The Ineffectiveness of Smog Towers -A Mathematical Proof

Source abstract

Severe air pollution plagues many megacities, prompting proposals for technological fixes like smog towers. While conceptually appealing, their efficacy in open, dynamic atmospheric systems is questionable. Building on previous qualitative and order-of-magnitude assessments, this study employs a dynamic box model incorporating first-principles differential equations to rigorously evaluate the potential impact of smog towers on city-wide ambient pollutant concentrations, using Delhi, India as an example. The model accounts for emissions, atmospheric transport (advection), chemical production and loss, natural deposition, and pollutant removal by smog towers. By comparing the characteristic time scales and removal rates, it is demonstrated mathematically that the pollutant removal rate attributable to even a large number of smog towers is orders of magnitude smaller than the natural ventilation rate driven by meteorological processes. The analysis concludes that smog towers offer a negligible impact on urban air quality at a meaningful scale and reinforce the necessity of focusing on emission source control.