust pipe. There are four

major pollutants that come from cars: emission of carbon monoxide when the carbon in
fuel doesn't burn completely, emission of hydrocarbons (a toxic compound of hydrogen

and carbon), nitrogen and oxygen react with each other and form nitrogen oxides (NOx),

and particulate matter, which are small particles of foreign substances in the air

contribute to atmospheric haze and damaging people’s lungs. Pollutants from cars

contribute to various types of air pollution. These chemicals emitted from these vehicles

are believed to cause cancer and contribute to such problems as asthma, heart disease,

birth defects and eye irritation (Brinson, 2012).

There have been a study by students from the University of the Philippines in Los

Baños; their technology is a filter made from crushed mussels that cleans tricycle

exhaust. Mussels contain calcium carbonate that can absorb air pollutants from its

surface. It works by wrapping the crushed mussels in gauze and placing it inside a metal

cylinder, which is to be attached to the exhaust pipe. From this, it is concluded and in

accordance also with several articles, calcium carbonate is believed and proved to have

the property of absorbing air pollutants.

In the field of research, carbon capture and sequestration has been a problem in

the long run for years now, which wherein researchers have been exerting time and effort

on studying on how to fight global warming through the process of removing carbon

from the atmosphere and ferreting it away within carbon soaking materials. A group from

the University of Calcutta have studied that there was a certain material that could trap

carbon from the atmosphere: egg shells. The middle and inner layer of the egg shells

contains the calcium. The second and third layers are composed of protein fibers bonded

to calcium carbonate – a chemical compound that results from another carbon

sequestration technology (Quick, 2010).

 From the incorporation of the idea from the study of mussels as an exhaust tail

pipe filter for tricycles and the calcium carbonate content of egg shells, it is hypothesized

that egg shells can possibly be an automotive exhaust filter; absorbing the pollutants in

smoke emissions of vehicles.

Statement of the Problem

The purpose of this study is to present the effectivity of crushed egg shells as

component of an automotive exhaust pipe filter.

Specifically, this study seeks to answer the following questions:

1. What is the component of egg shells that could help in reducing the

air pollutants?

2. What is the process to be conducted and elements to be used in

making the exhaust pipe filter?

3. Is there any significant difference between the air pollutant content of

the filtered and unfiltered smoke from the exhaust pipe?

Null Hypothesis

This study tested the null hypothesis. There is no significant difference between

the air pollutant content of the filtered and unfiltered smoke from the exhaust pipe.
Significance of the Study

This study will helps the following on how to reduce air pollution which imposes

myriad or health risks and the like. This will also be helpful since the foreseen product

will cut the very root of a major contributor to air pollution, which is the filtration of the

air pollutant content of the smoke coming from the automotive tail pipe.

To the Community.

The study will help them to prevent heath risk like cardiovascular and respiratory

illness and diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, and possibly cancer

and shortened life span.

To the Environment.

This research will be a big help in the context of reducing household wastes and

aside from dropping problems or proper waste disposal this put egg shells into

good use.

To the Future Researchers.

The study will serve as their source of information that can be contributed to their

researches. It will motivate them to continuously strive harder in their researchers.

Scope and Limitation of the Study

The purpose of this study is to prevent vehicles to produce huge levels of harmful

gas that causes major damage to our environment. Eggshells are primarily made up of

calcium carbonate which absorbs air pollutants. The membrane that lines an eggshell is
able to absorb carbon dioxide. These components of eggshells will then help filter the air

pollutants that are coming out of the vehicle’s tailpipe. However, due to differences

between automobiles’ exhaust system, this study will be focusing only on the exhaust

system of jeepneys which is the most prominent vehicle in the country.

Conceptual Framework

The researchers will gather information regarding the problem that is needed to be

solved and its relation to the proposed material that will be utilized to perform the

experiment. Knowledge about the eggshell’s composition, its capacity to adsorb certain

air pollutants, and the amount of the composition of air pollutants emitted by vehicular

exhaust pipes will also be utilized in this study. The researchers will collect data using the

quasi-experimental method from the emission testing center and see if there are constant

changes to the trials that the samples will go through. Three jeepneys will undergo three

trials: without a filter, 100 grams filter, and 500 grams filter. The results will be

compared and evaluated using the quantitative approach and a filter made out of crushed
eggshells will have a relevant impact in decreasing contributors of global warming once

the data shows significant changes from the amount of air pollutants being reduced.

Definition of Terms

1. Air pollution - It is an excessive quantity of harmful substances including gases,

particles, and biochemical molecules that enters the earths atmosphere. Air

pollution can cause diseases, allergies and even death to humans and other living

things such as plants and animals. Both human and natural processes can generate

air pollution.

2. World Health Organization (WHO) - It is a specialized agency of the United

Nations and a member of the United Nations Group that is concerned with

international public health. They are responsible for the World Health Report, the

world health survey and world health day.

