IIT-K develops device to turn ACs into air purifiers

A team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, has developed a novel technology to turn ACs into affordable air purifiers.

The one-of-a-kind technology is conceptualised and developed with the infrastructural as well as R&D support from IIT Kanpur, as the team of researchers found a way to turn regular ACs into air purifiers, during the winter season.

The innovation comes in line with IIT Kanpur's relentless work in the domain of air quality assessment and monitoring.

This technology comes as a simplistic handy tool, which can be easily mounted atop regular ACs and utilised by switching on 'fan mode'.

The air filters are equipped with the "Anti-Microbial Air Purification Technology" developed at IIT Kanpur, in collaboration with researchers from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.

It has been tested at NABL Accredited Lab and has proven to be able to successfully deactivate SARS-CoV-2 (delta variant) with an efficiency of 99.24 per cent.

Prof Ankush Sharma, Professor-in-charge, Innovation and Incubation, IIT Kanpur, said: "The novel air purification technology used in these air filters has successfully proven its efficiency towards protecting us from life-threatening viruses."

The existing air filters in the market work on a particle capture mechanism; however, over continuous use, the filter itself becomes a breeding ground for germs, like a petri dish.

The minimum cost of such air purifiers in the market is around Rs 10,000 which usually comes with a fan and an air filter to clean the air.

On the other hand, this new type of air filters developed at IIT Kanpur has proven to restrict the microbial growth and is capable of capturing PM 2.5, PM 10, dust, pollen, allergens and germs from the air while purifying.

The innovation has been licensed to AiRTH, a startup incubated at the Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre, IIT Kanpur, for marketing.

It has been launched in the form of a product as 'Clean Air Module' and comes at an affordable price of Rs 2,000.

One 'Clean Air Module' is claimed to be as effective as 10 normal AC filters.

The product is now available for purchase through AiRTH's website and other e-commerce sites.