Bangkok-based firm to build bicycle that eats pollution and spits out oxygen

[Katashi_itto]

Pollution levels in China’s largest cities are literally off the index scale, and breathing the air for just one day is akin to smoking an entire pack of cigarettes. Quick and clever solutions will be needed to not just reduce emissions, but scrub the putrid air as well, and that’s where this air-cleaning bicycle concept comes in.

A handlebar-mounted filter would filter the dirty air passing through it, blasting clean air into the face of the rider and the world behind him. It is a literal wake of fresh air following the biker down the road, and would certainly be welcome in Beijing’s filthy skyline. The frame of the bike gets in on the action as well, photosynthesizing sunlight to provide energy to a fuel-cell powering an electric-assist motor. E-bikes are insanely popular in China, and they’re catching on in other places too. Add in the extra benefit of clean air, and buyers are bound to lineup in places with air quality issues.

The unnamed concept bicycle is still just in the “idea and sketch” phase, though Bangkok-based Lightfog Creative and Design hopes to build a working model soon. Who knows, you may even ride one on smog-eating pavement some day. It’s probably a bit ahead of its time, though if places like China don’t soon clean up their act, air-scrubbing vehicles might become a vital necessithttp://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/15/bangkok-based-firm-to-build-bicycle-that-eats-pollution-and-spits-out-oxygen/y in future cities.

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. Your link has appeared in the middle of a word

and so doesn't quite work (leave off the final 'y' and it does).

I'm not convinced this concept will live up to the claims - the area of the filter is pretty small (though it would have to be, or pedalling the bike would be too difficult), so the amount it sends to the rider will not be great - and to decrease the amount of pollution reaching their face, I think you'd need a mask connected to it (the picture doesn't show that). And 'photosynthesising sunlight' is normally used to mean using it to convert co2 into oxygen; the title claims 'spits out oxygen', and the picture has 'oxygen' next to arrows coming from the frame, but if they do use the frame for that in some way, then the energy can't go to the fuel cell. The picture shows small bits of the frame in green; either that's algae (in which case I don't think it would have a significant oxygen producing capability - no more than a pot plant, anyway), or that's meant to be a photo-electric area, in which case it looks too small for significant electrical power. I think the 'idea and sketch' hasn't had any numbers involved.

Looking at this report, it looks more like the electric motor just gets powered by a battery, and you have to carry water with you for the photosynthesis: http://www.fastcoexist.com/3023176/purify-the-air-as-you-ride-with-this-photosynthesis-bike

It looks rather like a late-night attempt to say "wouldn't it be cool if there was an object that had lots of green credentials? Photo-synthesis. And anti-pollution. And a bike. Yeah, that'd win an award, no problem." I seriously doubt this will ever be built.

[Katashi_itto]

2. Thanks for the proper link!

[Warren DeMontague]

3. Cool