Don Bosco Technical College

Mandaluyong City

PME 529
Project Study 2
Project Status Report and Recommendation Report:
Engine Emission Control Device Using Mussel Shells and Charcoal

Submitted by:
Asejo, Czar Jr. Costim
Macatangay, Marc Joshua Pangan

Submitted to:
Engr. Paul Catalan
Engr. Anthony Malino
Engr. Rico Manalo
Engr. Winston Dereje

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To, Engr. Catalan, Eng. Malino (Thesis Adviser) and all panelists concerned,

In compliance with the requirement in Project Study 2, this paper embodies the project/prototype status
report on the Engine Emission Control Device using Mussel Shells and Activated Carbon (Team 7), project
risks, mitigation plans, issues encountered, over-all timeline completion status and recommendation report are
included and discussed below.

MACATANGAY, Marc Joshua P.

ASEJO, Czar Jr. C.

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 I. Introduction

A. General Description of the System

This project study intends to fabricate, test and evaluate a device that can reduce the emission of
harmful gasses (Carbon Monoxide and Particulate Matter) coming from Internal combustion
engines. The study also intends to assess different filtering substance (Activated Carbon,
Mussel Shells and Egg shells) composition that would result in higher reduction of these
harmful emissions.

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 B. System Block Diagram

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 C. Process Flowchart

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 Requirements, Regulations and Criteria

The filter device does not aim to reach Euro 4 standards and criteria, the device function is for
reduction only and is currently in need of testing and experimentation to achieve better results
and conduct further optimization. The following technical and standard regulation requirements
are based from the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources Environmental
Management Bureau.

The DENR Administrative Order No. 2015-04 issued by Paje provides more stringent emission
standards for carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbon, oxides of nitrogen, and particulate matter to
be complied with by new passenger, and light and heavy-duty vehicles. For instance, the Order
sets an average CO emissions limit of 2.0 grams per kilometer (g/km) for gasoline fed passenger
and light duty vehicles instead of 2.2 g/km, and 0.9 g/km for those using diesel instead of 1.0
g/km. It also provides that all new vehicles to be used or introduced into the Philippine market by
January 2016 shall be equipped with Euro 4 engines and compliant with Euro 4 emission
standards.

The DENR-Environmental Management Bureau shall issue Certificates of Conformity (COC)

only to Euro 4/IV vehicles starting January 2016.
COC is issued to new vehicles that complied with the emissions standards prescribed by the
DENR. It is a requirement for initial registration of vehicles with the Land Transportation Office.

The Department of Energy is enjoined to ensure the availability of Euro 4 fuels to comply with
the new emissions standards by July 1. Paje said the implementation of vehicle emission limits is
consistent with Republic Act No. 8749, or the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999

