Jerman Cheung
East Asia Press Office,Hong Kong
The City Air Purification System, invented by Arup and Sino Green, has been installed in Tsinghua University in Beijing.
The air purification system, fabricated in the form of a bus shelter, has been approved to get significant improvement of air quality in the open space through filtration. To further expand the system and help with the air pollution problems in Mainland China, Arup and Sino Green donated the prototype to Tsinghua University for further study and research.
Jointly developed by Arup and Sino Green, the first prototype of the patent-pending air purification system has been set up in Queen's Road East, one of the busiest streets in Hong Kong, for data collection for two weeks.
Under the prototype, air is drawn into the system from the inlet located at bottom of the prototype, the air current then passes through a bag filter, which is effective in removing fine suspended particles (PM10 and PM2.5) before coming out through the louvre overhead. The system has been specially designed with fluid mechanic consideration and equipment specifications so that it can build up positive pressure within the prototype area with the air curtain acting as a barrier against pollutants. Empirical data show an average reduction of 40% in the concentration of air pollutants.
The prototype includes a sensor and a device to collect data real-time, it is connected to the air quality health index website, enabling hourly comparisons of air quality data.
“We are glad that our collaborative work with Sino Group show encouraging results in improving the air quality. With Beijing as the first test point in mainland China, the empirical data collected will form a good base for our next phase of research.
- Dr Vincent Cheng, Arup Director
The air purification system has wide ramifications and applications. Beijing has a well-established public transport network, the system can be adopted for bus shelters, tram stations, or other applications to improve air quality.
“We are delighted to collaborate with Arup on another novel green initiative and send the prototype to Tsinghua University, choosing Beijing as the first test point in mainland China. We also hope that the technology can be adopted in China as we work together to tackle air pollution and improve air quality. This is our contribution to building a greener, cleaner community in our small, humble way.
- Mr Daryl Ng, Executive Director of Sino Group
Further enhancements are being planned for subsequent phases, including installation of smart-controllers to control operating hours, solar panels to harvest solar energy, energy tiles for generating energy through stepping onto the tiles and a mist cooling system for cooling in hot weather.