Performance evaluation of air pollution control device at traffic intersections in Delhi

Area of Science:

• Environmental Engineering
• Air Quality Management
• Urban Planning

Background:

• Urban air pollution in India poses significant health risks.
• Controlling diverse pollution sources is challenging for policymakers.
• Traffic junctions are identified as major urban pollution hotspots.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the performance of the Wind Augmentation and purifYing Unit (WAYU) in removing particulate matter.
• To assess the effectiveness of two WAYU designs at traffic locations in Delhi.
• To determine the particulate matter removal efficiency of WAYU technology.

Main Methods:

• Deployment of two WAYU designs at various traffic locations in Delhi.
• Monitoring and analysis of particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) concentrations before and after treatment.
• Quantification of total particulate matter collected over a specified operating period.

Main Results:

• WAYU demonstrated removal efficiencies of 34-49% for PM10 and 19-25% for PM2.5.
• A total of 34.19 kg of particulate matter was collected over 120,557 operating hours.
• Particulate matter removal rate is influenced by the concentration of size-segregated pollutants.

Conclusions:

• The WAYU technology is effective in reducing particulate matter concentrations at urban hotspots.
• Site-specific air pollution control offers a viable strategy for improving air quality in polluted areas.
• WAYU performance is dependent on ambient pollution load, highlighting its adaptive potential.