A team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, has developed a technology to turn ACs into affordable air purifiers. With smog and pollution posing grave concerns across several cities especially during the winter, this invention is expected to be a boon for many.
The innovation comes in line with IIT Kanpur’s work in the domain of air quality assessment and monitoring. IIT Kanpur has been involved in assisting various state governments and organizations in deploying technologies to combat air pollution. IIT Kanpur says this technology comes as a simplistic handy tool, which can be easily mounted atop regular ACs and utilized by switching on ‘fan mode’.
The air filters are equipped with the “Anti-Microbial Air Purification Technology” developed at IIT Kanpur, in collaboration with researchers from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. The institute says it has been tested at NABL Accredited Lab and has proven to be able to successfully deactivate SARS-CoV-2 (delta variant) with an efficiency of 99.24%.
Commenting on the development of this novel technology, Prof. Ankush Sharma, Professor-in-charge, Innovation and Incubation, IIT Kanpur, said, “The novel air purification technology used in these air filters has successfully proven its efficiency towards protecting us from life-threatening viruses. This innovation is a great addition to the R&D work IIT Kanpur is involved in.”
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Co-Professor-in-charge, Innovation and Incubation, IIT Kanpur, Prof. Amitabha Bandyopadhyay, said, “This innovation has tremendous potential to succeed in the global market. This launch is indicative of technology catering to critical world problems. I wish the team involved all the best with this new product.”
The existing air filters in the market work on a particle capture mechanism; however, over continuous use, the filter itself becomes a breeding ground for germs, like a petri dish. The minimum cost of such air purifiers in the market is around Rs 10,000 which usually comes with a fan and an air filter to clean the air. On the other hand, IIT Kanpur says this new type of air filters developed by them has proven to restrict the microbial growth and is capable of capturing PM 2.5, PM 10, dust, pollen, allergens and germs from the air while purifying.
The innovation has been licensed to AiRTH, a startup incubated at the Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre, IIT Kanpur, for marketing. It has been launched in the form of a product as ‘Clean Air Module’ and comes at an affordable price of Rs. 2000. One ‘Clean Air Module’ is claimed to be as effective as 10 normal AC filters. The product is now available for purchase through AiRTH’s website and other e-commerce sites.
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