A gigantic vacuum cleaner on the guardrail: it could easily be a new weapon against nitrogen and particulate matter. A test along the A58 near Oirschot should show whether it works. “It’s really cool that it’s really starting now!” says the very enthusiastic developer Martin Voorma.
“Fantastic! It took a lot of sweat,” says Voorma, bouncing with enthusiasm. The preparations took more than a year, but the vacuum cleaner is on.
How it works
A huge tube with small holes is mounted on the guardrail. That tube sucks in air, which passes through various cabinets. The air is purified of particulate matter and the nitrogen is made harmless.
How? “With paint and a light source,” Voorma explains in an extremely simplified way. The solution is quite chemical. An atom of oxygen is added to the bad nitrogen particles, so that they are no longer harmful.
The particulate matter is removed by a filter, not a simple cloth but a so-called electrostatic filter. “The particles are then electrically charged and captured,” says the developer in jip-and-janneke language.
Mold
Brabant is on lockdown due to the nitrogen crisis and so something has to be done. Rijkswaterstaat has allowed ‘Willie Wortels’ to experiment in a testing ground at the Kloosters car park along the A58 highway between Oirschot and Best. This is how the government service wants to achieve the climate goals.
Five smart gadgets are tested there. This also includes a technique to extract nitrogen from water using fungi. The smart minds at the TNO knowledge institute are also participating.
Yet we cannot all immediately drive 130 and immediately unlock the Netherlands. “It is always a combination of many measures, including carpooling and electric driving,” Voorma explains.
Crazy
There are vacuum cleaners everywhere, is that realistic? “I understand that it sounds crazy, but who would have thought thirty years ago that we would be putting up matrix boards everywhere,” Voorma counters. “They are now everywhere. Even in my home in Drenthe,” the developer laughs.
The trial lasts one year. Only then will it be clear whether the technology works well and how many of those vacuum cleaners are needed. Voorma starts beaming: “Technically it is possible! I really believe in it.”