New solutions against air pollution

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution is the world's largest 'killer' environment and the culprit that kills more than 7 million people in the world in 2012. Before pollution The air is more and more serious, many response solutions have been developed with very high practical applications.

High-tech air filter

Limiting dirty gas dispersed into the environment is considered a leading solution to fight pollution, so many heavily affected cities are turning to anti-pollution solutions.

In Mexico, Manuel Gea González Hospital in Mexico City unveiled a 'smoke' building , located on an area of ​​2,500 square meters. The building is coated with titanium dioxide (TiO ₂ ) capable of reacting to light to neutralize air pollutants. According to designers, this building can disable the amount of smoke emitted by 1,000 cars every day.

In Italy, Palazzo Italia project also uses similar materials to paint a 6-storey building with a total area of ​​more than 13,000 square meters (photo) and is expected to debut in Milan city in 2015. Meanwhile In the Netherlands, scientists have also applied TiO ₂ coating techniques to roads and affirmed this approach helps reduce up to 45% of pollution. It is known that the application of TiO _{2 is} not too expensive, but only takes 4-5% more construction costs.

In addition to large buildings, TiO ₂ can also be used for smaller surfaces, such as billboards, posters, even on clothes. By combining TiO ₂ nanoparticles into washing powder, the clothes will have air filtering function after washing. Tony Ryan, a polymer chemist at the University of Sheffield (UK), says that each set of clothes can remove 5-6 grams of nitrogen dioxide (NO ₂ ) every day.

MicroPEM sensor - solution against personal pollution

In order to help people realize the risk of being poisoned early, RTI Institute specializes in providing medical solutions in the United States developed MicroPEM sensors, with the ability to collect environmental data to help users control risks. Early tests showed that the sensor could detect indoor pollutants emitted from stoves, causing about 2 million deaths (due to inhalation of toxic fumes) each year in developing countries. . The device can be applied to many different environments to detect a variety of health threats. According to Dr. Charles Rodes, head of MicroPEM development, early detection of pollutants is vital for patients, especially those with respiratory diseases such as asthma or pneumonia.

After testing at universities in the US, UK and China, experts believe the device will be widely available soon. The MicroPEM currently costs about $ 2,000, but the development team is looking to lower costs to meet the needs of the public.

Anti-pollution network inspired by spiders

Dr. Fritz Vollrath, zoologist at Oxford University (UK) after studying spider species, deduced that it is possible to apply spider silk and their silk techniques to create an anti-pollution network. fruit. " The thinness and charge of silk fibers allows them to attract all the dust particles that pass by, and the covering on silk that acts like glue helps to hold the dust particles," Dr. Vollrath said.

Dr. Vollrath believes that artificial silk will be a perfect tool to capture and measure pollution levels, thereby helping to assess the danger of the atmosphere. Mr. Vollrath said the anti-pollution network can be used anywhere, from disaster areas to hospitals and houses.