A Tower That Transforms Polluted Air Into Fresh Oxygen Is Going to Save Cities
Air pollution is a serious problem that affects many cities worldwide, and for people living in places with poor air quality, life can be pretty unbearable. Air pollution causes over 8 million deaths every year, according to the World Health Organization. To help fight air pollution, a group of scientists has invented an artificial tree that turns pollutants into clean oxygen, and it may just be the best shot we have against the battle with air pollution.
We at Bright Side were thrilled to find out that a Mexican startup company, called BiomiTech, has successfully developed an artificial tree that cleans polluted air with a capacity equivalent to 368 live trees.
Motivated by the critical situation of air pollution in Mexico City, a team of engineers, researchers, and biologists joined forces to create an artificial, robotic tree specifically designed to improve air quality. This exact invention helped BiomiTech win the innovation award at the 2018 Pollution Expo in Birmingham, and is already looking to be a compelling solution for air pollution problems.
The air purifying robotic tree called BioUrban uses a microalgae filtration system to absorb polluted air and produce clean, fresh air. Inspired by the very essence of nature, BioUrban is based on the photosynthesis principle, inhaling pollutant compounds like carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, and exhaling pure oxygen.
The BioUrban robotic trees are capable of capturing an annual air capacity of 13,140,000 m3. They filter polluted air with an efficiency of 99.7%, and one artificial tree releases the pure oxygen equivalent of 368 young trees. To put it in a different perspective, BioUrban provides enough clean oxygen for 2,850 people on a daily basis.
Given that densely populated cities are desperately struggling with air pollution, and natural trees take a lot of time to grow, this solution seems like the best shot we have to fight air pollution quickly and efficiently.
Furthermore, the BioUrban trees have zero negative impact, since they don’t produce any waste, and they use algae which already exists in nature.
According to BiomiTech, the goal of BioUrban is not to replace trees, but to complement them and aid them in filtering out our polluted air. The 4 m high metal trees have already been installed in Mexico, Columbia, and Panama, with more cities on the horizon that are also interested in implementing BioUrban.
So, do you think the world will embrace these artificial trees? Is BioUrban the key to help us battle air pollution? Tell us your thoughts about this exciting invention in the comments below.