Her system deflected the emissions being produced by factory smokestacks into water tanks, where the pollutants were retained and later flushed "into the sewer, or into other suitable channels for conducting them to a distant or any desired locality". This water tank system redirected smoke, odors, and pollutants away from the city and out of the air before society had even come to an understanding of the problem.
Her invention aimed to mitigate air pollution by diverting factory emissions into water tanks for treatment and disposal. This was done before society had developed a comprehensive understanding of the environmental consequences of pollution.