How Pollution Extraction System works
The Pollution Extraction System is a new, eco-friendly concept which can be buried in the roads to catch vehicle emissions, its manufacturer claims. UK-based Pollution Solution says it can therefore minimise the pollution which damages the planet and causes various health issues. Breathing difficulties, for instance.
The system most benefits areas where there is a lot of slow/stationary traffic. For example, a busy junction. It incorporates a series of partly submerged ‘pods’ close to the surface of the road. The pods are connected via pipes to a ‘cleaning unit’. The unit is next to the road and above the ground.
Imagine now that a car is idling close to the system. Emissions therefore exit its tailpipe and pollute the air. This air enters the pods, travels through the pipes, and makes its way to the cleaning unit at the side of the road. It is now cleaned and – minus most of the pollutants – propelled back into the atmosphere.
Pollution Solution claims that ‘the air that leaves the roadside unit is cleaned to a rate of 99%’. The cleaning unit therefore removes: particulate matter (PM1 to PM10), nitrogen oxide (Nox), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), and Ozone (O3). The manufacturer has further praise for its new system. It suggests it:
- has been proven via ‘full scale’ testing on private land
- is good for wildlife, the breathable atmosphere, and the stratosphere – in addition to public health
- could, in the long term, save the country money as fewer people might have to be treated for health problems
- is economical and easy to install (due to its simplicity)
- typically only has to be maintained every 3 to 12 months (depending how much pollution is in close proximity)
- doubles as lane markings.
Short term solution
However, Pollution Solution recognises its system might have a fairly short lifespan. Why? Because in the foreseeable future electric vehicles will replace the petrol, diesel, and hybrid models that dominate the roads. Electric cars do not have a tailpipe, so they cannot pollute at the point of use. The manufacturer therefore argues its system is the ‘interim’ solution.
It adds: ‘Our technology gives authorities the opportunity to offer the public clean, safe, legal air quality during the transfer period of moving to 100% electric vehicles – while allowing fossil fuelled vehicles to remain on the road. At present, there is no other technology that can offer an interim solution’, it concludes.