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Background:
Day by day it’s becoming a utopia for the city of Dhaka to expect less pollution from its dwellers. With the drastic economic growth, this city now owns around 1.3 million of vehicles which made it the 2nd polluted and unhealthy city of the world. So, what if we think of a solution from the pollution itself? As a growing economy, we can’t reduce the number of vehicle overnight but we can introduce CO2ube in this city to bring a prompt action against this deadly environmental pollution.
What is CO2ube:
The CO2ube (pronounced: C-O-Tube) is a kind of devices which fits with the exhaust pipe of any motor vehicle. Using photosynthesis and a very simple chemical reaction, it diminishes carbon dioxide from the source itself. We know, photosynthesis is a process by which plants produce food and oxygen from sunlight using two molecular ingredients: a. water and b. carbon-dioxide. Coincidentally these two ingredients are the byproduct of combustion that occurs when the fuel burns in engine. So what if we develop strains of algae that can be grown in smoke stacks and absorb carbon emissions through photosynthesis? The CO2ube carbon filtration system will exactly do the same. What makes it really interesting is that it uses chemical processes to convert CO2 into a less harmful byproducts. This happens through two reactions. The first is photosynthesis. The CO2ube contains several number of vertical plates. Each of the plate is covered with a strain of algae which produces oxygen and glucose through photosynthesis from CO2 emitted from engine. To make the reaction faster researchers introduced a second chemical reaction. The staggered placement of the plates increases the surface area of emitted CO2 to work as coolant which turns CO2 into aqueous CO2 or carbonic acid. This carbonic acid reacts with embedded sodium hydroxide in the filter and produces sodium carbonate which is absolutely environment friendly. So, these two reactions combindly can dramatically change the whole air quality scenario .There a drawback in this technology too. We will have to change a filter after every 3 months and the production cost of CO2ube is around 4k BDT. But it is well affordable specially for truck-bus owners who makes a profit more than this in just one long trip. Government can easily make it mandatory to use CO2ube to save the air of Dhaka.
How can it be Dhaka’s game changer? :
It is very obvious that the number of vehicle is proportional to economic growth for a developing country. As Bangladesh is experiencing 6+ GDP in recent years, the capital Dhaka becomes the center of connectivity. Over a decade ago government tried to introduce natural gas as a replacement of diesel/patrol but it is not efficient for trucks or buses. Moreover our natural gas is also not unlimited. So before going for any long term solution like – sustainable transportation system or introducing electric cars we just need something that will allow these vehicles on the road and save the environment simultaneously .Some statistics can be shown here to realize the necessity of introducing CO2ube immediately. The city's average SPM (Suspended Particulate Matter) levels are about 2 times higher than the Bangladeshi standard of 200 µg/m3 in residential areas and are more than 10 times higher than the WHO guidelines of 120 µg/m3 (24hours) in commercial areas. Diesel vehicles are responsible for about 80% of air pollution here as they don’t comply with maximum CO2 emission standard. According to ‘Dhaka Tribune’, the total number of air pollution-related deaths, causing human suffering and reducing economic development, rose to 27,452 in 2013. While these deaths strike mainly young children and elderly, these result in lost labour income also. Now the point is how effective CO2ube can be. Initially if we can use it in 50% vehicles (6 million approx.) the CO2 concentration in Dhaka air will drop to 250-300 ppm overnight. The US air quality index (AQI) will be below 300 (currently it is 443) and that means the city will not be any more in the list of most polluted cities in the world.
In Summary:
One thing to mention here that, the real benefit is for the environment here and the car owners won’t save any money from their fuel consumption. But just like govt. imposes up to 400% tax for buying new cars, it’s high time to force the owners to buy CO2ube also. If we think in a realistic way, the characteristics of the people of Dhaka are much different from others. Faulty engines or defective emission systems are very common here as people are not that much concerned about the pollution .So, let’s create a layer above these pollution and CO2ube is just the right option.