CARbon Capture Project

Life Cycle Report

Carbon Dioxide Car Filter

By:
Vanessa Diaz
Chase McAndrew
Lucy Mogan
Nick Lloyd
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Table of Contents

Raw Materials 2&3

Transportation 3

Manufacturing Process 4

Distribution to Customer 4

Use/Maintenance 4

Recycling 5

Waste/Emissions 5

Our Prototype 5

Citations 6&7
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Raw Materials
Our attachable car filter is broken up into 5 different parts: the outside shell, sleeve and clamp attachment,
particle filter, carbon dioxide filter, and muffler. Each part is initially made from raw materials. Most of
our product will be made of stainless steel to reduce the number of different materials and production
services needed.

➔ Stainless Steel: Stainless steel is steel (mostly iron and carbon) that has added small amounts of
chromium and nickel for corrosion resistance and strength.
◆ Iron - mined and melted to concentrate it. The top three countries that supply iron are
Australia, Brazil, and China.
◆ Carbon - found in coal deposits and processed to become suitable for commercial use.
Amorphous, Graphite, and diamond are allotropes of carbon so they can be processed
into it as well.
◆ Chromium - extracted from ores mostly in South Africa
◆ Nickel - mined and separated from ore mostly in Canada

➔ Styrene-butadiene Rubber (SBR): Made from 75% Styrene and 25% butadiene mixed into a
copolymer. A copolymer means that the molecules of each substance join together into one
structure.
◆ Styrene (monomer) - made from benzene and ethylene. Benzene is a naturally occurring
chemical that is a product of volcanoes or forest fires. We get it from petroleum. Ethylene
is a hydrocarbon that is extracted from natural gas and petroleum.
◆ Butadiene - Hydrocarbon that is a byproduct of ethylene production (steam cracking).
The gases emitted from the proces are separated and isolated to make butadiene.

➔ Nylon: Made from diamine acid and adipic acid that forms nylon salt. Biggest exporter is China
◆ Diamine Acid - extracted from crude oil (potrollium)
◆ Adipic Acid - produced from the anaerobic oxidation of cyclohexane

➔ Potassium Hydroxide Solution: Made from electrolysis of potassium chloride (KCL) that
separates it into Potassium and chlorine gas. The gas escapes and the potassium is left to react
with the water to form potassium hydroxide. In short terms it is made from potassium and water.
◆ Potassium - found in potash or potassium hydroxide (KOH) that is mined in Germany
and USA
◆ Water

➔ Polyvinylidene Difluoride (PVDF) Hollow Fiber Membrane: Chemical structure made from
Fluorine, Carbon, and Hydrogen.
◆ Fluorine - naturally occurring mineral mined in mostly China and Mexico
◆ Carbon
◆ Hydrogen - product of natural gas through steam reforming or electrolysis of water
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➔ Steel: Steel is made from a mix of different compounds mixed together. It is mostly iron with less
than 2% of carbon and 1% of manganese. There are also small amounts of silicon, phosphorus,
sulphur, and oxygen. These materials are recycled over and over again by combining scrap
materials. When it is first created, the materials have to be mined and then melted together.
◆ Manganese - mined for in an ore then melted down to isolate it. Mostly found in China
and Africa.
◆ Silicon - comes from silica which is derived from sand. Produced in a furnace with sand
and carbon.
◆ Phosphorus - Can be mined in phosphate rock or artificially made by heating the
phosphate rock with carbon and silica.
◆ Sulfur - mined in the USA in deposits or can be found in other ores.
◆ Oxygen - It is all around us. Most of the oxygen comes from the phytoplankton in the
oceans.

Transportation
The raw materials and the different parts of our product needs to be transported to and from facilities to
put all the pieces together. Transportation is a big part of the process. Some of the material will be shipped
overseas because they are coming from different countries. The rest of the product will be transported by
truck.

The ships and trucks need to be fueled with gasoline or oil which. The drilling of the oil has its own effect
on the environment such as disrupting wildlife habitats, air/water pollution, etc. The oil is then transported
to be refined and made into gasoline to power the vehicles for transportation. The ships have a risk of
spills and air pollution from burning the fuel. Vehicles also release large amounts of pollution into the air.

The transportation of the material will cost money for the labor and crew working the ship or driving the
truck. Since some of the materials are coming from overseas so we’ll have to pay for the fuel and
workers. These prices can be lower when coming from other countries because their price for labor is a lot
less expensive then it is in the United States. The average cost to ship a full crate (about 20 by 40 feet) is
around $2000-$3000 for each. This price will vary due to the size of the load, country shipping from, and
the ship itself. Additionally, the transportation of goods makes up nearly 1/5 of all carbon emissions
worldwide. On average, smaller container ships emit roughly 140 million metric tons of CO2 combined
annually and larger ones emit 440 million metric tons combined annually. A modern freight ship from
China to New York will release more than 170 pounds of carbon dioxide. From China to Africa, the
average freight ship will release more than 103 pounds of CO2. Lastly, from China to Australia the
average amount of CO2 emitted is more than 62 pounds for the trip.

