9+ Creative Air Pollution Solutions -Part 2

In our quest to find creative solutions used worldwide to reduce air pollution, we have already learnt following in the Part 1  

 

• Solution 1: Plant More Trees

Examples:

1: How to Fit 275 Trees In 3 M2 Of Space?

 

• Solution 2: Think Harder For Area Specific Solutions

Examples:

1: Air-purifying billboard does the work of approx. 1,200 trees

2: Road space rationing- Quick way to reduce vehicles on a road

3: It’s time for an eco-friendly Cremation!

 

Now it’s time to concentrate on,

• Solution 3: Turn Pollution Into Harmless Compounds

Examples:

1: How Iceland is converting the CO2 (Carbon dioxide) emissions into stone.

2: Super Smart Smog-Busters (Photocatalytic materials) are turning harmful smog into harmless salts

 

• Solution 4: Make Best Out Of The Waste

Examples:

1: Smog Free Tower is Turning Dust Into Jewellery

2: Now You Can Paint With The Pollution!

3: This Hungry ‘Algae’ater Literally Feasts On Carbon Emissions

 

• A Quick Recap At Creative Solutions Used Worldwide To Control Air Pollution

•  

Solution 3:

 

Turn Pollution Into Harmless Compounds

Many eco-friendly innovations are helping us to successfully reduce the negative impact of harmful pollutants by simply turning them into something less toxic or harmless.

This way, even if they still exist in our ecosystem, they won’t be able to harm us in any possible way. Neither today, nor in the future. Let’s learn more about this concept through few examples:  

 

Stepping Stones To The Heavens?

Iceland has developed a system to convert the CO₂ (Carbon dioxide) emissions into stone.

 

Hellsheidi geothermal power plant in western Iceland has world’s first carbon capture system called CarbFix for converting the emissions into stone. We all know that trees suck carbon dioxide (CO₂) out from the air.

Now, what if we can make this process faster like a Ferrari? Direct air capture method is consists of machines that work like a tree does, but with a super-fast speed – capturing thousands of times more carbon in the same amount of time.  

 

The Challenge:

Unfortunately, direct air capture methods are exorbitantly expensive to deploy. A cheaper, simpler but effective solution was needed to gain commercial interest, and our brilliant scientist even found one!

Instead of capturing CO₂ from the air, capturing it directly at the source like coal-burning plant could cost approximately 10 times lesser. Bingo!  

 

How it works?

 

• Carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions are captured, mixed with water and injected into the ground which is mostly made up of volcanic rock- basalt.
• It speeds up a natural process where the basalt reacts with the gas to form carbonate mineral called calcite, which makes up limestone.

 

Pros:

• It’s Cheaper!

  This method of capturing and burying CO₂ emissions underground is more cost effective than storing it as a gas.

 

• It’s Safer!

  Burying CO₂ from fossil fuel burning, is a very secure and effective method of preventing the gas from entering the atmosphere, where it cannot warm the planet. It converts the emissions into stone, thus ensuring they don’t escape back into the atmosphere for the next millions of years.

 

• It’s Faster!

  Chemical absorption of CO₂ into basalt rock was thought to take hundreds or even thousands of years. But the researchers were amazed by how fast all the gas turned into a solid –in just two years

 

Cons:

• It requires lot of water:

  This technique requires large amounts of water- 25 tonnes of water for each tonne of CO₂ converted. Fortunately, seawater could be used, which would be in plentiful supply at coastal sites.

 

The Impact:

To be very frank, the problem of thousands of million tonnes of CO₂ emissions per year in the world is immense and no single remedy is anywhere near big/fast enough. Still, small efforts can make a huge difference in long run.

The Iceland project has already begun scaling up to bury 10,000 tonnes of CO₂ a year, plus the hydrogen sulphide which also turns into minerals. It is definitely a good kickstart towards a better future.

In the future, we could think of using this for power plants in places where there’s a lot of basalt and fortunately, there are many such places in the world.  

 

Super Smart Smog-Busters

These good-looking Photocatalytic materials (Titanium Dioxide- TiO₂) are turning harmful smog into harmless salts

 

Titanium Dioxide (TiO₂)

You may not have heard about Titanium Dioxide, but there is a great possibility that you might be already using it! Yes…it is commonly used in toothpaste, paint, stain remover, ceramic tiles in kitchens and bathrooms and so much more.

But do you know it has some magical properties that can help us fight with air pollution by turning harmful smog into harmless salts? Amazing, isn’t it?  

 

How it works?

 

• Photocatalysis:

  Titanium dioxide (NiO₂) functions as a catalyst (triggers the chemical reaction without itself being consumed or changed) to the chemical reaction called Photocatalysis, which is activated by Ultra Violet (UV) light in the presence of air.
  
