Carbon Dioxide Sequestration
In our experiment we tested to see what factor(s); reactant, concentration, bubble size, or flow rate would contribute to the greatest absorption in grams of carbon dioxide. These four factors were placed into 16 different combinations with 3 standards. We used the statistical method Design of Experiment to test the effect each variable had in contributing to the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed. The reactants and concentrations used were: sodium hydroxide at concentrations of 0.024 M, 0.006 M, and 0.01M, and calcium hydroxide at concentrations of 0.012 M and 0.003 M. For each of these trials, the carbon dioxide gas was expelled into the solution in large or small bubbles at flow rates of 1 liter/min, 0.5 liter/min, or 0.75 liter/min. We ran out trials by releasing carbon dioxide into 30ml glass impingers that were filled with the respective trial solution. Then, we recorded the percentage of carbon dioxide in the analyzer every 15-seconds for 8-minutes, later converted into grams. By running our 19 trials, we found that only bubble size and flow rate had any effect on our data. By normalizing the concentrations of our reactants, we prevented the reactant type from being a significant factor. In conclusion, we discovered that flow rate and bubble size definitely have an effect on the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed.
Research Done By:
Alexis Ball
Sterling
Heather Ptaszek
Sterling
Warren Consolidated Schools