eli5: Why can’t we install filters over tailpipes to reduce their carbon output?

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I understand that this is not the solution, we need to phase out gas-powered engines in order to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by 2030, and I understand that the filters would have to be changed and washed/recycled/disposed of constantly and couldn’t just sit on the tailpipe clogging up, I just don’t understand why a filter would be useless, wouldn’t it help just a little? Would it just ruin the cars? What about rooftop carbon capture devices? Is there nothing we can do to reduce pollution and carbon output from our current combustion engines?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

We do, it is called a catalytic converter and it reduces emissions a great deal, but they do wear out eventually and replacing them is not cheap.

Most of the emissions are otherwise too small to be caught by a regular filter, they are smaller than viruses even. Methane carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide are some of the smallest molecules out there.

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