During a trip to Albania, Dr. Marian Bartoszuk became convinced of the need to solve the problem of the troublesome odour coming from the coach on-board restroom.

He said: “Anyone boarding a bus probably automatically chooses a seat as far away from the restroom as possible. The reasons are clear. Especially on a longer route, there are fumes. The driver and staff ask to use the toilets at rest stops, which are frequent. But emergencies are common and unavoidable. Once I was in Albania. The return trip to Poland by coach took over 28 hours. At one point, one of the passengers had to use the restroom. The stench spread quickly throughout the bus. Such a long journey itself is tiring, but the fumes made it even more onerous. I began to think about how to deal with it.”

Dr. Bartoszuk approached the problem from both a practical and scientific standpoint. 

He said: “Currently, there is a vent in the bus restroom wall. When driving, air is pushed into the restroom, a slight overpressure forms and theoretically everything should escape through the same vent. 

“Unfortunately this does not always work. All you need is a side wind or turbulence and the air is forced back into the bus, together with toilet fumes. My solution includes plugging the vent, and then the air from the back is taken by the engine, which needs air to work. 

“This solution is in line with the idea of sustainable design, because you do not need to install an extra motor, everything is done by one drive.”

He added that the method can be used in both coaches and rail vehicles.

The has now been handled over to the university's patent attorney.

Piotr Sterniuk from the Technology Transfer Centre at the Opole University of Technology said: “This is a very interesting patent that has a potential for widespread application. There is already interest in the invention. 

“We are starting the first talks with entrepreneurs involved in the production of coaches.”

(PAP)

PAP - Science in Poland, Marek Szczepanik

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