3. Automobile - It is a motorized vehicle consisting of four wheels and powered by

an internal engine. They are manly used for transportation from one location to

another.

4. Carbon monoxide - It is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless flammable gas that is

slightly less dense than air. It is very toxic to humans and animals. It contains one

carbon atom and one oxygen atom.

5. Hydrocarbons - A hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of

hydrogen and carbon.

6. Nitrogen oxide - It is a group of compounds composed of nitrogen and oxygen.

The two most common and hazardous nitrogen oxides are

nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide

7. Particulate matter - is the sum of all solid and liquid particles suspended in air

many of which are hazardous. This complex mixture includes both organic and

inorganic particles, such as dust, pollen, soot, smoke, and liquid droplets.

8. Pollutants - A pollutant is a substance or energy introduced into the environment

that has undesired effects, or adversely affects the usefulness of a resource. A

pollutant may cause long- or short-term damage by changing the growth rate of

plant or animal species, or by interfering with human amenities, comfort, health,

or property values.

9. Calcium carbonate - Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with

the formula CaCO3. It is a common substance found in rocks as

the minerals calcite and aragonite (most notably as limestone, which is a type of

sedimentary rock consisting mainly of calcite) and is the main component

of pearls and the shells of marine organisms, snails, and eggs.

10. Carbon capture and sequestration - Carbon capture is the process of capturing

waste carbon dioxide (CO2) and Carbon sequestration is the removal and storage
of carbon from the atmosphere in carbon sinks (such as oceans, forests or soils)

through physical or biological processes, such as photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide

(CO2) capture and sequestration (CCS) is a set of technologies that can greatly

reduce CO2 emissions from new and existing coal- and gas-fired power plants

and large industrial sources.

 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Conceptual Literature

AIR POLLUTION (AND POLLUTION CONTROL) FROM VEHICLES

Air pollution generally refers to the presence of foreign substances in the air that

basically does not there, wherein excessive amounts of these substances can bring about

potential harm to us humans. When vehicles’ fuel undergoes combustion, they emit

pollutants. In general, there are four main pollutants coming from cars: carbon monoxide

(when the fuel doesn’t burn completely), hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and particulate

matter. Emissions from vehicles increase the levels of carbon dioxide, as well as other

greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (Brinson, 2012).

Most of the contaminants in air come from the combustion processes in vehicles.

There are certain physical processes wherein airborne particulates can be removed from

the polluted airstream, including cyclones, scrubbers, electrostatic precipitators, and

baghouse filters. Once these particulates are collected, particulates stick to each other to

form agglomerates that can readily be removed and be disposed (which usually still

contributes to air pollution). However, these control systems are designed on case-by-

case basis, making it an impractical move for the average status of people in terms of

financial capacity (Nathanson, 2019).

CARBON CAPTURE AND SEQUESTRATION

Carbon dioxide is the most commonly produced greenhouse gas. Although

greenhouse gases which includes carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and other gases

is the heat-reflective layer keeping the earth at a livable temperature, modern climate

change is rooted to this (excess in greenhouse gases) which over-insulates the planet.

(Conservation in a Changing Climate, n.d.).

Carbon sequestration is the process of controlling and capturing the carbon

dioxide in the atmosphere. Since excessive amounts of carbon dioxide poses a threat to us

humans and the planet, this process is necessary in reducing the amount of carbon

dioxide, alongside the goal of reducing global climate change (USGS – Science for

Changing the World, n.d.).

THE POWER OF EGG SHELLS

A team from the University of Calcutta in India had found a waste material that

could trap the carbon from the atmosphere: egg shells. According to their research and

study, the membrane that lines an eggshell can absorb seven times its own weight of

carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, allowing the gas to be stored up until an invention

on formally doing so exists or can be found. The second and third layers of the eggshells

are composed of the protein fibers bonded forming calcium carbonate that in accordance

with other studies reduces particulate emissions. Although there is a found weak acid that

can separate this membrane that contains the calcium carbonate, it is still efficient to even

just expose the used egg shells in the environment for it still contributes to reducing the
amount of carbon dioxide and other potential particulates that can pollute the air (Quick,

2010).

Related Studies (Foreign Studies)

The food industry generates a lot of waste products, but one of these, eggshells,

could help combat climate change. According to the Inderscience Publishers, the food

industry induce a lot of waste products, but one of these are eggshells that could aid

combat climate change, according to new research. The study explains that eggshells can

absorb almost seven times its own weight of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the

atmosphere. It is observable that our atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have been rising,

so the researchers thought about how to prevent this matter using waste that we can

convert to bio-material (2010).

