Smog towers or smog free towers (see below for other names) are structures designed as large-scale air purifiers to reduce air pollution particles (smog). This approach to the problem of urban air pollution involves air filtration, and removal of suspended mechanical particulates such as soot, and requires energy or power. Another approach is to remove urban air pollution by a chimney effect in a tall stack, or updraft tower, which may be either filtered or simply released at altitude as with a solar updraft tower, and which may not require operating energy beyond what may be produced by the updraft.
The world's first smog free tower was built by Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde. It was unveiled in September 2015 in Rotterdam [1] and later similar structures toured in [2] Beijing and Tianjin, China, Kraków, Poland [3] and Anyang, South Korea. [4] The 7-meter (23 ft) tall tower uses patented positive ionisation technology and is expected to clean 30,000 m3 of air per hour. [2]
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In 2016, [5] [6] a 100-metre (330 ft) tower has been built in Xi'an, Shaanxi to tackle the city's pollution. [7] It was funded by the provincial government and costs US$2 million. The running cost is $30000 per year. [8] It is under testing by researchers at the Institute of Earth Environment of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. [9]
The experimental demonstration urban updraft tower is cleaning the air in central China with little external energy input. [10] [11] A 60-metre urban chimney is surrounded by solar collector. This project was led by Cao Jun Ji, a chemist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Key Laboratory of Aerosol Chemistry and Physics. [8] This work has since been published on, with the performance data and modelling. [12] [13]
"I like to tell my students that we don’t need to be medical doctors to save lives ... If we can just reduce the air pollution in major metropolitan areas by 20 percent, for example, we can save tens of thousands of lives each year ... I hope that people will realize that this is a really effective and cheap way to solve the PM2.5 problem." [5]
“In the case of India, their population is more packed together, so the towers will be more effective in mitigating PM2.5 … At least during the next 10-15 years, they can use them to provide relief to residents while they invest in clean energy technology.” [14]
—David Pui, Regents Professor and LM Fingerson/TSI Chair in Mechanical Engineering of the University of Minnesota, explained. [14]
As of 2022 [update] , there are at least eight smog towers in India, some of which are smaller in scale:
In Delhi, India Kurin Systems is developing a 12-metre (40 ft) tall smog tower, called the "Kurin City Cleaner". [25] It is different from Daan Roosegaarde's Smog Tower in that it won't depend on the ionization technique to clean the air. The H14 grade HEPA Filter, known for being able to clean up to 99.99% of the particulate matter, will be used instead, together with a pre-filter and activated carbon. [26] It is claimed the tower will filter air for up to 75,000 people within a 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) radius. [27] and cleaning more than 32 million cubic metres of air every day. [28]
There are air pollution experts who view smog filtration tower projects with scepticism. For example, Professor Alastair Lewis, Science Director at the NCAS, has argued that static air cleaners, like the prototypes in Beijing and Delhi, cannot process enough city air, quickly enough, to make a meaningful difference to urban pollution. He said that it was "easier[ unbalanced opinion? ] to come up with technologies and schemes that stop harmful emissions at source, rather than to try to capture the resulting pollution once it's free and in the air". [29]
Noting that the Delhi tower would be powered by (mostly) coal-fired electricity,[ dubious ] Sunil Dahiya from India's Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air has commented that "so we will only be adding to pollution elsewhere in the country". [30] According to The Times , environmentalists said that "given the city[Delhi]'s size and the scale of its pollution, 2.5 million smog towers would be needed to clean its air". [31] As a refute, "The objective is not to clear entire Delhi's air, it is to create special zones where people can breathe," Anwar Ali Khan, the engineer in charge of the project said. [30]
Other names for the structure include:
Smog, or smoke fog, is a type of intense air pollution. The word "smog" was coined in the early 20th century, and is a portmanteau of the words smoke and fog to refer to smoky fog due to its opacity, and odor. The word was then intended to refer to what was sometimes known as pea soup fog, a familiar and serious problem in London from the 19th century to the mid-20th century, where it was commonly known as a London particular or London fog. This kind of visible air pollution is composed of nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxide, ozone, smoke and other particulates. Man-made smog is derived from coal combustion emissions, vehicular emissions, industrial emissions, forest and agricultural fires and photochemical reactions of these emissions.