Once it has made it overseas, large trucks will transfer the raw material or parts to factories where the
entire product will be put together. Transporting the materials will cost around $1.16 to $3.05 per mile
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depending on the company. This too has a cost in CO2 emissions as the average freight truck emmits
161.8 grams of CO2 per ton-mile, as reported by a 2015 study.

Manufacturing Process
The main selling point of our product is that it is cheap and affordable enough that the average person in
developing countries can purchase it. This then requires that our construction process is incredibly
efficient as well as inexpensive.

➔ Manufacturing Stainless Steel

◆ Recycled scrap metal and any other necessary materials like nickel and chromium are
melted together in an electric furnace that requires intense heat for 8-12 hours.
◆ The melted stainless steel is then moved to temporary casting molds where it can be made
into slabs, billings(circular shaped rods), blooms(rectangular shaped rods), ect.
◆ The temporary shapes are then hot rolled into their final shapes. Slabs become sheets
while blooms and billets become bar and wire.
◆ Then the metal goes through annealing which is a heating and cooling treatment that is
used to release any stress within the steel and makes it softer. It can also be used to
strengthen the stainless steel.
◆ The process of annealing causes a build up or scale on the stainless steel so it has to be
removed through descaling. A method commonly used is called pickling where the steel
is soaked in nitric-hydrofluoric acid to get rid of the scale.
◆ The sheet is then cut into rectangles using a high speed steel blade.
◆ Lastly it is finished by applying polish to the stainless steel sheet.
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➔ Stamping or Shaping the Stainless Steel
The stainless steel will be stamped to produce the shapes needed for the product. These will be
produced via assembly lines, mostly likely in China or South Korea. Inside these factories, heavy,
industrial machinery will turn sheets of stainless steel into the finished products.
◆ The first step is to cut the sheet of stainless steel into smaller, more manageable pieces
during a process called blanking. A fast turning steel blade cuts through the metal into the
desired size.
◆ The clamp attachment will need two holes on each side of the long rectangle before it is
shaped into a circle. This will be done by piercing where the tool and die punctures a hole
in the metal instead of bending it.
◆ Forming then shapes the stainless steel into U shapes until it is a full circle using specific
dies and rams.
◆ Then a set of millers will cut out and filed down the individual surfaces of the new pieces
as is needed.
◆ Lastly, the separate parts will be fitted together either by rivets or welding. We expect that
at a minimum 90% of our product can be produced in this fashion (the average cost of
Chinese steel is less than 40 cents per pound)

➔ Welding the Baffles to the Product

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The baffles have to be welded to the inside of the casing of the product. This will be done through TIG
welding.
◆ Heat is generated from an electric arc made from the two materials that are going to be
put together and the tungsten-bases electrode
◆ A steel rod will be places in between the two materials to be used to create the weld pool

➔ Manufacturing the Rubber Sleeve

Outside of the metal workings, a rubber sleeve is required to fit the clamps of the device to the exhaust
pipe. This can easily be achieved via pouring a mold.
◆ 75% of butadiene and 25% styrene are copolymerized in an emulsion process where
soaplife agent disperses the material in water. Other materials in the solution are added
like free-radical initiators to start the polymerization process and stabilizers to keep the
materials from degrading.
◆ The uncured rubber will be molded into a circular shape with a hole in the middle
through injection rubber molding
◆ Then the rubber goes through vulcanization to become stronger. The rubber is heated and
put under pressure with sulfur

➔ Manufacturing Nylon
Nextly, the nylon used to capture the particulates

➔ Manufacturing Polyvinylidene Difluoride

The material used to hold the bonded carbon dioxide will be made of polyvinylidene difluoride hollow
fiber membrane.

➔ Producing Potassium Hydroxide

Lastly, the production of potassium hydroxide will be necessary. The production of this solution is again
fairly inexpensive, at roughly $17 a liter. We could produce our own, however, it may be more prudent to
buy it from distributors. This solution will then be sprayed upon the filters.
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➔ Putting the Parts Together

Distribution to Customer
Given that much of our products will be produced in East Asia, we can take advantage of the built up
shipping infrastructure already in place. Using ships to transport our products will be the fastest, most cost
effective, and eco-friendly way for us to transport. Additionally, China in particular does a lot of trade
with Africa, which is the greatest target for us in terms of consumption. When the products reach the
market they will be sold in auto shops and by mechanics as individual products (the muffler and filters).
The consumers will have to have a professional attach our product on for the first time but the filters can
be replaced and reused by the customer. The cost of using Chinese infrastructure, however, may be
counterintuitive as it is the world’s largest polluter, contributing 29.34% of the world’s total emissions.

