Global filtration specialist MANN+HUMMEL says it will start installing its Filter Cubes on a busy road in the centre of Heilbronn, Germany, in July.
The 26 combi filter systems are intended to help protect residents and passers-by from particulates and hazardous gases such as nitrogen dioxide. The hope is to also avoid bans on diesel vehicles, according to MANN+HUMMEL, based in Ludwigsburg, Germany.
The enhanced MANN+HUMMEL combi filter for air includes a filter layer to retain particles and additional activated carbon layers for adsorbing nitrogen dioxide. Highly porous activated carbon media efficiently adsorbs nitrogen dioxide due to their large surface areas.
The company says that its technology stands out thanks to its particularly low-pressure reduction. This means it cleans air efficiently while keeping energy usage low. Control electronics enable the user to adapt filter operation and to react to the changing air quality.
MANN+HUMMEL installed 23 Filter Cubes at Stuttgart’s Neckartor intersection in October 2018. The 250m-long section of road – previously Germany’s worst affected location for particulate matter and hazardous gases – saw a drastic reduction in air pollution, according to the company. The company says that these results convinced municipal authorities and developers outside Germany to install the technology.
For example, in Indaiatuba, an inland Brazilian city with a populaion of around 235,000 people, four Filter Cubes were installed at the beginning of March. The filter columns will be used for a six-month study in the city centre where there is a high concentration of bus and passenger traffic. The technology – completely new to Brazil in this form – filters 80% of particulates ranging from 2.5-10 microns, notes the company. There are plans to extend the project to other Brazilian metropolitan areas.
“More and more residents and municipalities are becoming aware of the dangers to health posed by high concentrations of air pollutants, like particulates. As specialists in filtration systems, we are using our expertise to help make the air in cities cleaner and thus improve the quality of life,” said Jan-Eric Raschke, director of public air solutions at MANN+HUMMEL.
In the South Korean capital Seoul, particulate matter is increasingly becoming the focus of public attention. In January, Samsung C&T Corporation – part of the Samsung empire and which focuses on engineering and construction projects, trade and investment, fashion and resorts – installed eight Filter Cubes III in the entrance area of its Everland Resort. The Korean company also had two filter columns installed at a playground in a new residential complex.
So far, 92 columns have been installed on three continents. MANN+HUMMEL estimates that its Cubes clean around 1.25 million cubic meters of air per hour worldwide. Filter Cubes can be used anywhere where people are exposed to particularly high levels of particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide. This applies, for example, to streets with heavy traffic and large intersections. Further application areas include bus stops, train stations and underground stations.
In addition to the free-standing Filter Cubes, MANN+HUMMEL also provides filtration systems that can be integrated directly into bus stops or into advertising or information boards.
MANN+HUMMEL is a global provider of filtration systems for vehicles, industrial applications, the clean indoor-air in industry and public spaces. Products include air filter systems, suction systems, liquid filter systems, technical plastic parts, filter media, cabin filters, industrial filters as well as membranes and modules for water filtration, wastewater treatment and process applications.
