The device can purify air around 300 square feet
Bangalore, 27 February 2018: Swasa, a startup has developed an indoor air purifier which uses soil biofiltration technology over the conventional carbon-based filtration system.
“Our filter uses a plant and soil to filter out all the harmful particulates in an indoor atmosphere which are carcinogenic and cause a lot of health issues such as asthma and cardiac problems,” said K Sharat Reddy, co-founder of Swasa.
The air purifier can be connected to an app which gives the customer a real-time analysis of the surrounding air quality.
“The product itself is smart enough to know where the air is poor and it purifies accordingly. One device can cover an area of 300 square feet, which is ideal for an Indian living room or dining room,” Reddy added.
The device has a fan which sucks in the air which then goes through a plants’ soil, which is fitted into the device, and then the air is filtered through two other filters and finally released.
The air quality in Bangalore has increasingly become a major concern as PM-10 levels have increased.
Studies carried out in the city showed the averages seen in two parts have consistently generated averages above 200 micrograms per cubic meter, which indicates very poor air quality.
The national ambient air quality standard is 60 micrograms per cubic meter for PM 2.5 and 100 micrograms per cubic meter for PM10 and these numbers were surpassed by a huge margin in many areas in Bangalore especially Jayanagar/Banashakari, Silk Board, Electronics City, Whitefield, Uttarahalli, M.G. Road, and Mehkri Circle. The PM 2.5 level at New Tharagupet was found to be highest during peak hour at 200 mi, followed by Kengeri Road at 195 micrograms per cubic meter.
Particulate Matter(PM) is a complex mixture of airborne particles and liquid droplets composed of acids, ammonium, water, black carbon, organic chemicals, metals, and soil material. PM-10 is particulates with a diameter of 10 micrometers and PM-2.5 are particulates with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers. While can cause problems to the lungs, PM-2.5 is more dangerous as it is the smallest and therefore is the best indicator of an area’s air quality.
Conventional air purifiers in the market use up to six different layers of filters which get clogged with dirt over time and need to be either changed or removed. “Our device uses soil and two additional layers of filters and therefore they never need to be replaced and changed,” said J Aditya Kiran, co-founder of Swasa.
