IT College researchers come up with low-cost indoor air filtration system

Lucknow: Researchers at the Isabella Thoburn College have developed a low-cost indoor air filtration system using industrial fly ash and agricultural biomass to tackle toxic kitchen air pollution.

The innovation has been developed by research scholar Farheen Zehra under associate professor Alfred Lawrence and published in a journal of the American Chemical Society.

According to the researchers, the system is designed to tackle indoor air pollution, specifically kitchen emissions that pose a serious health challenge to women.

The device can tackle both particulate matter and gaseous pollutants commonly released during coal and wood burning in chulhas, heavy frying, high-temperature cooking, non-vegetarian cooking and the use of oils, spices and biomass fuels.

“In our system, the layer of coconut husk acts as a natural pre-filter, capturing coarse pollutants. Porous pellets made from fly ash absorb harmful gases and an electrospun fly ash nanofiber sheet targets finer and more hazardous air pollutants,” said Lawrence.

He said the filtration system also achieved around 59% volatile organic compounds (VOC) reduction within the first five minutes, considered the most critical exposure period. Advanced layered versions recorded over 80% VOC removal under controlled conditions.

VOCs are carbon-based chemicals that easily evaporate at room temperature and are commonly emitted from household products such as paints, solvents, adhesives, leaning agents, pesticides, building materials and office supplies. They are among dangerous indoor pollutants linked to respiratory illness, eye irritation and long-term health risks.

As the filtration system has been developed using waste-derived materials, the team said, it costs around Rs2,500, while air purifiers available in the market that remove only particulate matter typically cost more than Rs10,000. Devices capable of filtering both particulate matter and VOCs can cost over Rs35,000.

“A patent will soon be filed to protect the novelty of the system. The researchers said collaboration with industry partners could help scale up manufacturing and enable commercialisation as a low-cost, ecofriendly alternative to existing air purification technologies,” said Lawrence.
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