We have all heard of trash be recycled, but have you ever thought it would be possible to recycle air pollution? Carbon content in the atmosphere is reaching dangerous proportions and we need a solution to this growing problem.
An Indian startup called Graviky Labs has managed to put the carbon in the atmosphere to good use. They have developed a product line called Air Ink: a line of pens that use ink made of recycled air pollution.
Soot are fine black particles which are mostly made of carbon produced from incomplete combustion of fossil fuels. They are extremely small, having a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or lesser. They can enter our lungs and cause some serious health problems. Air Ink is a strife to stop environmental soot generated by vehicles from entering our lungs.
According to their website, each of these pens contain 30-50 minutes of air pollution generated by car. Calling it the ‘Art of Pollution,’ their website states, ‘The Pollutants which could have been in the lungs of millions of people are now beautifully resting as art.’
Image Courtesy: graviky
The founders got the idea for the product back in 2013, during conversations with the Fluid Interfaces Group at MIT’s Media Lab, and presented their vision at the 2013 INK conference.
The company spent last few years conducting research on the chemical process required to extract soot from car emissions and recycling it into usable ink. Air Ink is currently under certification process and once cleared, it should be made available for commercial use.