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 II. Status Report

Overall Project Timeline Completion Status

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 Project Risks, Issues and Mitigation Plan: Subsystem 1
Project issue
MECHANICAL
The device was not able to
reach optimization stage due
to limited data gathering
stage.
Needs to be resized into
larger design in order to
house more Mussel filters and
Activated Carbon.
Clamping point into the
tailpipe has to be resized in
order to fit (universally), with
other tailpipe diameters.
(should be larger in diameter)
Sampling hose junction needs
to be fabricated (externally),
because temporary attaching
measure is used.
Material used is too
expensive if considering retail fabrication.
or market.
Sensors mounting has to be
determined upon testing in
order to learn the most
efficient placement of sensors
inside the sampling box.
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Risk
Shorter cycle life of the
filters. (the more filters
inside the device, the
longer the cycle life will
be)
The device might not be
able to fit other diesel
engine tailpipes because
the clamping point
diameter is matched only
with the test subject.
(Hyundai Starex SVX 2.5
Diesel 1999 model)
Sampling hose connection
from the air pump to the
filter device might loose or
may manifest leakage of
sample air that might
affect readings.
Expensive for mass
Inaccuracy on readings
may occur if sensors
placement is bad.
Mitigation Notes
Re-fabrication of the
filter's housing part so
that it can be able to
house more filters to
extend cycle life.
Re-fabrication of the
device in order to fit
other diesel engine
exhaust tailpipe
considering other
tailpipe diameters this
time.
Fabricate junction point
for the connection of
the sample hose to the
filter device.
Use less expensive
material for fabrication.
(Type 409, ferritic
plain chromium
stainless steel is
recommended)
Experimentation and
testing shall solve this
issue, in order to asses
mounting and proper
positioning of the
sensors the sample box
has to be tested.
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 Project issue
ELECTRONICS (with
relation to mechanical)
Calibration of sensors has to
be conducted in order to
achieve more accurate data
readings.
Effect of consuming
continuous 12V battery
supply on the test subject has
not been determined.
Battery supply line has not
been determined yet.
(external 12V battery is used
upon testing)
Project Status Report
Risk
Inaccuracy on data
gathered might show if
sensors are not calibrated
properly.
Could possibly drain the
vehicle's battery if left
running and if connections
are wrong, this can cause
short circuit and could
possibly burn connecting
wires in the system.
Testing and
experimentation are hard
when using external 12V
battery because it has to be
charged externally also,
unlike using the vehicle
battery as the supply, it
charges continuously when
engine is running.
Mitigation Notes
Perform calibration of
sensors.
Tap into the vehicle's
ground line and place a
fuse from the running
line of the positive
terminal of the supply
battery line, the fuse
will eliminate the risk
of short circuit and re-
inspect wirings, double
check proper
connections and line
taps.
Since modifications
with the wirings of the
vehicle has to be done
upon installation of the
device, battery supply
line should be clean and
can be visual to the
user, so that the lines
can be inspected from
time to time.
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 Project Risks, Issues and Mitigation Plan: Subsystem 2
Project issue
MECHANICAL
Blow out fan has to be
installed in order to drain the
sample air when the
maximum tolerances of the
sensors are reached.
Sample box enclosure has to
be modified so that it can be
ergonomically friendly to any
lay user.
Can be resized into a smaller
one. (first design
consideration has to be large
because the team considered
the placement of the sensors
temporarily (i.e.
breadboards, pcb, etc.) and
experimentation and testing
has to push through.
Project issue
Air pump mounting has to
have an enclosure for the
protection of the pump
against dust and moisture.
Project Status Report
Risk
Sensor mounted inside the
sampling box might be
damaged if excessive
volume of sample air sits
inside the sample box for a
period of time.
Opening the sample box
enclosure requires a
wrench because bolts and
nuts were used, whereas a
clamp/clips or hooks can
be used in order to open
the enclosure more
conveniently.
Placement/mounting of the
sampling box on the
vehicle would be hard to
decide if large sample box
is used.
Sample box should be
mounted externally in
order to avoid inhalation
of sample gas inside the
vehicle if ever leakage
manifest.
Risk
If the air pump is exposed
to dust and moisture it will
affect its cycle life and or
may manifest corrosion in
Mitigation Notes
Installation of a blow
out fan should fix this
issue, monitored and
controlled using an
android application.
Clamps/clips or other
fasteners used for
enclosure can be used
just to eliminate the use
of bolts and nuts in the
enclosure because it is
not ergonomically
friendly to the user or to
the ones who will
perform service.
Re-fabrication of the
sample box in
consideration to its
mounting on the vehicle
is the solution to this
issue. To avoid
unnecessary changes
upon fabrication, decide
first where the sample
boxes are to be installed
to come up with the
proper size and
dimensions.
Mitigation Notes
Fabricate an enclosure
for the air pumps for its
resistance against dust
and moisture. (acrylic is
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Pumps wirings to and from
the 12V supply should be
placed on safe route.
(considering rat bites that is a
very common issue with
wirings and moisture also)
and terminals should also be
well and properly insulated.
ELECTRONICS (with
relation to mechanical)
Electronic sensors wirings
access lines to the supply
battery should be fabricated
Project Status Report
the metal parts.
Terminals should also be
well insulated in order to
avoid short circuit and
corrosion too.
Loose wirings of the pump
with its supply will
terminate the whole
process because the air
pump plays the most
important role in pumping
the sample gas to the
sample box so wirings of
the air pumps must be
intact and safe.
In the testing and
experimentation stage,
sensors used a laptop as
the power source, this case
is highly not possible and
the ESP module has to be
supplied with more or less
3.5V so using a circuit that
reduces voltage these
sensors will also get the
supply from the vehicle
and the risk is that this
connections has to be fixed
and positioned well
because once the voltage
reducer circuit fails and
over voltage occurs, the
sensors will fry up and it
will be severely damaged.
highly recommended
for its opacity so that
user can still see
through the pump for
but not limited to
inspection of the
pumps)
Use thicker gauge of
wires that complies
with the standard. In
this case wires would
have higher resistance
and in this case wire
lines are exposed
externally so using
thicker gauge of wire is
ideal considering that
the pumps can run from
the range of 6V to 12V
considering voltage
drop.
Use a reliable step-
down voltage circuit
and fabricate fixed
mounting and possibly
reinforce supports
because it is vital that
this circuit stays in
place and away from
any possible
obstructions that could
possibly damage the
circuit.
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III. Recommended Actions

