Can We Clean the Air with a Giant Vacuum Cleaner?

It might sound ridiculous, but an environmental technology group in Holland has unveiled a new large industrial filter which acts in a similar method to a giant, outdoor vacuum cleaner. The purifying system sucks up air from its immediate vicinity and filters it, returning it to the atmosphere in a cleansed form.

Experts are hoping that filters of this kind can be used to effectively clean up the polluted airways of our towns and cities, which have become a cause for concern over recent years and have been linked to a global total of six million deaths per year.

An indiscriminate killer

In September, the World Health Organisation (WHO) released an alarming report which estimated that air pollution could be blamed for six million deaths per year around the world, with 16,000 of those premature fatalities in Britain. A quarter of those occur in London alone.

Most of the pollution takes the form of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), which are emitted through the exhausts of petrol and diesel cars and from aeroplanes, as well as through the combustion of wood and fossil fuels in an industrial setting.

Of course, levels of pollution will vary around the world. China has long been renowned as one of the biggest culprits when it comes to poor air quality (in 2009, it was discovered that Chinese power plants emit as much NOx as all of the passenger cars in the world). With this in mind, the Chinese government has invested huge sums into new technologies aimed at clearing up their airways, including the installation of another large-scale filter known as the “Smog Free Tower” in Beijing in September.

But although those living in developing countries might be more susceptible to air pollution, it is most definitely a global problem. Indeed, the WHO estimate 90% of the world’s population are breathing poor quality air, leading to the alarming mortality rates mentioned above.

An unorthodox solution

As such a multi-faceted issue, the problem of air pollution is one which requires flexibility in solving its challenges. The Dutch company Envinity Group have pioneered their giant vacuum cleaner-style purifier in Amsterdam as an unusual, innovative response to the problem.

The filter is capable of taking in air within a 300m radius and from a skyward distance of up to four miles, meaning it can handle and treat well over 800,000m³ of air per hour. What’s more, it’s capable of removing 100% of fine pollutant particles and 95% of ultra-fine pollutant particles from everything it sucks in.

“It’s a large industrial filter about eight metres (yards) long, made of steel... placed basically on top of buildings and it works like a big vacuum cleaner,” explained Henk Boersen, a spokesman for the Dutch company. “A large column of air will pass through the filter and come out clear.”

Though the invention might be quite an unconventional one, if it is as effective in clearing up contaminated air as the Envinity Group claims, it could prove to be a popular hit all over the world.