Biomass activated carbon air filter for particulate removal

An air filter prototype was developed, in which a polyester fabric impregnated with activated carbon (10%) obtained from biomass (banana peels, wood sawdust) was used as the filter medium. FT-IR and XRD were used to characterize the activated carbon. The filtration efficiency of the prototype filter was evaluated using the iodine absorption test, air pressure drops, moisture content, quality factor and statistical analysis. The filtration efficiency of the non-impregnated polyester fabric for PM1.0, PM2.5 and PM10.0 particles were 34%, 19% and 8%, respectively. The use of the banana peel activated carbon impregnated filter increased the removal efficiency of PM1.0, PM2.5 and PM10.0 particles to 63%, 43% and 13%, respectively. In the case of the wood sawdust activated carbon filter, the filtration efficiency was 89%, 37% and 10%, respectively.