A trial will take place in Eindhoven city centre over the next three months in which fine dust and soot will be cleaned from the city air via car park ventilation and clean air will be blown into the city. This could substantially improve the city's air quality.
Solution to increasing air pollution
Never before in the world has scientific research been conducted on large-scale cleaning of city air in the public space of a city. In the 'Lungs of the City' project, TU Eindhoven is collaborating with environmental innovation company ENS Urban, the municipality of Eindhoven and Air Liquide. The aim of the trial is to provide a large-scale solution to increasing air pollution in urban areas.
TU/etc's Faculty of Architecture calculated last year that the effect on air quality for Eindhoven's city centre could be unexpectedly large if you capture particulate matter and soot in underground car parks and blow clean air into the street. The researchers, led by professor of building physics Bert Blocken, used computer simulations and models to show that the potential improvement of city air extends beyond the immediate area where the air is cleaned. The reduction in particulate matter concentrations was calculated with 594 air purification systems, with the maximum value of 50 per cent reduction being achieved in several places.
In the trial that will start soon, 30 air purification units developed by ENS Urban will be placed next to the exit of the underground car park on Stadhuisplein. 'Never before has a city's public space been experimented with large-scale cleaning of city air in this way. It is a world first in this respect,' Blocken said in a press release. An extensive network of high-quality measuring equipment will measure fine dust concentrations in a large area around Stadhuisplein for four months. In addition, weather data, including wind direction and speed, will be collected to map air movement.
Lungs of the city
The reason for purifying the air precisely at Stadhuisplein is because it is a windless spot, where relatively high levels of air pollution accumulate due to slow-moving car traffic. 'Thanks to our innovative air purification technology, the quality of the air leaving the car park is significantly better than the air entering the car park. Thus, car parks act as the "lungs of the city" and make a positive contribution to the city's air quality,' says Roel Gijsbers of environmental innovation company ENS Urban, which once came up with the concept.
Promising
Alderman Mary-Ann Schreurs (Eindhoven) gladly seized the opportunity to facilitate the validation of the trial in Eindhoven: 'Because the air quality is so poor in several places that it is a health hazard for our residents and visitors, we need to take concrete steps to improve air quality. According to the World Health Organization and the European Environment Agency, particulate matter is the most harmful pollutant in the urban environment and is even strongly linked to an increased risk of premature death. Thus, using measurements alone to determine that air quality is poor is unacceptable. The expected contribution of this technique is promising for a healthier Eindhoven, but it can of course be applied in many more places! Once the effect has been established, it is important to scale up as quickly as possible in the city centre to make it particulate and soot-free. For this, we also ask the state secretary's help.'
Potential
The practical trial serves on the one hand to compare TU Eindhoven's airflow simulations with practical measurements, but also in particular to publicly demonstrate the potential of the concept. 'If the previous results hold up in practice, "Lungs of the City" offers a new and proven solution for large-scale removal of air pollution in the urban environment,' says Gijsbers. Besides in car parks, the concept is also suitable for eliminating particulate matter in tunnels, train and bus stations, viaducts and busy traffic squares, among others. In this way, existing infrastructure acts as the city's 'clean lungs'.
'This project is characterised by an open collaboration, creating a strong combination of each partner's expertise and know-how. This open innovation approach helps identify and realise solutions to improve air quality on a large scale,' says Diederick Luijten, Vice President Industrial Merchant Air Liquide Northwest Europe.
By: Kelly Bakker
Source: TU Einndhoven
