View of the BioUrban 2.0 air purification system in Puebla, Mexico. (Alfredo Estrella/AFP)

With Artificial Trees, Mexican Start-up Fighting Air Pollution

Kinanty Nadia Putri
Business & Industry
Sci-Tech
Aug 16, 2019
1878
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there is an estimated seven million people die from exposure to air pollution annually. Many big and crowded cities in the world are fighting this one of the most critical environmental issues, including Mexico City and Jakarta.

Jakarta—the capital city of Indonesia, has been having the worst air quality for the past couple weeks according to the Air Visual app. But now the capital seems to take a look at the strategy done in Mexico City to improve the cleanliness and quality of the air, with artificial trees.

A Mexican start-up BiomiTech has designated BioUrban artificial trees to suck up as much air pollution as 368 real trees. The 4.2 meters tall and nearly three meters wide human-made tree works by inhaling air pollution and use biology like microalgae to clean pollution. It also carries out the natural process of photosynthesis. Just like a real tree but with post-modernist high-rise look and steel trunk.

The company first launched the device in 2016 and has ‘planted’ three trees each in a city of Puebla in central Mexico, Panama, and Columbia. While Mexico City and Monterrey will soon get their trees. BioUrban usually sold to local government and typically costs US$50,000. However, the final price still depends on the site.

The founding partner in BiomiTech Jaime Ferrer insisted that although the real trees may take time and space to grow, however, the artificial solution is not intended to replace them. It is a complement to the real trees instead.

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2019/08/15/mexican-start-up-fights-air-pollution-with-artificial-trees.html

Start-up , Mexico , Business , Environment , Artificial , Technology