NetZeroCities

Urban Garden Biofilter is an air filter framed in an urban garden to reduce the emissions of underground car parks or other stationary sources of pollutant compounds in urban environments. This NBS can be adapted to existing car parks or tunnels, or included in the design of new infrastructures.

Urban garden bio-filter, URBAN GreenUP project

It is composed of three main elements:

the extractor system to extract the polluted air from underground areas/ car parks;
the plenum section to distribute the air under the Biofilter and
the Biofilter itself to clean the air and metabolize pollutants.

The Urban Garden Biofilter captures most of NOX and PM (>90%) from indoor air (pollutants concentration 0.5-1 ppm)

URBAN Garden Biofilter is proposed to extract a controlled and small flow of air continuously and pass it through the soil of the garden in which the biofilter is integrated. The biofilter is composed of a series of layers that sequentially capture the main pollutants present in the combustion gases that reduce urban air quality, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. The top layer of the biofilter is a high porosity substrate that is maintained at low humidity levels and in which a series of native species with low water requirements are planted and no large roots as these could damage the filter.

Climate and Geography:

The urban garden bio-filter can be placed in any smoke extraction, especially from vehicles, heaters and other infrastructures as filter framed in an urban garden of pollutants in urban environments. The biofilter is divided in three parts, the most sensitive part to Climate and Geography are layers for support, pollutants absorption and protection and the vegetation which covers these layers. The main reason is the outdoor location of this Nature Based Solution (NBS), it is designed to withstand a certain amount of water, so that it does not damage the smoke extraction system as excessive daily irrigation or high rainfall over a long period of time can flood the system.

Therefore, irrigation of the selected species will be shallow and weekly with native species adapted to the requirements imposed.

Urban Garden Bio-filter front view (Source: CARTIF)

Urban Form and layout & Technical aspects/infrastructure:

Inside tunnels and car parks, combustion gases are confined and accumulate. These are eventually emitted to the outside world through the entrances and exits of the car parks as well as through the extraction towers.

The system is going to be installed next to one of the indoor air exit areas of the underground car park and must be dimensioned proportionally to the amount of flow to be filtered, as well as to hide within the structure of all the components

Policy and regulatory/legal framework:

The construction of this NBS must meet planning and safety criteria.

Funding and financing & Economic and social context:

This action could be led from different municipality areas (at least urbanism, environment and heritage).

Also, by private funds that have car park property, construction companies

Project governance and implementation modalities:

It would be interesting if the municipalities made it compulsory for all public car parks and private car parks with a certain volume of vehicles and plants to install this NBS. In addition to boiler outlets in public centres, ventilation outlets in tunnels and underground railways.

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