Core77
e
China Builds Experimental 33-Story Air Purification Tower That Turns Smog Into Clean Air
This thing is basically an anti-smokestack
By Rain Noe - Jan 19
To say that the air quality in Chinese cities is bad is an understatement, as you can see below.
Statistics and image via Air Quality Index China To tackle this, the municipal government of the city of Xian (population 8.7 million), the capital of Shaanxi province, has constructed what is essentially a massive air purifier. Standing some 33 stories (100 meters) tall, the tower is currently being tested by environmental scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Here's how it works, according to the South China Morning Post:
The system works through greenhouses covering about half the size of a soccer field around the base of the tower. Polluted air is sucked into the glasshouses and heated up by solar energy. The hot air then rises through the tower and passes through multiple layers of cleaning filters.
Enter a caption (optional)Scientist Cao Junji, who heads up the research team, told the paper that "improvements in air quality had been observed over an area of 10 square kilometres (3.86 square miles) in the city over the past few months and the tower has managed to produce more than 10 million cubic metres (353 million cubic feet) of clean air a day since its launch."
Enter a caption (optional)Cao also claims that the tower "barely requires any" electricity to run during daylight hours. Like you, I'm very curious as to how this all works. With any luck we'll learn more in March, when the research team is expected to release their full report.
Enter a caption (optional)Should the findings prove positive, the plan is to start building absolutely gigantic versions of these smog towers. The research team has filed a patent application for a 164-story (500 meter) tower with a greenhouse base that covers nearly 12 square miles (30 square kilometers). A single facility of that size, they reckon, would be able to clean the air for "a small sized city."
Enter a caption (optional)
Rain Noe
Rain Noe is a writer and industrial designer based in New York City.
3 Comments
-
So this is basically a solar energy updraft tower that cleans the air at the same. Neat.
!Report as spam -
@Joshua
1. I don't think plants are involved at all. At the bottom are "glasshouses" (for heating up the air) not "greenhouses".
2. If I'm understanding your last sentence correctly, carbon capture and smog mitigation/filtration are two different things.
My understanding is that this is a basically a particulate filter, not a carbon removal system.
So little info. So many questions...!Report as spam -
How it works: the chimney effect. It is a giant chimney with a bunch of plants and filters built in a natural heat gradient created by heating the gas below so it will rise on its own. Not much more than that and this is some amazing appropriate technology for what could be a ridiculous waste of energy like some carbon capture systems.
!Report as spam
Continued Reading
-
By Rain Noe - Jan 11
Where to Get Sustainably-Sourced Wood in NYC: RE-CO BKLYN
The company saves felled trees from going into landfill, and also has a kick-ass website
When you picture New York City you probably don't envision greenery, but in fact the city has some 5.2 million trees in parks, lining streets and in people's yards in the outerboroughs. Each year, as in nature, a number of them become damaged by storms or age and must be
-
By Rain Noe - Jan 02
Norway's Auto-Dimming Highway Lights
Smart motion sensors provide an enormous savings on electricity costs
In our homes, the budget-minded among us will turn a light off when leaving a room. There's no point in paying for electricity when no one is around to reap its benefits. But this money-saving tactic has traditionally not been possible with highway lights, which municipalities are obligated to leave
-
By Rain Noe - Dec 12, 2017
The Quartz is a Brilliant, Self-Cleaning Reusable Water Bottle
I had a transparent reusable water bottle I used to bring to my training hall, but I stopped using it because these gross black dots were forming on the inside near the bottom and they were difficult to scrub out, even with a bristle brush. The developers of the
-
By Rain Noe - Dec 07, 2017
Rewilder's Bags Made From Beer Filters, and Why Repurposing is Better Than Recycling
If every design entrepreneur had Rewilder's philosophy, the world would be a better place
Designers Lisa Siedlecki and Jennifer Silbert worked in fashion and architecture, respectively, two industries where they saw their share of wasted materials. Three years ago they'd had enough and quit, teaming up to produce something useful and ecologically responsible. "We started Rewilder to combat the fast fashion craze with meticulous
K
{Welcome
Create a Core77 Account
Already have an account? Sign In
By creating a Core77 account you confirm that you accept the Terms of Use
K
Reset Password
Please enter your email and we will send an email to reset your password.
