‘State govt. or research organisations can improve it to suit commercial production’

New Delhi’s increasing pollution level has hit the fireworks industry in Sivakasi badly. But a man from the cracker hub has come up with a cost-effective solution to fight the capital city’s pollution to some extent.

M. Ravisankar, an engineering graduate, has invented a small device which he claims reduces carbon monoxide emission from vehicles up to 40%. The device is nothing but an extension of the silencer that filters obnoxious gases and minute particulate matters emitted by engines.

“I invented this two years back and have been using this in my Bajaj Avenger motorbike for over a year. I have practically seen it working,” Mr. Ravisankar, who is into business, said.

Also Read An ambient air purifier for the outdoors

The device is an eight-inch iron or steel pipe that could be made to fit the exhaust pipe of the silencer. The pipe of four-inch diameter is fitted with iron mesh on both ends. In between, the pipe is filled with activated charcoal (charcoal got on burning coconut shell) and coconut coir for three inches each.

“It is a known fact that the small pores of activated charcoal absorb any gas. The gas in vehicular emission is absorbed by the charcoal and minute particles are absorbed by coir,” Mr. Ravishankar said. He added that he had got the vehicular emission tested for his motorbike with and without the device at an auto-emission testing centre approved by the Transport department. The results of the two tests showed that the device brought down emission of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon significantly.

Cost-effective

The total cost of the device for motorbikes and car will be around ₹150. For trucks, a bigger box might be required. The charcoal and coir can be replaced once in five or six months. “Since both coconut shell and coir are available in abundance, it will not cost much,” he said. The device will not hamper the silencer’s function.

Stating that his application seeking patent right for his prototype was pending, he said that State government or other research organisations could improve it to suit commercial production.

Commenting on this device, N. Jeyakumaran, Dean (Research) of Virudhunagar Hindu Nadars’ Senthikumara Nadar College, said the prototype was very much a working model. “Carbon filters are used in most of the furnace towers in industrial units. This is a viable model that may require some fine-tuning for commercial production,” Dr. Jeyakumaran, Associate Professor, Department of Physics, said.