Long-Term Mass-Loss Monitoring of Volatile Substances: A Novel Low-Cost Gadget for Stable and Accurate Measurements
Mentor 1
Krishna Pillai
Start Date
28-4-2023 12:00 AM
Description
Porous wicks are widely used for controlled transfer of substances, such as air fresheners and insect repellents, into room air. Previous research has found that the volatile component of the fluid evaporates faster from the wick compared to the rest of the fluid. This clogs up the wick over time, decreasing the evaporation rate of the volatile component of the fluid. This research aims to develop a device that overcomes this longstanding problem (observed by companies such as SC Johnson of Racine) and disperses a volatile substance at constant rate into the air. The device has been developed during the last few SURF projects—now we are testing its efficacy. The experimental fluid is a mixture of three alkanes (50% C10 + 30% C12 + 20% C16) which have been chosen due to the similar densities and widely different vapor pressures. This mixture replicates an actual incense or insect repellent consisting of a volatile substance in liquid form being carried by a nonvolatile base liquid. Different cases involving motor and fan combinations are being tested to determine the ideal configuration for the device. This is accomplished by measuring the system's mass loss over time to determine how much fluid is lost by evaporation each hour. Manually capturing data over a long period of time is inefficient. In response, a low-cost gadget has been developed to correctly measure mass loss over a long-time frame. The device uses a raspberry pi connected to a camera, fan, and a motor. The camera may take a picture of the scale reading as needed by the user. The motor and fan can be turned on and off for different cases. The fluids are safely preserved after each experiment and will be further examined to establish the proportion of each fluid component in the next phase.
Long-Term Mass-Loss Monitoring of Volatile Substances: A Novel Low-Cost Gadget for Stable and Accurate Measurements
Porous wicks are widely used for controlled transfer of substances, such as air fresheners and insect repellents, into room air. Previous research has found that the volatile component of the fluid evaporates faster from the wick compared to the rest of the fluid. This clogs up the wick over time, decreasing the evaporation rate of the volatile component of the fluid. This research aims to develop a device that overcomes this longstanding problem (observed by companies such as SC Johnson of Racine) and disperses a volatile substance at constant rate into the air. The device has been developed during the last few SURF projects—now we are testing its efficacy. The experimental fluid is a mixture of three alkanes (50% C10 + 30% C12 + 20% C16) which have been chosen due to the similar densities and widely different vapor pressures. This mixture replicates an actual incense or insect repellent consisting of a volatile substance in liquid form being carried by a nonvolatile base liquid. Different cases involving motor and fan combinations are being tested to determine the ideal configuration for the device. This is accomplished by measuring the system's mass loss over time to determine how much fluid is lost by evaporation each hour. Manually capturing data over a long period of time is inefficient. In response, a low-cost gadget has been developed to correctly measure mass loss over a long-time frame. The device uses a raspberry pi connected to a camera, fan, and a motor. The camera may take a picture of the scale reading as needed by the user. The motor and fan can be turned on and off for different cases. The fluids are safely preserved after each experiment and will be further examined to establish the proportion of each fluid component in the next phase.
