AIR GUARDIAN from pollution

The problem for resolve

Air pollution is one of the greatest environmental threats to human health, along with climate change (WHO, 2021). Thanks to the large amount of data analysed in recent years, the WHO has published new minimum levels of contaminants before they are a serious threat to health. Particles of 2.5 microns (PM2.5) reach the blood through the lungs causing at all ages to affect the lungs, in children it slows growth and increases the likelihood of suffering from asthma and in adult’s cardiovascular problems. The burning of fossil fuel is the main source of these harmful particles; however, we cannot eliminate in the short-term vehicles or industrial production, so we need short-term solutions, improving air quality improves the quality of health of people by decreasing congestion of the health system. In Guayaquil there are some initiatives to measure air quality and there are available data where as you see that in some months of the year the concentration of PM 2.5 is higher than recommended by the WHO.

Trapping air pollutants is the next step in the data collection that is already being done. Generate and disperse a cloud of water with droplets of the right size in order to trap pollutants in the air by precipitating them to land, the principle is simple, but it must be controlled is not simply to spread water in the environment, this would cause wet roads and water waste.

Solution

In areas where there is normally pollution, some stations are installed to generate the cloud when pollution levels are dangerous to health. The cloud is generated by passing pressurized water through special nozzles to nebulize the water, that is, water in very small droplets is then pushed in all directions by fans. Seeed Studio LoRaWAN Dev Kit will be use to determinate when should spread the cloud of water, communicate with other stations and report to IOT GATEWAY. The parameter to be measured is a concentration of particulate matter.

Some articules talk about the gains of have a habiental humidity in balance:

• https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/anie.201612151
• How Does Humidity Affect Air Quality?
• Effects of air temperature and humidity on particle deposition - ScienceDirect

In Guayaquil Ecuador we have a LoraWAN free network www.iotodos.com

In the next figure it is showing the elements. The control come from Seeed Studio Terminal WI0 D51R, connected to eCO2 sensor. If the eCO2 level going upper than recomended level the motor is turn on and make cloud of water. It need to be connect to battery and solar panel. All the information is send to any server using a LORAWAN Network.

First test

The first test was in house with extinguished phosphorus to mimic pollution

It can be portable

The idea to use a hand sprayer is get the cost down, it is simple to make and control with L298N from Seeed Studio WIO Terminal.

As you can see it can implemented with recicled materiales.

Othersuses

This solution can then be used with drones to expand their range of action and can also be used to counter and increase air humidity in fire-prone forests such as the Cerro Colorado Protective Forest in Guayaquil city with the aim of reducing the likelihood of a fire starting and spreading with more difficulty, considering that dry grass is the main fuel.