This mammoth 'smog tower' could help with Delhi's pollution woes
At a time when air pollution in spiralling in Delhi, a Delhi-based start-up has claimed that it has a solution to Delhi's air pollution woes. The start-up, Kurin Systems, has designed a mammoth, 40-foot-tall air purifier that it claims can provide clean air for up to 75,000 people living in a three kilometer radius around it. Here's what we know about it.
Kurin Systems recently patented its mammoth 'City Cleaner'
Kurin Systems recently got the patent for the "world's largest as well as the strongest air purifier" published by the World Intellectual Property Organization. Called the 'City Cleaner', Kurin's mammoth air purifier is 40 feet tall and measures 20 feet on each side. It has the capability to clean 32 million cubic metres of polluted air per day, and is both cost-effective and environment-friendly.
The 'City Cleaner' can remove 99.99% of pollutants from air
The 'City Cleaner' generates 1.3 million cubic metres of clean air per hour, using its H14 grade highly effective particulate arrestance (HEPA) filter, in conjunction with a pre-filter and activated carbon. While the pre-filter cleans large particles (PM10 and above), the H14 HEPA filter removes smaller particles (PM2.5) from air. The activated carbon filter removes volatile organic compounds and stench. The nine-stage filtering process removes 99.99% of pollutants from air.
The City Cleaner is cost-effective and environment-friendly
While all the above sounds complicated, Kurin System claims that it can complete one such 'City Cleaner' in a mere four months. The expected price for the purifier is Rs. 1.75-2cr per tower - significantly cheaper than other similar devices being used around the world. What's more? The 'City Cleaner' can run on entirely on solar power, and is hence environment-friendly.
The company has already tested the device's efficacy
Kurin Systems has already tested the core technology of the purifier in one of their at-home devices, and scaled up the technology before applying for the patent. To test the device's efficacy, they also gave samples to hospitals, veterinaries, commercial spaces, and people living around the polluted Anand Vihar. The company currently has scale models that can be tested in environments with PM levels as high as 2,000.
Efforts are on to rope the government in
Madhur Meha, the co-founder of Kurin Systems, told TOI that the company has been pitching the idea of city-level air cleaning to both the Central and state governments, and that it hopes to make headway soon. "We wish to show how tremendously effective this technology can be, if used before things get out of hand. We can still save...countless lives," said Mehta.
Kurin's 'smog tower' is the need of the hour
On Monday, PM10 levels in Delhi's Anand Vihar touched a whopping 912 - more than 15 times the safe limit prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Additionally, it's worth noting that air pollution kills over one million people in India annually. With pollution levels set to worsen, and government measures proving ineffective, Kurin Systems' 'City Cleaner' might be the only feasible solution Delhi has to combat spiralling air pollution.
