Sivakasi Man Invents Simple Cost-Effective Device to Combat Delhi’s Air Pollution
The national capital of the Indian subcontinent has been suffering from severe air pollution for the past few months. As the increasing air pollution in Delhi has badly affected the fireworks industry in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, a man from the cracker hub has invented a simple and cost-effective solution to reduce national capital’s pollution to some level.
M. Ravishankar, an engineering graduate, has come up with a small device that he claims can reduce carbon monoxide emission from vehicles by up to 40 percent. This device is an extension of the silencer that filters noxious gases and minute particulate matter emitted by engines.
Also Read: Supreme Court Orders Centre to Use Hydrogen-Based Fuel Technology to Eradicate Delhi Air Pollution
This device is an eight-inch iron or steel pipe that could be made to easily fit the exhaust pipe of the silencer. The four-inch diameter pipe consists of activated charcoal and coconut coir for three inches each in the middle and iron mesh on both ends.
Sivakasi man invented a simple device to decrease the emission of harmful gases from vehicles / Image: The Hindu
According to Mr. Ravishankar, the gases emitted by the vehicles are absorbed by the charcoal and minute particles are absorbed by the coir. He had tested the vehicular emission for his motorbike with and without the device at an auto-emission testing centre. The results showed that the device brought down the emission of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon significantly.
The device is quite simple and cost-effective. The total cost of the device for motorbikes and cars will be around Rs 150. However, for trucks and other commercial vehicles, a bigger model will be needed. Since both coconut shells and coir are easily available, these can be replaced every six months in the device.
The application seeking patent rights for the prototype of this device is pending. The engineer says that the state government or any other research organization could improve it to suit commercial production. If this device turns out as effective as the maker says, it could really help reduce the vehicular pollution in Delhi.
Via: The Hindu