  When this unique mixture comes into contact with ultraviolet light, the titanium oxide reacts with nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) in the air, a main component of smog, to convert the pollutant to inerts. (NO₂ contributes to acid rain and a number of respiratory ailments, such as asthma.)
  
  Note: The effect of photocatalysis may vary depending upon humidity, exposure to light and wind speed.

 

• Wash them off:

  The oxidized pollutants get precipitated on the material surface, which can then be easily removed from the surface by rain or by cleaning/washing by water

 

• Don’t worry about the residue:

  Residue is made up of inert salts that have no effect on the surrounding environment.

 

Pros:

• Improves air quality:

  Titanium dioxide can reduce VOCs, allergens, formation of molds and also the odors.

 

• Stays clean:

  Due to its self cleaning and antibacterial properties, it requires low maintenance, less labour and chemical/water usage to clean the same.

 

• Stays young:

  The photocatalysts do not lose their properties with the passing of time, because they only trigger the process (as a catalyst) and do not bond with the polluting agents.

 

• Wide range of applications:

  It can be used outdoor as well as indoor (with artificial UV lighting) for various purposes like in concrete facades, pavements, rooftops, paints and coatings, solar panels, tunnels, etc

 

How Titanium Dioxide (TiO₂) is saving the world?

 

A) Future Friendly Building Facade

Pollution-eating cement is also known as ‘Photocatalytic cement’. It is nothing but a mixture of traditional cement and titanium dioxide (TiO₂). This photocatalytic cement could be directly used in new building’s facade. It can also be added as a double wall/cladding in existing building’s exterior.  

 

Palazzo Italia, Milan

 

Opened in 2015, the Palazzo Italia in Milan (Italy) is one of the first buildings in the world to use photocatalytic cement. In total, it took approx. 2,000 metric tons of photocatalytic concrete to construct the building. The proprietary mixture was developed by an Italian company called Italcementi through 12,500 hours of intensive research just for this structure.  

 

Pros:

• Purifies air:

  This system cleans the air that goes into the building and that surrounds it. As a result, it can effectively reduce air pollution in cities when installed near traffic ways or on building facades. Additionally, photocatalytic surfaces on the outside walls of the buildings act as a shield to prevent the entrance of dirty outside air.

 

• It’s stronger:

  The photocatalytic cement is able to withstand higher pressures than standard cement, while also being more flexible. This added strength allows the architects and engineers to create the stunning linear shapes and structures with ease.

 

• Low maintenance cost:

  It could be very difficult and expensive to clean high and inaccessible places on regular basis. Due to its self-cleaning and anti bacterial properties, buildings made with photocatalytic cement stay cleaner and look like new for longer time.

 

• Graffiti resistance:

  Unwanted Graffiti is an eyesore and can be expensive to clean. Photocatalytic coating reduces the porosity of the concrete, which means graffiti paint cannot be absorbed into the surface and can be removed with a simple solvent wipe method.
  
  Any traces of graffiti remaining after the solvent wipe cleaning process will break down and gradually self clean via oxidation reactions.

 

 Cons:

• Higher construction cost:

  Currently, this technology is slightly expensive than regular materials.

 

• Slightly difficult for interiors:

  It can work indoor as well as outdoor. Still, due to lack of / no sunlight, indoor surfaces typically need an adequate UV lighting system to be installed in order to activate the cleaning process.

 

Impact:

This building contains 9,000 square meters of active concrete and can clean the air of the equivalent of exhaust gases from 100 diesel cars or almost 300 gasoline cars. It’s a significant impact. If just 15% of the buildings in Milan were covered in the concrete, it would reduce air pollution by half! Impressive, isn’t it?

 

Manuel Gea González Hospital, Mexico

 

The original Manuel Gea González Hospital was designed by the architect Manuel Villagrán and was completed in 1942. After many years of service, in 2013 a team of designers from the Berlin based firm Elegant Embellishments, added a new ‘smog-eating’ facade made up of a lightweight thermoformed plastic material called Prosolve 370e.

It is covered with a very thin layer of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) powder. Its three-dimensional coral like structure, increases the surface area by 200% and captures the polluting particles from various directions. Apart from purifying air, it has many other benefits too.  

 

Pros:

• Eye catchy:

  This technology can add a new life in the old building and enhance its beauty.

 

• Lightweight:

  Due to their lightness, the modules don’t require heavy machinery for installation, which means lesser installation cost.

 

• Easy to maintain:

  Maintenance is very simple. To keep the material white, it only needs to be sprayed regularly. The expected lifetime of the coating is 5-10 years. To restore it, it is not necessary to disassemble the tiles, since the product can be directly applied.

 

• Temperature control:

  The additional facade filters sunlight and reduces the temperature inside the building, which also saves air conditioning energy and avoids polluting emissions.

