KOCHI: At a time when reducing the adverse impact of carbon emissions from vehicles and switching over to eco-friendly transportation has become the need of the hour, a group of students hailing from the state capital has come up with an innovative solution to minimise carbon emission with the aid of activated carbon. As part of their final-year project, engineering students Ajin N, Ajhad Zaneen, Nowfal Yahya and Vishnu M K, at Musaliar College of Engineering at Chirayinkeezhu, have worked together to find a solution to reduce carbon footprints caused by automobiles.
The students have developed a new activated carbon filter which can be inserted inside the catalytic converter used in the vehicles which eventually will reduce toxic gas emissions. “Automobiles are a primary source of environmental pollution. The catalytic converter destroys many toxic pollutants being emitted from the vehicle except carbon dioxide. Our focus of the study was to break down this carbon dioxide,” said Ajin.
Under the guidance of assistant professors Ranju R and Sooraj M S, the new technology was tested within a 100 CC engine. The modified catalytic converter could reduce 1 to 1.2 per cent of total carbon dioxide emission(four per cent) from an ordinary automobile system. The study proved that toxic carbon dioxide gas can be decomposed using the economical and easily available compound — activated charcoal. “There is scope for improvement and we have just completed the preliminary study. We are yet to make the model more compatible with two-wheelers,” said Ajin.