Delhi tries to blast pollution out of the air with old jet engines
- 8 years ago
NEW DELHI — A group of scientists led by an MIT professor hopes that an innovative idea can help clear the thick smog that plagues India’s capital city.
Researcher Moshe Alamaro and his team will use old jet engines in an attempt to blast air pollution out of New Delhi’s atmosphere, the Times of India reported.
The jet engines will be taken to a coal-fired power station and turned on, facing skyward. The engines generate a nozzle speed that’s more or less equal to the speed of sound, which the researchers believe will push smog out of the atmosphere, BBC News reported.
During the winter, Delhi experiences a temperature inversion, which traps pollution near the ground. But the scientists said the jet engines have enough power to blast emissions through this lid of warm air.
Around 60 percent of India’s energy is provided by coal-fired power plants, which contributes to terrible air pollution in the country’s cities. This pollution is linked to millions of asthma cases, respiratory diseases and thousands of deaths each year, according to the Times of India.
The level of harmful fine particulate matter in Delhi’s air last winter reached 15 times the Indian government’s safe level, and more than 90 times the level considered safe by the World Health Organization.
The researchers said one jet engine can handle emissions from a 1,000 megawatt capacity power plant. The scientists also said the fuel emissions from the jet engines will be negligible compared to the amount of pollution they can clear, and are working to reduce noise pollution during the experiment.
Researcher Moshe Alamaro and his team will use old jet engines in an attempt to blast air pollution out of New Delhi’s atmosphere, the Times of India reported.
The jet engines will be taken to a coal-fired power station and turned on, facing skyward. The engines generate a nozzle speed that’s more or less equal to the speed of sound, which the researchers believe will push smog out of the atmosphere, BBC News reported.
During the winter, Delhi experiences a temperature inversion, which traps pollution near the ground. But the scientists said the jet engines have enough power to blast emissions through this lid of warm air.
Around 60 percent of India’s energy is provided by coal-fired power plants, which contributes to terrible air pollution in the country’s cities. This pollution is linked to millions of asthma cases, respiratory diseases and thousands of deaths each year, according to the Times of India.
The level of harmful fine particulate matter in Delhi’s air last winter reached 15 times the Indian government’s safe level, and more than 90 times the level considered safe by the World Health Organization.
The researchers said one jet engine can handle emissions from a 1,000 megawatt capacity power plant. The scientists also said the fuel emissions from the jet engines will be negligible compared to the amount of pollution they can clear, and are working to reduce noise pollution during the experiment.