Development of low-cost particle capturing device for vehicular emissions:  a pilot study

Development of low-cost particle capturing device for vehicular emissions: a pilot study | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Development of low-cost particle capturing device for vehicular emissions: a pilot study Suryanarayanareddy Gajulapalli, Sumanth Chinthala, Prashant kumar This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7205261/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Urban air pollution originates from multiple sources, with vehicular emissions playing a predominant role. These emissions are rapidly dispersed across roadways, while certain gaseous pollutants are restricted by roadside vegetation. However, particulate matter (PM) is not readily retained by plants due to microclimatic conditions at the urban scale, leading to processes such as deflection, settling, and re-suspension. To minimize the adverse health effects associated with particulate exposure in ambient environments, it is essential to develop cost-effective methods for capturing airborne particles at the source, along their pathway, or at the receptor. In the present study, a low-cost particle-capturing prototype has been developed using bio-based materials to specifically target vehicular emissions. Raw coconut husk and raw sugar cane pulp were used in a cylindrical enclosure which has been tapered to a conical outlet which leads into a chamber where the air pollutants are monitored using a device. The prototype was evaluated in an indoor environment designed to simulate outdoor conditions within a controlled setting. Two vehicular movement scenarios were investigated: Vehicles moving from a junction Vehicles halting at a junction. Pollutant concentrations, including CO, CO₂, PM₂.₅, and PM₁₀, were analyzed under varying turbulence conditions induced by the pollutant source. The study revealed that for PM₂.₅ and PM₁₀, Single Pass Removal efficiency [SPRE] was observed in the stationary vehicle scenario under high turbulence, whereas in the moving vehicle scenario, SPRE occurred under medium turbulence conditions. For gaseous pollutants (CO and CO₂), the stationary vehicle scenario with low turbulence facilitated more effective pollutant capture. Broadly, for Particulate matter, the reduction has varied between 15% to 20% and 12% to 20% for PM 10 and PM 2.5 respectively. Additionally, for the gaseous pollutants the percentage reduction varied between 50% to 75% and 20% to 50% for CO and CO 2 respectively. These findings highlight the significance of turbulence and vehicular movement in determining pollutant dispersion and capture efficiency. The study highlights the potential of bio-based materials in developing cost-effective solutions for urban air pollution control while future work is needed for improving particulate removal efficiency in the field. Low-cost device Particulate matter Vehicle induced turbulence Road dividers Traffic junctions Full Text Additional Declarations Table 1 and 2 are available in the Supplementary Files section. Supplementary Files ManuscriptNITWTableV3.docx SupplementaryFile.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7205261","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":502503301,"identity":"4619519b-09ba-492c-af37-4fa72e54d14a","order_by":0,"name":"Suryanarayanareddy Gajulapalli","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"National Institute of Technology Warangal","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Suryanarayanareddy","middleName":"","lastName":"Gajulapalli","suffix":""},{"id":502503302,"identity":"18296795-87c7-4807-8346-ea6c9412c39c","order_by":1,"name":"Sumanth 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junctions","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7205261/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7205261/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eUrban air pollution originates from multiple sources, with vehicular emissions playing a predominant role. These emissions are rapidly dispersed across roadways, while certain gaseous pollutants are restricted by roadside vegetation. However, particulate matter (PM) is not readily retained by plants due to microclimatic conditions at the urban scale, leading to processes such as deflection, settling, and re-suspension. To minimize the adverse health effects associated with particulate exposure in ambient environments, it is essential to develop cost-effective methods for capturing airborne particles at the source, along their pathway, or at the receptor. In the present study, a low-cost particle-capturing prototype has been developed using bio-based materials to specifically target vehicular emissions. Raw coconut husk and raw sugar cane pulp were used in a cylindrical enclosure which has been tapered to a conical outlet which leads into a chamber where the air pollutants are monitored using a device. The prototype was evaluated in an indoor environment designed to simulate outdoor conditions within a controlled setting. Two vehicular movement scenarios were investigated: Vehicles moving from a junction Vehicles halting at a junction.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePollutant concentrations, including CO, CO₂, PM₂.₅, and PM₁₀, were analyzed under varying turbulence conditions induced by the pollutant source. The study revealed that for PM₂.₅ and PM₁₀, Single Pass Removal efficiency [SPRE] was observed in the stationary vehicle scenario under high turbulence, whereas in the moving vehicle scenario, SPRE occurred under medium turbulence conditions. For gaseous pollutants (CO and CO₂), the stationary vehicle scenario with low turbulence facilitated more effective pollutant capture. Broadly, for Particulate matter, the reduction has varied between 15% to 20% and 12% to 20% for PM\u003csub\u003e10 \u003c/sub\u003eand PM\u003csub\u003e2.5 \u003c/sub\u003erespectively. Additionally, for the gaseous pollutants the percentage reduction varied between 50% to 75% and 20% to 50% for CO and CO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e respectively. \u0026nbsp;These findings highlight the significance of turbulence and vehicular movement in determining pollutant dispersion and capture efficiency. 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