James Bartholomew and Dino Gentile live in California and worry about air pollution. Their patented solution (WO 91/17803) is an airship that hovers over the polluted area and cleans the air.
The airship contains a bank of air cleaning devices, each designed to cope with a different type of pollution. A caustic scrubber removes chlorine, a wet cyclone disposes of acid gases and a mesh filter removes dust. A sensor in the air intake analyses the pollutants and channels the air through whichever cleansing unit is needed to remove the offending material.
The inventors point out that the US government stockpiles helium in underground wells in Amarillo, Texas, so could provide the lift for the airborne air cleansing service at low cost to the taxpayer.
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