Eggshells are common types of waste from poultry and food industry, and even in

households. Moreover, there is a huge amount of egg shell waste generated per annum in

several countries. If the biological membrane available from this waste can be used for

adsorption of CO2, it will lead to removal of the GHG from atmosphere to a substantial

extent. A major problem with profitable utilization of eggshell waste is ensuring the

complete separation of the shell and the membrane. Many methods have been tried to

separate the membrane from the shell completely, as when separated, both items can have

significant value. Eggshell is typically constituted of three layers – cuticle on the outer

surface, a spongy calcareous middle layer and inner lamellar layer. The second and the

third layers are composed of protein fibres bonded to CaCO3. The porous structure of the
eggshell permits exchange of gas through it. Eggshell membrane stays just below the

shell; there are two layers of membrane – a thick outer layer and a comparatively thin

inner layer (Banerje et. al, 2010).

According to Inderscience Publishers (2010), Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a major

greenhouse gas responsible for global warming. This work aims to explore a cheap and

easy way for CO2 adsorption from the atmosphere, by using an eggshell membrane.

Eggshell membrane could be used up to four times with intermediate regeneration with

acetic acid solution. Atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) analysed the amount of

CO2 adsorbed as equivalent calcium (Ca) present in calcium carbonate (CaCO3). An

average of 6824 mg COCO2 could be adsorbed per g of eggshell membrane. Scanning

electron micrograph (SEM) was used to analyse the surface morphology of the fresh and

regenerated eggshell membrane.

Also, aside from eggshells’ capacity to adsorb carbon dioxide, it also has the

properties to contribute to the reduction of water pollution. According to an article

written by Rebecca Brodie, scientists in China have developed a new design of

bioabsorbent with the use of eggshells. They modified eggshell membranes with

polyethyleneimine, which has known metal chelation properties, and tested the resulting

bioabsorbent for its ability to remove hexavalent chromium (Cr (VI)) from water and

found that it doesn't just remove Cr(VI) but it also reduced some of the Cr(VI) to Cr(III),

suggesting that the eggshells modified with polyethyleneimine can also detoxify Cr(VI).

While eggshells are still under study if it is possible to be utilized to filter air pollutants

from vehicles, it is already proven that eggshells can be used to remove toxic hexavalent

chromium from contaminated waters and make it useful again (2011).

Related Studies (Local Studies)

University of the Philippines Los Banos Chemical Engineering students

conducted a study using their field knowledge on how the worldwide problem - air

pollution be solved inexpensively. They came up to an invention (technology) which is a

filtered made from crushed mussels that cleans tricycle exhaust. Since mussels contain

calcium carbonate, it can absorb air pollutants from its surface. The technology works by

wrapping the crushed mussels in gauze and placing it inside a metal cylinder, which is to

be attached to the exhaust pipe. The methodology performed is an eco-friendly solution

for the issue of transfer of the shell by-products, since transforming waste into a high

worth included item like calcium carbonate is empowered. Chemical analysis and

differing utilizations of the last item acquired are exhibited. While this is by all accounts

a successful designing answer for check air toxins originating from tricycle debilitates,

the test is to challenge tricycle drivers to receive this development. In this way, clean

generation and contamination control estimates embraced have been recorded so as to

guarantee that waste is recovered utilizing procedures or strategies without endangering

human health or harming the environment.

According to Arrellano, et al., as the actual place of environment scenario implies

air pollution and its public health impacts are drawing increasing concern from the

environmental health research community, environmental regulatory agencies, industries

as well as the public. The quality of air, both indoors and outdoors, is closely related to

morbidity and mortality from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Common air

pollutants that draw intense concerns include particulate matter (PM), ozone (O3), carbon

monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide, nitrogen(NO2), lead (Pb), volatile organic compounds
(VOCs) and polycyclic hydrocarbons (PAHs). High concentrations of carbon monoxide

(CO) generally occur in areas with heavy traffic intensity and congestion point sources of

CO emissions also include industrial process, non-transportation fuel combustion and

natural sources such as wild forest (2013).

 CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURES

Research Design

In the study, the researchers will use a quasi-experimental method to produce an

alternative tailpipe filter to test its effectiveness in terms of reducing the amount of air

pollutants emitted by the target samples which are the jeepneys. A quasi-experimental

method will be used since the researchers are able to manipulate the independent variable

of the study on a target sample without random assignment. With regards to the data

collection and analysis, the data that will be collected from the trials of the samples will

use a quantitative approach.

Methodology
Data Gathering Procedure

To determine the difference between the released pollutants of a filtered vehicle

and a non-filtered vehicle, emission testing will be done. There is an exhaust gas sensor

(connected to an exhaust gas analyzer) to the vehicle’s tail pipe. This equipment will

check the exhaust system, and will reveal the Hydrocarbon (HC) (shows the amount of

unburned fuel emitted by the exhaust) and Carbon Monoxide (CO) (an odorless, colorless

gas that can kill you) levels via a computer print-out. This data will serve as the basis of

the researchers to perform the comparison that is needed in the study.

Statistical Treatment of Data

The following statistical tools will be used in the data analysis.

One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). This was used to determine if there

are significant difference among the amounts of Carbon Oxide, Nitrogen Oxide, and

other hydrocarbons with or without filter.

P value. This was used in making decision and drawing a conclusion.

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