Inventions we need: An air-cleaning bike

A photosynthesis system would clean the air during the ride.

Bicycles are often cited as the most efficient modes of transportation in the world. They’re five times more efficient than walking, and 100 calories on a bike can send a person three miles. In a car, 100 calories would only take a passenger 280 feet.

What if a bike of the future could perform more than one function, earning even more efficiency brownie points?

A group of Thai designers and engineers has developed a plan to turn the bicycle into a machine that actually cleans polluted air while cruising down the street.

The air-purifier bike currently exists only in concept, developed by Bangkok’s Lightfog Creative & Design Company. In theory, its aluminum frame would run on a “photosynthesis system” that generates oxygen through a reaction between water and electric power from a lithium-ion battery.

The details on precisely how the air purifier bike would work--like how often the filter and battery would need to be changed, and how much air the tool could filter at which speeds--have yet to be determined. The designers only have mock-ups, which recently won a Red Dot design award. The designers also haven’t yet built a prototype, but soon plan to.

While the air purifier bike might exist comfortably as an idea, reality could challenge the ease of operating such a fleet. There would be the question of where to charge the batteries, for one, and where byproducts, (like sugar, perhaps), might go.

Source: Fast Company

Breathe cleaner indoor air

Worried about air pollution and related health effects? While outdoor pollution is beyond individual control at this point, everyone can breathe cleaner and better air at work and at home.

Electrocorp has designed industrial-strength air cleaners with activated carbon -- the most effective air filter for airborne chemicals, gases, fumes and odors -- and HEPA for particle filtration.

The air cleaners come in different sizes and configurations to guarantee the best possible result at your workplace.

Contact Electrocorp for more information and a consultation.