LEGNANO – From the afternoon course Arca (Research and construction of scientific apparatus) of the Isis Bernocchi of Legnano was born the “Plant Box” project, innovative solution for air purification. The device, fine-tuned in the school laboratories by a group of students, it is used to purify the air in a room during the night’s rest and adds to the recent success of “Free City Bike”.
The project was presented at the XXVI edition of Science under 18an educational event with the aim of stimulating children’s interest in science and technology through workshops, conferences and interactive presentations.
Two filter chambers to use at night
The students developed the device Ilias Laamari, Lorenzo Donato, Alberto Pogliani, Singh Damanpreet, Stefano Zecca, Giorgia Colombo And Gabriel Barbuiantogether with the professor Francesco Lauricellatelecommunications laboratory teacher (in the photo above). The idea behind Plant Box comes from the awareness of the importance of breathing clean air for our health. Developed in the context of the Arca. course, which aims to create innovations of public utilitythe device consists of a hermetically sealed box consisting of two chambers.
In the first, where air from the surrounding environment is absorbed thanks to a fan, it is positioned a plant that absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen during the process of photosynthesis, made possible at night by four LEDs and a water diffusion system. In the second chamber, where oxygen-enriched air passes, they are present a UVC lamp, which kills bacteria and viruses, and sodium carbonate, which further absorbs carbon dioxide. The cleaned air is finally released into the room via another fan.
Project presented at Scienza under 18
«To ensure the correct switching on, off and functioning of all devices in the pre-established order we used Arduino Uno R3, a programmable electronic card on which we loaded the code that encodes the operating cycle” explains Ilias Laamari, spokesperson for the group. The kids said they were very satisfied with the experience, both for the level of technical competence who have had the opportunity to mature, both for the human involvement that this created: the most exciting aspect, according to their testimony, was having the opportunity to present and explain their work to their younger classmates at Science under 18.
This further project is the confirmation of the institute’s vocation for innovationwhere this week the laboratories are still open with various projects, including orientation activities aimed at students in the second classes of secondary school.
legnano isisbernocchi project laboratories – MALPENSA24