Use/Maintenance
Everytime you drive your vehicle you will produce particles and gasses in the exhaust tank that our
product will collect and will need to be disposed of properly. When it's time to change your filter you will
need to remove the clamps and take apart your nylon filter. All the stainless steel can be washed out easily
with water but the polyvinylidene difluoride(PVDF) filter will need to be cleaned out with salt. After
many cleaning sessions the exposure to the sodium can significantly alter the physical/chemical
characteristics of the PVDF. Once done cleaning and drying put the filter back together and attach it back
to the car.

Recycling
Our product can be overall mostly recycled which is really good since it won’t add to the issue of land
waste or taking from limiting resources. Stainless steel and steel is recycled and reused with no
degradation in performance which is good for the product since it can be reused. The other products such
as rubber, KOH, nylon can also be recycled or reused. Not all items made of rubber such as a rubber band
can be recycled, but can be reused so the same could be done to items which can’t be recycled fully. They
could be reused instead, depending on what we use and how it will be used. Recycling is important since
risk of pollution is greatly reduced.The product also has long term reusability. After long periods it may
become necessary to clean the filter. This can be done by removing the filter from the body of the
contraption. Then by using water you can clean residue from the stainless steel exterior. Lastly, the nylon
filter can also be reused numerous times, however, filters containing potassium hydroxide must be
replaced after every use (once a month).

Waste/Emissions
While our product’s main goal is to reduce carbon emissions, it must also be taken into consideration that
it too is capable of adding to global emissions. The first consideration to make is the manufacturing
process. According to a 2018 study, manufacturing a single ton of steel releases 1.85 tons of steel into the
 8
atmosphere. From the production of potassium hydroxide the byproducts of hydrogen and chlorine which
add to the overall issue of climate change. However, it may be possible to use these materials in a
productive manner instead of releasing them into the air. Nextly, the creation of nylon and rubber release
nitrous oxide and volatile organic compounds respectively. Another criteria to consider is the cost in
carbon dioxide due to transportation. The bulk of international transportation would be done via shipping,
which compared to other methods of transportation is much cleaner. However, a study showed that from
the year 2007 to 2012 ships released 1,000 megatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The
remainder of transportation would have to be done via trucking, however, which is even less efficient and
in the US alone trucks emit close to 530 million metric tons of CO2. Our main challenge during this
project will be ensuring that our product has not only a positive impact on the environment but is also able
to offset the emissions required to make it a reality.

Our Product
Due to limited time and funding, we are planning to build as much as we can with the materials present
and 3D print the rest. We will still need the right products like potassium hydroxide and nylon to test the
CO2 and particle capture abilities. The cost of potassium hydroxide is around $17 for a liter but the
science teachers at San Marin have some we can use for our product. The nylon will cost $8.95 for a 60”
x 36” sheet but we will only need a 5” x 5” sheets for our product. If there is time we would like to 3D
print the rest of the product to see how the whole thing will look on a car. The prototype as a whole will
be no larger than a foot in length and 4 inches in diameter. The filters themselves are very small in width (
0.5 inches) that will be placed close together.

Citations
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https://www.drugs.com/inactive/potassium-carbonate-106.html#:~:text=Potassium%20carbonate%2C%20
K2CO3%2C%20appears%20as,glass%2C%20and%20to%20soften%20water.
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https://www.msrgear.com/blog/hollow-fiber-membrane-advantages-backpacking-water-filters/
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ineering%20and%20construction%20material.
https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/metals/what-is-stainless-steel-part-i/#:~:text=Like%20all%20other%2
0kinds%20of,create%20a%20corrosion%2Dresistant%20product.
https://www.thomasnet.com/articles/plastics-rubber/all-about-sbr-rubber/#:~:text=SBR%20is%20a%20ge
neral%20purpose,combined%20molecules%20with%20multiple%20units.
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tassium%20hydroxide%20solution%20
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https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/metals-and-mining/our-insights/decarbonization-challenge-for-steel
https://www.twosistersecotextiles.com/pages/carbon-footprint-considerations
 9
https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/academic-and-educational-journals/potassium-hydroxide#:~:text=
Potassium%20hydroxide%20is%20made%20by,water%20to%20form%20potassium%20hydroxide.
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ined%20from,India%2C%20Albania%2C%20and%20Turkey.
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gion%20of%20Ontario%2C%20Canada.
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ation&text=The%20element%20is%20quite%20abundant,ancient%20lake%20and%20sea%20beds.
https://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/f.htm#:~:text=Fluorine%20occurs%20naturally%20in%20th
e,ppm%20are%20contanined%20in%20it.
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0abundance,%2C%20agate%2C%20flint%20and%20opal.
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https://earthsky.org/earth/how-much-do-oceans-add-to-worlds-oxygen
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ome%20in%20under%20that%20mark.
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definition,'%20or%2040'%20shipping%20container.
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sions%20in%20international%20shipping%202020&text=This%20statistic%20shows%20the%20CO,ton
s%20CO2%20per%20year.
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ge
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do-something-about-it-5c402732888/
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