POST: Do It Yourself SO2 Eliminator.

This simple unit uses a fish tank air pump to push air
through bubble stones immersed in a baking soda/water
mixture. The same stuff that you put into your catchment
tank to neutralize SO2 and balance the PH can be also used
inside your house to purify the air that you breathe the
most.

This system works because as the air is passed into the
water it is in the form of tiny bubbles - bringing the
most air surface as possible into contact with the water.
The sulfur dioxide (SO2) then reacts with the sodium
bicarbonate (a salt compound) turning it into sodium
bisulfate (a different salt compound) and releasing carbon
dioxide (about as much CO2 in a day as you will get
drinking a canned cola), where the salts get left behind
in the water as the gasses escape. Some oxygen gets
dissolved into the water, but the vast majority passes
through the system and back into the room. Additionally
the system will also take in smoke and room odors where
they get dissolved into the water, neutralized and left
behind, freshening the air.

YES, there IS a noise factor, however- I Am SO2 Free - so
I do not care about the background bubbling, and neither
will you! (about as much noise as a conventional window
unit air conditioner, but with less energy usage).

Just go to the pet store and buy a good powerful air pump,
some air tubing, and a few air stones. When you get home
snag a clean 5 gallon bucket (a 5 gal glass bell jar on a
towel makes less noise), put in 1 cup Arm-n-hammer (sodium
bicarbonate), and 2 gallons of water (H2O), mix until
completely dissolved, drop in your stones and be SO2 free
in 30 mins. (If you put in too much water then the
bubbling action will be nearer the top and water drops
that are lifted by the bubbles will escape and deposit a
thin film of salts around the bucket that will have to be
cleaned up).

Do not cheat yourself and get a cheap pump and small air
stones, the system will not work as well and you will be
disappointed. The key is to pass as much air through the
system in as short a time as possible, and to do that you
need a powerful pump and larger stones. My pump cost
$24.95, was the highest capacity pump in the store, and
came to about half of my setup cost. I then paid $5 each
for four 6 inch air stones, (the stones must be short
enough to lie submerged fully in the water for them to
work). And the rest was spent on the air tubes and some T-
joints to split the airflow.

My pump unit has a variable output knob so that I can
adjust its air flow depending on the SO2 levels and how
much bubble noise I care to put up with, along with a dual
air output that I split again at the end of the air tubes
to run the four air stones.

I am using this in my room only, and keep my door mostly
closed. As long as the air in my room doesn�t get mixed
with outside air I can stay SO2 free 24/7. I periodically
check the PH level of my water and change it about once a
week. You may need to change the water more or less
frequently depending on your local SO2 levels. And just
for looks I tossed a thin sarong over the whole setup to
hide it from sight, as well as to catch any moisture that
may be carried up by the bubbles into the air. If you wish
to put systems in additional rooms then you can get the
whole house with their combined effect.

Personally, I have bought higher priced setups that always
failed on me, and after examining how they were built and
figuring out the physics of why they worked, I decided to
go cheap and do it myself.

I share this knowledge freely in the spirit of Aloha. If
you find this knowledge useful then please DO tell others
so that they may be SO2 free as well.

And please feel free to tinker with the design, as this
one is by no means perfect.

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