Carbon monoxide filtering mask

A novel modification on a medical facemask to filter carbon monoxide for secondhand smokers

   People have the right to breathe fresh air that will help them stay healthy and not cause any additional diseases. However, secondhand smokers threats this right. 

  Secondhand smoke is a combination of smoke caused by burning cigarettes and the smoke exhaled by the smoker. The person that is subjected to this smoke is called a secondhand smoker or passive smoker

  Secondhand smoke is common in many countries. Exposure to secondhand smoke causes an estimated 41,000 deaths each year among adults in the United States, 7,333 annual deaths from lung cancer and 33,951 annual deaths from heart disease.

  The severe damage of secondhand smoke arises from its bad effects on body tissues. Herein, carbon monoxide is a strong competitor with oxygen on the oxygen- binding sites of hemoglobin forming Carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) instead of oxyhemoglobin. The affinity of carbon monoxide for hemoglobin is 240 times that of oxygen. Carbon monoxide has been termed the silent killer because it is an odorless and colorless gas, and victims may quickly become hypoxic.

  It is also a common problem in Egypt. A national joint survey by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health and Population in Egypt revealed that “Almost half of young Egyptians (48.9%) are exposed to secondhand smoke at home, and 36.5% are exposed to it in the workplace”.

The solution of the problem was inspired by its root cause, which is cigarette. The cigarette filter was studied and it was found out that it can filter carbon monoxide for secondhand smokers just like smokers. However, it is present in fibrous form that causes drawbacks when inhaled like cancer. For this reason the methodology for reaching to a proper solution started by extracting cellulose acetate and turning it into cellulose acetate porous membrane  that is less probable to be inhaled by the users .

Cellulose acetate porous membrane

The cellulose acetate membrane is inserted in a medical face mask so that it can be portable and easily wearable for the user.

The position and the number of filtering layers were being changed until  the mask could permit only 70 ppm of carbon monoxide.

The final solution is a modified medical face mask with double layer of the cellulose acetate porous membrane placed beneath and above the second filtration layer of the medical face mask .

The following is a simple flow chart for the implementation methodology of the solution.

The most extreme  conditions that the mask was subjected to is being at a distance of 15 cm from a secondhand smoker with continuous exposure to carbon monoxide emissions from the cigarette smoke and it showed its validity to filter the amount of carbon monoxide to 70ppm for duration of 5 hours then its filtration rate began to decrease until it could no more filter carbon monoxide efficiently after total duration of 8 hours which sets the lifetime of the mask to be 5-8 hours.

The final product of the carbon monoxide filtration mask could be considered a step towards achieving total prevention from cigarette smoke side effects for secondhand smokers especially children, pregnant women, people suffering from heart diseases and asthmatic patients. It filters carbon monoxide by using cellulose acetate porous membrane filter. The mask provides filtration up to 70 ppm of the carbon monoxide from cigarette smoke while still permitting other gasses like oxygen that is necessary for breathing. This results in a low cost, sufficient project that solves the main problem with the least environmental or economic side effects.

My twin sister and I are the only two developing the medical face mask that filters secondhand smoke or carbon monoxide. An electrochemical sensor, a unique tool used in the testing of the mask, is in charge of determining the amount of permissible gas and the concentration of the gas. However, due to its complexity and high cost, this device has not been found in any Egyptian laboratories. We failed to identify any other comparable gadgets, and the specialists suggested that we look for a similar concept that would work with our resources. This could have made us give up on working on the project but we decided that as scientific researchers and problem solvers we will try to construct that device on our own. After a thorough search on the different gas sensors we found a carbon monoxide sensor called MQ-7 sensor that is compatible with Arduino UNO boards. We started learning the basics of Arduino UNO and how we can connect the sensor and make the device. After that we constructed the box from alimental material so that it could be sealed just like the original device. At the end, the device was successfully made and we used it to test our project. This is just an example of the flexibility and efficiency that the team has being compromised of two twin sisters that are attending STEM school and are eager to continue their future studies in scientific research inside laboratories that are better than what they were not able to find.

The problem of secondhand smoke is a personal problem that has been faced by me and my twin sister since we were young. This is because most of our family members are smokers and this has caused severe consequences on our health in the past so we know how exactly it feels to be suffocated from secondhand smoke around you in closed areas. Moreover, a survey has been conducted on 250 high school students among the age group that is mostly affected by secondhand smoke in order to determine their potential in buying a product that would help safe their lives and the results were as follow:

The idea covers several aspects of innovation, such as:
- Technological innovation: The basis of the scientific idea is based on an innovative merging process by using a cellulose acetate filter known for its water filtration, but in an innovative way to test the effectiveness of its filtration of gases and air, especially carbon monoxide gas, which was the first step for the test. Modern technological innovations have been dealt with while we were making a carbon monoxide measuring device using the software mechanisms of Arduino UNO boards and sensors , and this is because the measuring device used to test for gas permeability was not available in the scope of the laboratories in which the project was developed.

- Business innovation: The project represents a new type of industry in Egypt, as it is a preventive medical industry that relies on a cellulose acetate filter that has not been commercially produced in Egypt yet, but an economical and effective way has been reached to produce it with materials available in all developing countries. This makes it a successful commercial startup due to the quality of the product and the effectiveness of the cost-benefit ratio.

- Social innovation: The idea solves a problem that serves a large number of the population of Egypt (about 50%) and the world. It also targets new social group of varying ages, such as secondhand smokers , women and children.

2023:2024

• Establishing a factory for the modified masks
• Spreading awareness of the dangers of passive smoking
• Obtaining a license from the Ministry of Health in Egypt to sell the mask

2024:2025

• Dissemination of the modified mask in pharmacies, cafes and closed places

2025:2026

• Introducing the development of chitosan material in the mask
• Reducing the price of the mask
• Increase promotional ads  on Facebook and Instagram
• Reaching the first million users of the mask

The scientific hypothesis is based on a novel method of combining a cellulose acetate filter, which is well recognized for its ability to filter water, with air and gases, namely carbon monoxide gas, which was the initial component of the test. We had to deal with technical advancements when developing a carbon monoxide measuring device utilizing the software mechanisms of Arduino UNO boards and MQ7 carbon monoxide because the tool needed to test for gas permeability was outside the purview of the labs where the project was produced.

The goal is reaching 15% of the 50% of Egyptian youth affected by passive smoking by the first year of the implementation of the project. The percentage is aimed to increase year by year, while spreading awareness about the harms of secondhand smoke to limit any exponential increase in the affected segment.

The following is the SWOT analysis of the project that was made to address the possible barriers and opportunities: 

N/A

Business Model Canvas for CO filter mask

Total :

• 30,000 EGP per month
• 360,000 EGP per year

Industry price:

30,000 EGP per month

selling price:

37,000 to 45,000 EGP per month

Net profit:

7,500 to 15,000 EGP per month

Total marketing cost: 450 EGP per month

• Facebook ads: 200 EGP
• Instagram ads: 250 EGP

The first capital will be attained from crowd funding and after one month, the revenue from the product will be able to cover its production expenses.