 

Impact:

This eye-catchy and lightweight 2,500 square meter facade reduces the pollution produced by approx. 1,000 cars per day.  

 

B) Pollution Eating Paver Blocks

 

The Photocatalytic pavement is a normal paver block with additional titanium dioxide layer at the top to extract harmful nitrogen oxides out of the air. Ideally, this paving is placed on a dry sand to allow the natural drainage of stormwater and prevent water clogging/ floods in urban area.  

 

Pros:

• Highly effective:

  Photocatalytic concrete is highly effective in reducing microbes and bacteria which makes it a perfect paving material by successfully reducing the amount of toxins expelled by vehicles and inhaled by the pedestrians.

 

• Easy to replace:

  We can easily replace the old normal paver blocks with the photocatalytic paver blocks without much hassles.

 

• Cost effective:

  Due to its simplicity, using photocatalytic cement coated paver blocks can cost you much lesser than constructing a photocatalytic cement building facade of the equivalent smog removal capacity.

 

Impact:

Depending upon the weather conditions, this special photocatalytic pavement, can reduce smog up to 60% throughout the day. Photocatalytic pavers are gaining worldwide attention gradually. They are already implemented in various European countries.

Cermak road in Chicago, also known as ‘greenest Street in America’ has also used the photocatalytic paving along with other green techniques.  

 

C) Odourless Tunnels:

 

Do you know, Photocatalytic cement – based paint is used to coat the inner walls of the tunnels too? But Why? This is because, it reduces internal pollution and maintenance cost. Wow! But what about the sunlight?

Isn’t is necessary to activate the titanium dioxide’s photocatalytic properties? Yes. it is. But how the sunlight would enter the long tunnel? That’s why a special UV lighting is added to the tunnel.  

 

Pros:

• Purifies air:

  It helps to reduce the heavy pollution caused by continuous movement of the vehicles inside the tunnel.

 

• Stays white and bright:

  It maintains white colour on the surface of tunnels to assist with visibility and to maintain lumens for longer times. It also results in lesser lighting and maintenance costs.

 

• Eliminates odour:

  Photocatalytic surfaces naturally destroy the harmful compounds that produce unwanted odour especially in a poorly ventilated / closed spaces to keep the air fresh and odourless.

 

Impact:

There is a significant reduction in the accumulation of dust on tunnel walls and at least 20% reduction in pollution level after applying photocatalytic paint.  

 

D) Pollution Sucker Eco-Billboards

The gigantic billboards are generally an eyesore. But the same ones with a photocatalytic touch are making our city feel fresher by sucking pollution from the sky.  

 

When a ‘Clean air poem’ literally cleaned the air:

 

In 2014, during initial efforts towards pollution sucking billboards, the UK’s University of Sheffield printed and displayed a poem called ‘In Praise of Air’ (written by Simon Armitage, one of the school’s poetry professors) on a 10m x 20m piece of vinyl coated with microscopic pollution-eating particles of titanium dioxide.

This single 10mx20m poster was able to purify the emissions equivalent of approx. 20 cars per day.  

 

Toyota created an eco-friendly ad for an eco-friendly product:

 

In 2017, Toyota placed many such pollution reducing billboards in California, America to promote their advertising campaign for hydrogen fuel cell car, the Mirai.

The 37 billboards covering about 25,000 square feet of pollution-removing material removed the equivalent of 5,285 vehicles worth of nitrogen oxide emissions from the air each month.  

 

Pros:

• It’s durable:

  The TiO₂ coating keeps working for throughout year and helps remove air pollution.

 

• It’s easy and effective:

  You can easily place the photocatalytic poster on an existing normal billboard. You can even simply hang it on an exterior wall and it will work just fine.

 

• It’s pretty cost-effective:

  The photocatalytic coating adds just a few dollars per square feet to the banner’s production costs.

 

Impact:

Just think..What if we make every banner, flag or advertising poster in the world like this? Won’t we have much better air quality? Although all these ‘smog-eating’ solutions are both innovative and effective, they need widespread adoption in order to make a meaningful impact.

All these innovations and high tech technologies may not be your cup of tea, but you can still combat with the air pollution at an individual level with some really simple solutions.

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Read Complete Article

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Also Read…

• 22+ Hottest Global Warming Quotes And Slogans
• 22+ Meaningful World Oceans Day Slogans | Save Ocean
• 43+ Effective Ways To Reduce Indoor Air Pollution
• 6+ Innovative Products Quashing Air Pollution Around the World
• 72+ Smart Slogans On Pollution And Ozone Layer Depletion

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References:

• CO2
• cement
• smog 
• qz 
• al jazeera 
• the guardian 
• eco news 
• interesting engineering 
• adl and
• ijirset 
• construct connect 
• earth scouts 
• explain that stuff 
• india times 
• the drive 
• paver 
• visual arq 
• photocatalyst coatings