London scientists develop glass 'chimneys' to suck up pollution

Scientists have designed futuristic glass roadside chimneys to clean up the capital’s dirty air.

Fans inside the 13ft transparent tubes would suck in air and use a water mist to remove toxic particles before releasing it.

The lava lamp-style design, Pluvo, was created by three master’s students at Imperial College London and Royal College of Art.

The toughened glass pipes are meant to be a less conspicuous way of cleaning pollution.

The designers, Lewis Hornby, Claudia Arnold and Nick Hooton, foresee rows of them along some of London’s most polluted roads, such as Oxford Street and Regent Street. Their power “piggybacks” off existing sources such as lamp-posts, phoneboxes and electric vehicle charging points.

Advertisers would fund their operation by promoting brands on holograms floating inside, which would be highlighted against the mist. The system uses “wet-scrubbing” technology in which water “collides and combines” with particulates to remove them from the air, working on a similar principle to rain. Polluting gases would also be absorbed.

The designers believe the air which is then released could be up to 60 per cent cleaner than that which went in.

The technology is also said to be effective in cleaning toxins such as nitrogen dioxide and PM2.5 particulates. Replaceable filter cartridges would soak up the debris.

Initial calculations suggest that the method could clean two cubic metres of air per second. It is being patented and a working prototype is being built.

Mr Hooton said: “Pluvo is a new type of street furniture. It should have quite a significant impact on the level of air quality on London’s streets.”