Turning Air pollution into ink by Chakr Innovation

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Betsy Agar Sep 9, 2017 12:34 Catalyst 1 \| Share via:	Great innovation and love recapture/repurposing of "waste" materials! You have developed a well-rounded proposal that draws on appropriate expertise, but there is some confusion between air pollution and greenhouse gases. Whereas air pollutants cause respiratory problems, greenhouse gases exacerbate climate change. Interestingly, historic solutions to air pollutants (NOx, SOx, PM, etc.) have had the counter effect of increasing GHGs--solutions can be at cross purposes, unfortunately, which leads me to the question: Does your process for capturing air pollutants inadvertently increase the GHG potential of the exhaust system? I am also curious about the health standards of diesel-based ink. People are physically close to ink when they are using it (or even reading it or throwing paper printed with it into fires or compost piles, etc.), what are the health implications of using ink made up of air pollutants captured from diesel engines? Finally, an interesting irony in capturing particulate matter is that the smaller the PM (e.g. PM25) captured, the smaller the PM still out in the environment. So, we first captured PM10 and stopped seeing hideous black exhaust, but still suffered respiratory problems. Then we refined our filters and captured PM25, but realized that everything smaller was now passing through without detection--we think there is less pollution, meanwhile the most incipient of particles continue to enter people's lungs. Have you looked into such implications?
Anmol Khandelwal Sep 11, 2017 01:22 Member 2 \| Share via:	Proposal contributor Thank you for liking our project. To answer your queries: You are right that traditional pollution control devices, for eg. Diesel particulate filters, Catalytic converters convert the air pollutants into CO2 or CO. But Unlike other technologies which convert air pollution due to PM into other forms of pollution (CO/CO2 or water/land pollution) which is equally harmful, our innovation reuses captured pollution and converts it into a value added product which finds applications in industry. Also, our innovation, Chakr Shield, don't have any negative impact on the engine's performance thus eliminating the chance of increasing the GHG potential of the exhaust system. The ink made from pollution has also been tested by third party laboratory and is certified fit for use and free of any toxins. You are so right about the particulate matter that these particles are so small that they directly get enter into the blood stream through lungs and causes various respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.Moreover, the particulate matter released from diesel exhaust has been classified as Class I carcinogen by IARC (WHO). So in order to capture particulates, we have used the thermophoresis (or Ludwig-Soret) effect i.e, controlled thermodynamic coagulation of particulate matter in the exhaust and subsequent capture through a porous metallic self-cleaning filter. The device is designed to optimize the capture efficiency with minimal back pressure, thus ensuring maximum capture of particulate matter without and adverse impact on the engine.
Adejoke Bayowa Oct 23, 2017 04:47 Member 3 \| Share via:	Great work Charkr, But have you thought of ways of collecting the ink from the different generation point. Because I was just thinking that how many people will consider the option of going to sell the ink other than just emptying it down the drain. Does this device incorporate a mechanism that keeps the ink inside a form of casement until it is ready to be use? Or would you rather incorporate a buy back process of the ink for those that purchase your device? Wish you best of luck at the semis. Adejoke Bayowa.
Adejoke Bayowa Dec 13, 2017 10:55 Member 4 \| Share via:	Dear Chakr, Congratulations for making it to the finalist selection stage. I just want to know the extent to which you consider the sustainability of your product, because the future of fossil fuels for energy generation is getting dim as we are moving towards renewables. if there are no more emissions from diesel generators (because we probably didn't need them again), what other use can your product be put to? All the best. Adejoke V. Bayowa.
Anmol Khandelwal Dec 14, 2017 01:02 Member 5 \| Share via:	Proposal contributor Hello Adejoke Thank you for liking our project.You are right that as we are moving towards renewables, our dependability on fossil fuels will diminish and the usage of diesel generators will also reduce. But in many developing countries such as India, Bangladesh etc., there is still lack of constant grid energy or feasibility of renewable energy in densely populated areas. So there is huge dependence on DGs for power backup for 5-10 years. Also in parallel, we are continuously working on new technologies for other sources of Air pollution such as boilers and chimneys which are used in industries. Regards