Natural zeolite as exhaust filter for the adsorption of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and carbon dioxide emitted by a motor vehicle

Abstract

Increasing levels of CO₂ from car emissions are becoming one of the highest contributors in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The greenhouse gases may be sequestered using vehicle filters. With the many applications of zeolite as adsorbent, this study focused on the effectivity of natural zeolite to adsorb pollutants, particularly carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrocarbons emitted by a motor vehicle. The researchers made a prototype exhaust filter composed of natural zeolite powder, sponge, and screen attached to a muffler. The experiment was run on a blank sample, a muffler with no natural zeolite filter, and for the test, utilizing the natural zeolite as vehicle exhaust filter. Each standard vehicle emission test underwent through three trials. Results showed that on the average, a 36.60% decrease in CO, 59.96% in HC, and 32.07 in CO₂ are achieved by using the filter prototype. Effect of filter to engine performance was also measured by determining speed of vehicle using with and without natural zeolite as filter. The results showed that the engine performance decreased by 2% with the installation of the exhaust filter, which is relatively comparable to the effects of installation of other types of filters for vehicles.