a simple conjecture on carbon filters

A Wacky Proposal.

Bear with me. I say that a lot. And frankly I think its warranted.

So, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons. Produced by burning biomass, including fossil fuels. Has a tendency to stick to particles in the air and get inhaled and cause cancer and all sorts of bad things.

Also has a tendency to adsorb "on almost any solid surface with a strong affinity for organic matter." Huh.

So, why aren't all school buses outfitted with a carbon filter? Catalytic converters are all well and good but they create their own problems. I see the clear drawbacks of a conventional air filter that would accumulate solids and get clogged, etc. No one would buy that, no one would want to deal with replacing it or forgetting it's there and having carbon monoxide backup. See, what I'm talking about is a filter that degrades as it is used. As the surface becomes saturated with pollutants, it flakes off (like rust) too big and heavy to be inhaled. Perhaps we should go with pellets, bb size. So anyways, they fall out of the exhaust pipe as they get used up and pepper the ground. Rain washes them away. Sewer treatment plant takes them out of circulation and collects the evil carcinogenic organic matter and prevents it from poisoning the dolphins. PS this system is not carrying more carcinogens into sewer water, its just shortening the trip and preventing them from hanging around in the air and our lungs in the time between rains.

So yeah I don't think a lot of people will be overjoyed by cancer pellets in the street, but its better than cancer microparticles in the air we breathe! I'm just trying to think up something fast, cheap, easy, with minimal ecosystem repercussions. Then again, who would notice little black pellets on asphalt...

And I picked school buses because those things stink something awful. Clearly they're not doing whatever it is cars are doing to keep that shit out of the air.

So there's my bitty contribution to making the metropolis a little bit more livable. Prototypes coming soon.

Ohh, also, since burning crop residues in developing countries seems to be a big problem, bicycle-powered fans. Yeah. You get a bicycle, and a house-cooling system, and a feed the fire so it doesn't smolder and produce a lot of gross stuff machine. Eh? Maybe? I'm desperate, I'll try anything.

And with your bicycle/fan you get a $100 EEEPC pre-loaded with bookmarks for wikipedia and Khan Academy!