Progress on Upgrading Cyan’s Carbon Capture Capability
I had ordered some parts a few days ago to prepare for increasing my unit’s carbon capture. I used 5 EZSTAX plastic dividers (they come in packs of 12), cut the 5 in half, and cut the tabs off to make these fit within the file box. I then used some foam pipe insulation I happened to have, cut it into 1/2" wide chunks, and slipped these pieces in as spacers between the plastic dividers. Lastly, I used electrical tape to compress the stack and hold it in place. Two pieces on the sides facing the front and three in the rear did the job. Here’s the result:
The stack is resting on a plastic container that used to hold turkey slices. Inside that plastic container rests an ultrasonic fogger I had purchased for $9.99, it is 24V 1A so that’s 24W of electricity used whenever it is on. However, it does an excellent job at producing quick humidification and it will only be on for short bursts of time.
Today I put in an order for a $42 humidistat that will supply power to the ultrasonic fogger when the humidity is low and turn it off when the humidity reaches a set level. When that happens, another outlet will turn on the fan to its lowest speed which will serve to replenish the air with CO2 and cause the humidity to fall. The optimum humidity for carbonation of calcium hydroxide is between 50-70% so I really don’t need condensing levels of humidity. The cycling will help lower energy use. And to validate the energy consumption, I ordered a $12 smart plug from Emporia Energy; it will beam stats via Wi-Fi to my phone so I can see just how much energy my Cyan is using.
When these items arrive on Tuesday, I’ll be able to test how much of an increase in CO2 capture I get from using the stack. Will post an update once I do the test.
Progress on DIY Low-Carbon Calcium Hydroxide from Waste Cement
This is a research item that I just started today. There is a seemingly endless supply of waste cement from concrete plants distributed everywhere, and if this could serve as the raw material for Cyan rather than buying bags of hydrated lime, this would be of great benefit.
To quickly simulate waste cement to see how I could possibly get calcium hydroxide from it, I went to the hardware store and bought a 47 lb bag of Portland cement for $6.50. It was a rather small bag for its weight, and the small cost really, really does not take into account all the environmental impacts of making cement, transporting it to the hardware store, etc.
Dried Portland cement is composed of calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) and calcium hydroxide. The calcium from C-S-H can also be leached out to add to the calcium available to make calcium hydroxide, leaving behind a silicate hydrate.
Here is my Portland cement drying so that tomorrow I can hopefully break these up for further testing. I used a 1:1 ratio of cement (20 g) to water (20 mL) for all but two of these.