The solar updraft tower (SUT) is a design concept for a renewable-energy power plant for generating electricity from low temperature solar heat. Sunshine heats the air beneath a very wide greenhouse-like roofed collector structure surrounding the central base of a very tall chimney tower. The resulting convection causes a hot air updraft in the tower by the chimney effect. This airflow drives wind turbines, placed in the chimney updraft or around the chimney base, to produce electricity.
An air ioniser is a device that uses high voltage to ionise air molecules. Negative ions, or anions, are particles with one or more extra electrons, conferring a net negative charge to the particle. Cations are positive ions missing one or more electrons, resulting in a net positive charge. Some commercial air purifiers are designed to generate negative ions. Another type of air ioniser is the electrostatic discharge (ESD) ioniser used to neutralise static charge.
Haze is traditionally an atmospheric phenomenon in which dust, smoke, and other dry particulates suspended in air obscure visibility and the clarity of the sky. The World Meteorological Organization manual of codes includes a classification of particulates causing horizontal obscuration into categories of fog, ice fog, steam fog, mist, haze, smoke, volcanic ash, dust, sand, and snow. Sources for particles that cause haze include farming, traffic, industry, windy weather, volcanic activity and wildfires. Seen from afar and depending on the direction of view with respect to the Sun, haze may appear brownish or bluish, while mist tends to be bluish grey instead. Whereas haze often is considered a phenomenon occurring in dry air, mist formation is a phenomenon in saturated, humid air. However, haze particles may act as condensation nuclei that leads to the subsequent vapor condensation and formation of mist droplets; such forms of haze are known as "wet haze".
An air purifier or air cleaner is a device which removes contaminants from the air in a room to improve indoor air quality. These devices are commonly marketed as being beneficial to allergy sufferers and asthmatics, and at reducing or eliminating second-hand tobacco smoke.
An air quality index (AQI) is an indicator developed by government agencies to communicate to the public how polluted the air currently is or how polluted it is forecast to become. As air pollution levels rise, so does the AQI, along with the associated public health risk. Children, the elderly and individuals with respiratory or cardiovascular problems are typically the first groups affected by poor air quality. When the AQI is high, governmental bodies generally encourage people to reduce physical activity outdoors, or even avoid going out altogether. When wildfires result in a high AQI, the use of a mask outdoors and an air purifier indoors are also encouraged.
Pollution in China is one aspect of the broader topic of environmental issues in China. Various forms of pollution have increased as China has industrialised, which has caused widespread environmental health problems.
Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances called pollutants in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. It is also the contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment either by chemical, physical, or biological agents that alters the natural features of the atmosphere. There are many different types of air pollutants, such as gases, particulates, and biological molecules. Air pollution can cause diseases, allergies, and even death to humans; it can also cause harm to other living organisms such as animals and crops, and may damage the natural environment or built environment. Air pollution can be caused by both human activities and natural phenomena.
Environmental problems in Delhi, India, are a threat to the well-being of the city's and area's inhabitants as well as the flora and fauna. Delhi, the ninth-most populated metropolis in the world (second largest if the entire NCR includes especially Faridabad and Gurugram– Haryana, is one of the most heavily polluted cities in India, having for instance one of the country's highest volumes of particulate matter pollution. The air quality index of Delhi is generally Good, Satisfactory and Moderate levels between March and September, and then it drastically deteriorates to Poor, Severe, or Hazardous levels in five months between October and February, due to various factors including stubble burning, burning of effigies during Vijayadashami, bursting of firecrackers burning during Diwali and cold weather. In May 2014 the World Health Organization announced New Delhi as the most polluted city in the world.
Particulates or atmospheric particulate matter are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. The term aerosol commonly refers to the particulate/air mixture, as opposed to the particulate matter alone. Sources of particulate matter can be natural or anthropogenic. They have impacts on climate and precipitation that adversely affect human health, in ways additional to direct inhalation.
