India was among the the top 10 most polluted places in the world, as per the World Health Organization (WHO) list released last year. National capital Delhi was topping the list. The climate emergency is a global concern, which brought smog towers into the world. In India, Delhi got its first giant air purifier to combat air pollution.
Apart from WHO’s list, a 2019 report by Greenpeace, every year 1.2 million people die in India due to air pollution.
To fight the degrading air quality, India was trying hard to clean air, and this became entry of smog towers. At present air quality is naturally improved, after people are locked in their homes, factories and business are shut due to the coronavirus outbreak. But after the lift of lockdown the world will struggle for the good air.
Here today, I will tell you What smog tower is, how it works, what are air purifiers and the story of Delhi’s giant air purifier.
Let’s get started….
What is Air purifier?
The word air purifier explains what air purifier is. The word is made up of two words “air” and “purifier,” so the device that purifies the air is called air purifier. But how does this device work? The answer is simpler that I will discuss, scroll down to know.
Air purifiers trap airborne contaminants (dust, chemicals, odors, dust mites etc.) to purify the air. But the ability of purifier to trap the airborn containment differs depending on the technology used in the air purifier.
What is Smog Tower?
Smog tower is a structure consisting of multiple layers of filters. Smog tower requires a compound of approx. 30 x 30 metres in general. It’s size could be 40 feet in height and 20 feet on each side.
Smog towers are able to take in air from all the angles (360-degree), with capacity to purify 32 million cubic meters of air per day and the structure is capable of generating 1,300,000 cubic metres of clean air every hour.
Smog towers can have 48 fans (exhaust) to maintain the flow of clean air. They can provide clean air to 75,000 people within its 3 kilometre radius. however, there is no one-size-fit all air purifier.
How does smog tower filter the air?
The smog tower pulls the polluted air, purifies it through multiple layers and re-circulates it into the atmosphere. The smog tower uses highly effective Highly Effective Particulate Arrestance (HEPA) filters of
H14 grade. This HEPA filter are capable of cleaning 99.99% Particulate Matter (PM) present in the air using activated carbon and pre-filter.
Giant Air Purifier in Delhi – Smog Tower
To control the high levels of air pollution in National Capital Delhi, a giant air purifier or smog tower was installed in the Central Market, Lajpat Nagar on January 3, 2020 jointly by Gautam Gambhir Foundation and
Traders’ Association Lajpat Nagar (TALN).
Delhi’s smog tower is 20-feet in height and runs on electricity. The giant air purifier with exhaust fans sucks the polluted air, filter it and recirculate. The gigantic air purifier can clean 2.5-6 lakh cubic meters of air a day. It collects over 75 per cent Particulate Matters (PM) 2.5 and 10 from the air and send the fresh or purified air to the area.
World’s largest Air Purifier
World’s largest air purifier was constructed by Scientists at China’s Institute of Earth Environment in country’s northern city of Xian. This smog-sucking tower is more than 100 metres in height tall, comprises a number of specially-adapted greenhouse at its base that sucks the polluted air, purifies it and recirculates.
Conclusion
Air quality has been an issue for over years, specially combating with smog after festival of Diwali when it completely blankets the city every year. The smog is not just an extreme level of air pollution but also toxic for humans. The illegal crop burning in farm states also equally contribute in making air quality worse.
In the light of the coronavirus pandemic, nature is replenishing itself. It is giving a lesson to humans. We don’t need smog towers, we need to take care of our environment and ensure that we handover a greener planet to the next generation.
