Subscribe
E-Paper
 |
| A lampshade coated with a catalyst uses heat from an incandescent bulb to reduce indoor air pollution. Courtesy of Yonsei University |
By Holly Chik
Scientists in Korea developed a coating that can be sprayed or pasted onto existing lampshades to clean up air pollutants at home, in offices and in factories.
The team uses the typically wasted heat from light bulbs to activate a catalyst that turns pollutants from furniture, paint and cooking into harmless compounds, according to the study by researchers at Yonsei University, Pohang University of Science and Technology and the Korea Institute of Energy Technology.
While this technology has been proven to work with halogen and incandescent light bulbs, which are traditional lamps that emit a lot of heat as they light up and are less energy efficient, the researchers said that they are expanding their study onto LED bulbs.
Indoor environments contain substances that might be harmful, such as formaldehyde, a chemical used in making adhesives that causes sick building syndrome, acetaldehyde generated from furniture or paint and BTEX, a group of compounds from cooking.?
Although these substances exist in small concentrations, the team said it could become a health concern if continuously inhaled in areas with poor air circulation. Current methods to remove pollutants mainly rely on activated carbon and filters, which have to be replaced from time to time.?
Lee Min-hyung, a graduate student at the school of civil and environmental engineering of Yonsei University who is part of a lab that researches environmentally friendly air purification systems, said their method turns wasted heat from lamps into a sustainable energy source for air purification.
The coating targets volatile organic compounds, which account for most indoor airborne pollutants. When the catalyst is activated by the heat from lamps ranging from 100°C to 160°C, it decomposes the compounds into a low amount of carbon dioxide and water.
"The thermal catalyst coated on the inside of the lampshade was not damaged unless we deliberately removed it," Lee said. "No impurities remain on the surface of the catalyst when all of the target pollutants are 100 percent converted to carbon dioxide."?
"It can be seen that the lampshade system can be used semi-permanently," he said.
 |
| The coated lampshade works as an indoor air purification system. Courtesy of Yonsei University |
He said the team is planning to commercialize the coating, which is expected to cost less than air purifiers on the market.
Building on the findings published in the peer-reviewed journal Chemosphere in December, the team is working to develop new catalysts that are compatible with LEDs, Lee said.
He said because the increasingly popular LEDs do not generate high temperatures like the traditional lamps do, the team will look into materials that can be activated by higher wavelengths of LEDs.
Holly Chik is a science reporter with the South China Morning Post. She is currently based in Seoul, reporting for both The Korea Times and the South China Morning Post under an exchange program.
