6th Annual Judith Ramaley Celebration of Research and Creative Scholarship
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Poster #87 Atmospheric Ozone Measurement with an Inexpensive and Fully Automated Porous Tube Collector-Colorimeter Faculty Mentor: Jeanne Franz The ozone (O3) present in the troposphere also known as the ground level ozone is one of the major pollutants of air. It causes respiratory diseases among humans and its bleaching properties damage plants and other organisms. The purpose of this project is to build an inexpensive ozone measuring device and display for the WSU community and public to become aware of the air quality in Winona. The bleaching property of ozone on reagent Potassium Indigo Trisulfonate (ITS) is used in this device to measure the concentration of ozone present in the air. A porous polypropylene tube is filled with reagent and reacted with the surrounding air. Transmission of light through the porous tube is measured before and after the reagent reacted with the air, the amount of light received by the light sensor is used for calculation of ozone concentration. Light transmission increases as the concentration of ozone increases; the absorption of light by a dark colored solution is greater than by a lighter colored solution. The device is under construction and work is progressing on validating its function by creating a calibration curve. The ozone concentrations were verified using the industrial use ozone meter by Eco Sensors. The development of the device is aided by the department of Physics and the department of Art at WSU. The device will be on permanent display at Winona State University and will make the public aware of the quality of the air they are breathing. |
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