A startup company of IIT Ropar has claimed that it has developed the world’s first, state-of-the-art ‘Smart Bio-Filter’ that can make breathing fresh. Urban Air Laboratory says that its living-plant-based air purifier “Ubreathe Life” amplifies the air purification process in indoor spaces.

The specific plants tested for air-purification include Peace Lily, Snake Plant, Spider plant etc. and all have given good results in purifying indoor-air, the company has claimed.

“The technology works through the air-purifying natural leafy plant. The room-air interacts with leaves and goes to the soil-root zone where maximum pollutants are purified. The novel technology used in this product is ‘Urban Munnar Effect’ along with patent-pending “Breathing Roots” to exponentially amplify the phytoremediation process of the plants. Phytoremediation is a process by which plants effectively remove pollutants from the air,” the company has said.

The purifier effectively improves indoor air quality by removing particulate, gaseous and biological contaminants while increasing the oxygen levels in the indoor space through specific plants, UV disinfection and a stack of Pre-filter, Charcoal filter and HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filter fitted in a specially designed wooden box, the company has said about the air purifier’s functioning mechanism.

“There is a centrifugal fan which creates a suction pressure inside the purifier, and releases purified air, formed at the roots, through the outlet in 360degree direction,” it has added.

“This tested product ‘Ubreathe Life’ can be a game changer for maintaining clean air indoors. Reason being, the new research also suggests that Covid-19 vaccination by itself may not guarantee safety at workplaces, schools and even closed fully air-conditioned homes unless air filtration, air purification and indoor ventilation becomes part of the building design. The results of testing, conducted by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories and the Laboratory of IIT Ropar maintains that the AQI (Air Quality Index) for a room size of 150sq.ft. drops from 311 to 39 in 15 minutes after using ‘Ubreathe Life’, claims Director, IIT, Ropar, Professor Rajeev Ahuja.