On lines of China, Delhi may get anti-smog tower by next winter

NEW DELHI: If all goes according to plan, Delhi could get its own anti-smog tower by next winter. China has recently installed an anti-smog tower that is 100 metres in height and cleans up to about 75 million cubic metres of air per day. It has been dubbed the world’s biggest air purifier.
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The tower, to be installed in Delhi, is being planned by IIT-Delhi and IIT- Bombay in collaboration with the University of Minnesota, which had also helped China install the air-purifying tower recently.

Experts associated with the project say that the planning is still in the preliminary stage. However, they intend to build a tower that will be 20-25 metres in height and will be 30x30 feet in dimensions.
“The tower could influence an area of 1 sqkm, but the effect will be quite local. As a pilot, we will look at the location where such a tower can be installed. It could either be built near a busy intersection or near the hospitals. The structure will not use ionisation and will work on a simple model of taking in air, passing it through filters and releasing it back into the atmosphere,” said Harsha Kota, assistant professor in the civil engineering department at IIT-Delhi.
Kota, who is also a part of the project, further told TOI that the tower studied by them in China was simply releasing air from the top of the structure. However, Delhi’s anti-smog tower will be built in such a manner that it can release clean air from all directions and at different heights.
“This will ensure that wind direction does not send clean air in just one direction while the remaining area around the tower is deprived of clean air,” said Kota.
Professor Mukesh Khare, also involved with the project, said that the structure would be permanent and should run for six months a year for effectiveness. “It will require 1 MW of power, so it needs to be connected to the grid. The tower in China has been effective in cleaning almost 75 million cubic metres of air per day,” said Khare.
The Supreme Court had recently asked the agencies concerned and the Centre to explore using hydrogen-based fuels and installing anti-smog towers to curb pollution. On Friday, the apex court again enquired about the feasibility of the anti-smog towers and was informed by an expert from IIT-Bombay that the device is being planned and can cover an area of 1 km. The apex court also asked experts to look at the best technology and with a greater range of impact. “Why don’t you go for the best technology in the world?,” the bench asked, adding, “You go for equipment which has high range”.
China has recently seen the installation of a 100-metre tall anti-smog tower in Xi’an in the Shaanxi province. Earlier, in 2016, China had installed a 60-metre tall tower as well.