Fabrication of filter by using natural fiber and its potential application as an additional filter on cooker hood

Luffa spp. exists abundantly in Asia and is a rich source of natural fibers for composite development. Previous studies have proven the efficacy of luffa fiber for separation of oil from seawater, extraction of pollutants from water, organic solvent absorption etc. This study emphasized the use of luffa as additional filter to increase the efficiency of the cooker hood. The characteristics of luffa fiber which is hydrophilic make it less effective to act as additional filter for cooker hood. To overcome this, luffa fiber is treated with stearic acid by using immersion method. Oil control film was used to determine the capability of untreated luffa fiber and SA treated fiber to be used as efficient additional filter on the cooker hood. From this study, it was found that untreated luffa fiber and treated luffa fiber has the capability to be an efficient additional filter to the cooker hood. The treated fiber is proven to be most effective as additional filter for the cooker hood, followed by untreated luffa fiber in comparison with no additional filter on the cooker hood (as a control set of the experiment). The fabricated filter also has the capability to absorb pollutants or contaminants as depicted from increased ppm count detected by TDS meter for the used fabricated filter. Among the dissolved substances, sulfite and nitrate show a prominent presence as indicated by the 14 in 1 Reagent strips.