Do It Yourself SO2 Eliminator: The Best Vog Air Purifier

by mad professor


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.

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, and a dual air output that I split again to run four 6 inch air stones. YES, there IS a noise factor - but I am SO2 free so I don't care about the background bubbling! (About as much noise as a conventional 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 5 gallon bucket, put in 1 cup Arm-n-hammer (sodium bicarbonate), and 2 gallons of water, mix until completely dissolved, drop in your stones and be SO2 free in 30 mins.

Do not cheat yourself and get a cheap pump and few air stones, it will not work as well and you will be upset. 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. My pump cost $24.95, and was the highest capacity pump in the store, and came to about half of my setup cost.

I am using this in my room only - since I am allergic to SO2, 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.

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' into contact with the water. The sodium bicarbonate in the water then reacts with the SO2 and turns it into sodium bisulfate, where it gets left behind in the water as the air escapes.

Personally, I have bought higher priced setups that always failed on me, and after examining the way they were built and figuring out the physics of how 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.


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Apr 15, 2012
Can't recommend this scrubber
by: Kerry

After several months of using David's SO2 Eliminator I'm of the opinion that although it appears to be a good idea it just isn't efficient enough to use in a 2-3 room house.

Throughout the day people typically open and close their front and back doors thereby causing large exchanges of air.

Without an SO2 detector one can't even tell if SO2 is in fact present in the house or if the "Eliminator" is working.

It takes considerable discipline to check http://www.hiso2index.info/ to see what the SO2 index is for the day.

Touting that the "Eliminator" is "The best VOG Air Purifier" is misleading because there is no data with which to compare it. At best it should read "Low cost alternative VOG Air Purifier."

I have the bucket, pump hoses, and 4 aeriating stones if someone wants to try it. Ask here.

Kerry

Apr 15, 2012
measuring fllow rate
by: Anonymous

I think the volume of air needs to turn over once a week, at least. For a 1100 sq ft house with windows staying closed, that's 1 Cubic foot per minute. Fill up a 33 gallon (5 cubic foot) trash and time to measure.

Dec 05, 2010
Update: Comments about Eliminator
by: Kerry

Update 12/5/10:

I've discovered that the reason for using a five gallon bucket with only 2 gallons of bicarbonated water is because even with a cloth covering the smaller bucket the bubbles create a mist and soak the cloth covering the bucket which eventually gets soaked and drips to the floor.

Also, I bought (4) 4" stones but also tried (2) 2" stones I had from when I was ozoning my hot tub. The 2" stones are white and visually less porous looking; consequently, the bubbles are smaller which allows for more surface contact of bubbles-to-water.

Without a SO2 detector it's hard to say if the Eliminator is working. The cubic feet of air/per hour the fish tank air pump pushes is unknown but obviously very small. I don't know how long it takes to filter all the air in a 12'x12' room. In any case, it gives me the illusion that it's helping.

David (Bigisland-Bigisland,com webmaster) related that the person who designed the Eliminator doesn't check back very often to read the comments.

Kerry

Nov 12, 2010
3 1/2 vs. 5 gallon bucket?
by: Kerry

I'm assuming a 3 1/2 gallon bucket would be a bit better because of it's smaller diameter and the fact that the bubbles would be able to travel just a bit further through the 2 gallons. Yes?

Also would a couple fof bricks at the bottom of the 3 1/2 gal bucket cause the water to be even higher in the bucket thereby providing even more water for the bubbles to travle through. Yes?

BTW: Stacy's here in Hilo charges $1.00 per foot for the tubing whereas Walmart charges $8.00 for 20 ft.

Kerry

Nov 09, 2010
Way of measuring SO2 levels?
by: Anonymous

Re: "Do you have a way of measuring SO2 levels inside and outside?"

That's a good and valuable question.

I've been closing up my 1056 sq ft house and turning on a Honeywell HEPA filter, w/thin carbon pre-filter, whenever the NOAA satellite reading shows red over Pahoa. It seems to help but it would be nice to have a meter to show the SO2 strength.

Kerry

Apr 25, 2010
How to measure SO2 levels
by: Anonymous

This sounds really great and is definitely worth trying.

The chemistry makes sense, but how do you know how well it works? Do you have a way of measuring SO2 levels inside and outside?


Jun 15, 2009
This Works!
by: Anonymous

Thank you for such a great idea. It's simple, very effective, and not expense. Keep up the great work.

Apr 20, 2009
aloha
by: Anonymous

What a great idea. I've had ideas but nothing like this. Thanks - keep coming up with new ideas for other things you are very clever.

Apr 20, 2009
aloha
by: Anonymous

What a great idea. I've had ideas but nothing like this. Thanks - keep coming up with new ideas for other things you are very clever.

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