Do It Yourself SO2 Eliminator.

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Hawaii Teachers Chatboard

Do It Yourself SO2 Eliminator.

by vogless

Jan 9, 2009

For $52.04 I made my own SO2 eliminator - And It Works!

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 sm...See MoreFor $52.04 I made my own SO2 eliminator - And It Works!

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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