Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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zero pollution from vehicles

exhaust cup
  (+2, -8)(+2, -8)
(+2, -8)
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a cup should be designed to fit into the tip of exhaust pipe of all vehicles. The cup should absorb the emissions and convert it into solid waste. This way no smoke will be released to the atmosphere, and hence no pollution. The cup can have a limit of may be few grams of solid waste collection capacity. After which the cup should be cleaned and fit it again to the exhaust pipe tip.
ravi kris334, Jun 11 2011

[link]






       Welcome to the bakery, [ravi kris334].   

       Please don't take personal offense at the hail of incoming fishbones. I think they're likely to have two causes:   

       1. Give us a clue; how might this work? Are you thinking primarily in terms of CO2 emissions, or the entire chemical contents of car exhaust? Supposing the former, what is this cup going to do which will turn CO2 into soot (or any other solid)?   

       2. In round figures, what might be the carbon footprint (and other environmental impact) of the entire process of manufacturing, distributing and post-processing millions of rather clever cups? How might this compare with the amount of carbon captured by these cups? I'm not saying that these numbers will necessarily be against you - just that you should show evidence of having thought about them, if you want to see more croissant and less fish-skeleton on your idea.
pertinax, Jun 11 2011
  

       3. How do you propose to prevent the engine from stalling due to the backpressure created by a rather clever cup blocking the exhaust?
Alterother, Jun 11 2011
  

       I rather like the idea of modern cars leaving a trail of solid waste turds behind them. It might even bring back an important job that has since been swept aside by modern technology --- that guy that follows the horses around sweeping up road apples. [+]
Grogster, Jun 11 2011
  

       This would be useful for capturing lead emissions, from the use of leaded petrol. These tend to be dense particulates, and should therefore be relatively easy to filter out. The cost/benefit ratio is favourable, since they are exceedingly toxic. Leaded petrol has not yet been phased out worldwide, so there's still a call for this.   

       <Soapbox> The use of leaded petrol over at least 8 decades or so is one of the greatest crimes ever, in my opinion. Literally millions of tons of a toxic, brain damaging, carcinogenic heavy metal, with an effectively infinite lifespan, have been released, in fine particulate form, concentrated in areas of human activity. The members of governments who swept evidence* of the harm being caused under the carpet, and allowed the practice to continue, despite the existence of viable alternatives, are amongst the worst kind of scum, and should be brought to account.   

       * Even in the absence of direct evidence specifically linking car lead emissions to damage to humans and the environment (such evidence was overwhelming, once decent studies were done), the "well derr!" principle should have suggested that releasing all that lead was a Bad Thing. </Soapbox>
spidermother, Jun 11 2011
  

       You may be pleased to know that the gentleman who invented leaded petrol also developed CFCs as non-toxic refrigerants.
MaxwellBuchanan, Jun 12 2011
  

       You saw that episode of Q.I. too?
spidermother, Jun 12 2011
  

       Damn. And I was hoping to impress you with my erudition. Which, quite interestingly, comes from the Greek word for a camel whose teeth have been worn down by age.
MaxwellBuchanan, Jun 12 2011
  

       QI-style sirens blare while the word "camel" is flashed on a screen behind [MaxwellBuchanan]'s head. He loses twenty points, and falls behind Alan Davies.
pertinax, Jun 12 2011
  

       A rude awakening.
spidermother, Jun 12 2011
  

       // falls behind Alan Davies //   

       Little beads of sweat appear along Alan Davies's browline. He strives manfuly not to panic, but only partially succeeds.
8th of 7, Jun 12 2011
  

       I figured how this could work, the "cup" fits tightly and actually seals the end of the exhaust pipe thus preventing the engine from starting. Then a harness is attached to allow the car to be pulled by eco- friendly horses. :-)   

       Sorry (-).   

       Hey, who bunned this? OK, one is from the author, I get that, but whose is the second?
MisterQED, Jun 13 2011
  

       Here's a quick calculation: gasoline has about 2400 grams of carbon per gallon of gas. A 17-gallon tank emits 41 kg of carbon molecules, mostly as CO2, which is much heavier than that. Your cup is going to have to be pretty huge, and need replacing at every fill-up. At 2.2 grams / cc for "typical" carbon, that's 18.5 L, plus whatever magic chemical compound you've found to do this.
RayfordSteele, Jun 13 2011
  

       On Top Gear they built an air purifier to remove CO2 from SUV exhaust. IIRC, it was a small UHaul trailer filled with soda lime that only lasted about 5 miles.
DIYMatt, Jun 13 2011
  
      
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