The Emission Filtration Device fabricated, designed and partially tested by the team encountered
technical issues that can be addressed using the following recommendations and proposed solution
below. Recommendations for testing and fabrication also follows.

For Testing and Data Gathering

During Data gathering and device testing stage the team encountered problems with the measuring
equipment used (Gas Analyzer), its incapability to function affected the data gathering and measurement
of Nitrogen Oxide (NOx in Parts Per Million) that resulted to abrupt change in focus of the team to
Carbon Monoxide because the Combustion Analyzer that is available upon testing turned out to be
reliable. Having refocused and diverted to Carbon Monoxide measurement and reduction the team
highly recommend to prepare an equipment or ensure a procedure that can measure Nitrogen Oxide
(NOx) prior to testing and data gathering stage for future continuation of this study. It is highly
advisable to know this parameter because reduction of Nitrogen Oxide would have great Environmental
impact on a larger scale.

For Fabrication

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 1. An issue that came on hand during testing is that the filter's housing slot is too small to
accommodate large amount of Mussel Shell, Egg Shell and Activated Carbon filtration elements
on it that resulted to faster wearing of the filters, the team learned that by using larger amount of
filters will extend its cycle life. The team therefore propose a probable solution and recommend
the re-fabrication of the filter's housing part so that it can be able to house more filters to extend
cycle life.

2. Another issue encountered upon installation during testing stage is that the filter device itself will
not be able to fit other vehicle tailpipes as it varies in diameter, the team considered the tailpipe
of a Hyundai Starex SVX 2.5 Diesel MT 1999 model upon fabricating the filter device and was
not able to consider that each vehicle maker varies in their standard diameter of tailpipe, and the
team recommend another re-fabrication of the device in order to fit other diesel engine exhaust
tailpipe considering other tailpipe diameters this time so that it can be considered as "universal".

3. Fabricate junction point for the connection of the sample hose to the filter device because the
junction of the hose to the filter device in the "filtered" and "unfiltered" sides are temporarily
made for the intention of moving to the testing and data gathering stage. (re-fabrication took 2 to
3 days because the filter device has to be fabricated externally by a specialist in muffler
modifications with the proper tools and equipment).

4. Use less expensive material for filter housing device fabrication (Type 409, ferritic plain
chromium stainless steel is recommended) because it is cheaper and it is also widely available in
the market

5. A blow-out fan has to be installed in the sample box in order to release pressure, to avoid
suffocation, to reset readings of the sensors housed inside the sampling box.

6. Fabrication of an enclosure for the air pumps for its resistance against dust and moisture is highly
recommended too. This avoids future problems in the air pump as it plays the most vital role of
pumping air from the tailpipe to the sampling boxes. (acrylic is highly recommended for its
opacity so that users can still see through the pump for but not limited to inspection of the
pumps).

References

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 http://industry.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Implementation-of-DENR-Administrative-
Order-on-Euro-4IV-Vehicle-Emission-Limits.pdf
https://www.autodeal.com.ph/articles/car-features/euro-4-what-does-it-mean-and-why-do-we-
need-it

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