Air pollution in India is a serious environmental issue. Of the 30 most polluted cities in the world, 21 were in India in 2019. As per a study based on 2016 data, at least 140 million people in India breathe air that is 10 times or more over the WHO safe limit and 13 of the world's 20 cities with the highest annual levels of air pollution are in India. 51% of the pollution is caused by industrial pollution, 27% by vehicles, 17% by crop burning and 5% by other sources. Air pollution contributes to the premature deaths of 2 million Indians every year. Emissions come from vehicles and industry, whereas in rural areas, much of the pollution stems from biomass burning for cooking and keeping warm. In autumn and spring months, large scale crop residue burning in agriculture fields – a cheaper alternative to mechanical tilling – is a major source of smoke, smog and particulate pollution. India has a low per capita emissions of greenhouse gases but the country as a whole is the third largest greenhouse gas producer after China and the United States. A 2013 study on non-smokers has found that Indians have 30% weaker lung function than Europeans.
Matt Hope is a British artist who lives and works in Caochangdi, an arts district in Beijing, China. He is known for elaborate kinetic art and sound art constructions made in large-scale fabrication factories in mainland China.
Daan Roosegaarde is a Dutch artist, pioneer and founder of Studio Roosegaarde, which develops projects that merge technology and art in urban environments. Some of the studio's works have been described as "immersive" and "interactive" because they change the visitors' surroundings in reaction to the behavior of those visitors. Other works are intended to increase environmental awareness and to add an aesthetic dimension that complements the technical solutions to environmental problems.
A dense wave of smog began in Northeast China, especially in major cities including Harbin, Changchun and Shenyang, as well as the surrounding Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning provinces on 20 October 2013. Unseasonably warm temperatures with very little wind across northeastern China coincided with the initiation of Northeast China's coal-powered municipal heating system. Record densities of fine particulates were measured in the city.
The 2013 Eastern China smog was a severe air pollution episode that affected East China, including all or parts of the municipalities of Shanghai and Tianjin, and the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, and Zhejiang, during December 2013. A lack of cold air flow, combined with slow-moving air masses carrying industrial emissions, collected airborne pollutants to form a thick layer of smog over the region. Levels of PM2.5 particulate matter averaged over 150 micrograms per cubic metre; in some areas, they were 300 to 500 micrograms per cubic metre.
APEC blue refers to the rare blue sky in Beijing during APEC China 2014 due to emission reduction campaign directed by Chinese government. Because of its transience, the new phrase "APEC blue" also refers to something wonderful but also fleeting.
The air quality in Delhi, the capital territory of India, according to a WHO survey of 1,650 world cities, and a survey of 7,000 world cities by the US-based Health Effects Institute in August 2022, is the worst of any major city in the world. It also affects the districts around Delhi. Air pollution in India is estimated to kill about 2 million people every year; it is the fifth largest killer in India. India has the world's highest death rate from chronic respiratory diseases and asthma, according to the WHO. In Delhi, poor quality air irreversibly damages the lungs of 2.2 million or 50 percent of all children.
Alastair Charles Lewis is a professor of Atmospheric Chemistry at the University of York and the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS). He has been Chair of the UK Government's independent science advisory body on air pollution, the Defra Air Quality Expert Group, since 2019.
Air pollution in South Korea is an increasing threat to people and the environment. The air pollution comes from many sources, both domestic and international. Many forms of pollution have increased in South Korea since its rapid industrialization, especially in Seoul and other cities. According to the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Seoul is amongst one of the world's cities with the worst air pollution. From 2009 and 2013, the city's mean PM10 were higher than in many of the largest metropolitan cities in the world such as: Los Angeles, Tokyo, Paris, and London. This has resulted in health and environmental problems. Koreans buy masks and air purifiers to breathe cleaner air, and are working to reduce the country's emissions.
Hugh Coe is a British atmospheric physicist, currently Head of Atmospheric Sciences and Professor of Atmospheric Composition at the University of Manchester. His research investigates the physics and chemistry of atmospheric aerosols, including their role in climate change and air pollution.
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