Student invents device to check black carbon

A 19-year-old engineering student from Kundapura has come up with a unique device that filters 70% of the carbon soot from industrial and vehicular emissions. Carbon soot is the second most contributing factor to global warming after greenhouse gases.

Ashik S V, whose patent application is pending before Intellectual Property India, hopes the device will be a game changer at a time when the world is contemplating ways to tackle the climate crisis.

The Emission Filter Device comes with a pipe with an intake fan which draws the emission from the exhaust manifold and pushes it through emulsion-soaked organic membranes.

The emulsion is then filtered by a special metallic mesh in the lower part of the chamber.

The purified emulsion is pumped to the top of the chamber to soak the membranes.

The prototype, which can be fitted to a heavy vehicle, costs Rs 20,000. The teenage inventor believes devices of larger capacity can be built at an affordable cost if they are mass produced.

“Reducing 60 to 70% of the carbon soot in the emission immensely helps the world. The collected soot gets converted into pure carbon which can be sold in the market. I have estimated that the investment on the device can be earned back in six to seven years,” he said.

Once ignored as a minor problem, soot or black carbon has been recently recognised as one of the biggest contributors to global heating, with India launching a special programme - Black Carbon Research Initiative - to reduce soot in 2011.

Ashik said he was studying in Class 7 when he first felt the need for such a device.

“It was science class. The teacher was explaining air pollution and the dangers of inhaling smoke when I noticed the exhaust from a staffer’s bike. I started working on the filter during my pre-university days,” he said.

Behind the three-year research was a lot of self motivation and encouragement from his family. “I used hundreds of materials to test their capacity to absorb soot. Prateek Chandra, a friend, assisted me. In the college, professor Naveen helped me write the research papers,” he said.

Though a similar device was built earlier by KAALINK, Ashik claimed his invention differs in the use of technology and offers a better alternative. The student of Dayanand Sagar Engineering College is now waiting for his application to clear the crucial examination stage. “I have been told that if I get the patent, I will be the fifth youngest patent holder. I hope I will bag that honour,” he said.