These 330-foot-tall filtration towers could purify Delhi's polluted air
In a bid to tackle air pollution in Delhi, a Dubai-based architectural firm has proposed an ambitious project, one that involves setting up a futuristic air filtration network. The network, as Znera Space posits, would be created by building massive towers in different parts of the city. Each of these towers will be sucking in carbon particles and purifying the air in its vicinity.
Poor air quality: A major problem
Over the years, Delhi citizens have come on the frontlines of a major smog crisis. From industrial and transport emissions to construction projects, power plants, and illegal burning of crops - everything has affected air quality, recording pollution levels 40 times higher than WHO's breathable limits. Last year, for instance, the quality of air was so bad, breathing it was similar to smoking 44 cigarettes.
Details about the Smog Project
Though routine steps to curb pollution-bolstering activities can improve air quality, the process is excruciatingly slow and could take decades to make the city breathable. On the contrary, the futuristic 330-foot-tall towers of the 'Smog Project' offers a fast-paced solution. Each sky-scraper, as the team proposed, could use solar energy to clean as much as 3.2 million cubic meters of air every day.
And, how the towers would work?
Znera imagines this filtration system as a hexagonal network of towers connected with overhead bridges. Each of these bridges would incorporate solar-powered hydrogen fuel cells for splitting water into hydrogen and electricity. Once the energy is generated, the towers' filtration pods would suck air from the bottom, trap particulate matter through a series of processes, and release it back into the atmosphere from the top.
Added benefits of Smog Project
The technology would not only serve as a rapid air filtration system but also provide raw material for other industries. Essentially, the carbon particles trapped from the air can be recycled to create ink, graphene, or concrete. That said, it is worth noting the project is still an idea and would take years of studies, and humongous investment before being incorporated in the real-world.
Current Status: Prototype on the way
The Smog Project has been selected in the Experimental Future Project category of World Architectural Festival 2018. The researchers have said a prototype for the filtration tower is in the works. It is at the advanced conceptual level and would be demonstrated in a few years. They also think the same model could be applied to UAE, which experiences severe dust storms.
