Dutch inventors present giant vacuum cleaner designed to clean polluted air

Dutch inventors have unveiled what they say is the world’s first giant outdoor air purifying system which can remove the tiniest toxic particles.

The system, presented at the Offshore Energy trade fair in Amsterdam, is capable of filtering out 95% of the ultra fine particles in the air surrounding it and points the way toward further tightening up European pollution rules, the inventors say.

The filter is about eight metres long and is supposed to be placed on top of buildings where it works like a giant vacuum cleaner.

‘This system removes 100% of the fine particles and 95% of the ultra-fine particles from the ambient air,’ the company says on its website. It bases the claim on test results from the Dutch energy research centre ECN.

‘It might be a cliché, but we hope that we will be able to leave the world a better place than when we found it,’ said Simon van der Burg, one of the joint founders of the Envinity Group, said. The start-up is based in Den Helder.

Fine particles, defined as particles smaller than 10 micrometres, are the result of man-made or natural combustion processes, friction, evaporation or chemical reactions. Various studies have shown that fine particles are associated with an increased risk of respiratory and cardiovascular health problems as well as cancer.

A similar project in Canada which has been backed by Bill Gates is seeking to help combat global warming by sucking carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and turning the gas into fuel.

The plant works by vacuuming in large volumes of air through what effectively works as a cooling tower where CO2 is absorbed by a liquid solution, and then transformed into pellets of calcium carbonate. The pellets are then heated to 900 degrees to release pure carbon.

Given the unlikely chance world leaders will manage to implement a universal scheme that will see a reversal of global warming and air pollution, innovative solutions may well be required to address the increasingly urgent problem.

– AFP