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AKARTA: A chemistry student from the Bogor Agriculture Institute (IPB) will launch a pilot project of air purifying billboards in Cilegon, Banten.

"The billboards will be capable of reducing emission by at least 25 percent to 60 percent," the student, Hari Bowo, said during an environmental youth activist discussion in Jakarta on Saturday.

"The hotter the temperature, the better and the more efficiently the billboards will work."

Hari said his research had been completed and that he had talked about the launching of the project with the Cilegon city administration.

"All I have to do now is to patent the invention. The city officials told me that there is a possibility for them to issue a city bylaw for air purifier billboards if the pilot project is a success."

According to Hari, the idea for the invention comes from his observation of Cilegon's daily environmental situation.

"As an industrial city, air pollution level in Cilegon is very high. It is very difficult to plant trees, which are meant to naturally purify air pollution.

"I also see that there are a lot of billboards in the city. So, I was thinking, what if we can make those billboard work as air purifiers? So, that's how the idea came to me."