FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to sustainable green technology. The present invention relates to a device for purifying and improving air quality. More particularly, the present invention relates to an air purifier utilizing photosynthetic organism to reduce the harmful gas concentration level in indoor air and improving the oxygen concentration in it.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Increased indoor and outdoor pollution is directly or indirectly impacting the life of every living organism, especially human beings. WHO evaluates 4.2 Million Premature Deaths/year caused by air pollution.1.7 million Indians died due to air pollution in 2019 (according to a report by interdisciplinary journal Lancet Planetary Health). Studies have revealed that indoor air quality is 2-5 times worse than outdoor air quality and indoor air pollution ranked in EPA’s top 5 environmental risks to public health. Indoor Air Pollution is causing significantly increased multiple health issues giving rise to Lung Disorder, COPD, Ischemic Heart Disease, Acute lower respiratory infection in children, stroke. In the current pandemic situation, more and more people are staying indoors. Therefore, there is a need for indoor air purifiers that can reduce the air pollution in the indoor air and give out pure breathable enriched oxygenated air.
The conventional filter-based air purification solutions generate chemical waste, leaving behind the toxins in the filter thus making the waste hazardous. They work solely on capturing the dust with no exchange of gases.
Most existing air purifiers in the market are simply chemical filters (made from plastic compositions) that work on the concept of trapping the PM2.5 and PM10 along with some toxins. They do not address the actual problem of the VOCs, S0x,N0x,C0x, present in the environment. Also, the replaceable filters add to the pollution, as do the trapped pollutants released back into the atmosphere from these chemical filters. VOCs include a variety of chemicals (e.g., formaldehyde, benzene, perchloroethylene), some of which may have short- and long-term effects. Concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors than outdoors. A study by the EPA (United States Environment Protection Agency), covering six communities in various parts of the United States, found indoor levels up to ten times higher than those outdoors — even in locations with significant outdoor air pollution sources, such as petrochemical plants. Key Signs/Symptoms on exposure to VOC include conjunctival irritation, nose, throat discomfort, headache, allergic skin reaction, dyspnea, declines in serum cholinesterase levels, nausea, emesis, epistaxis (formaldehyde), fatigue, damage to liver, kidney and central nervous system and dizziness. Formaldehyde has been classified as a probable human carcinogen by the EPA.
Therefore, there is a need for naturally available resources-based air purifiers to address the above problems of conventional filter-based air purifiers and create a sustainable, clean Green-Tech solution for air purification.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIGURE 1: FIG.1 is a picture of the biological air purifying device of the present disclosure with the Android application showing connectivity between the two through Bluetooth.
FIGURE 2: FIG.2 is a block diagram illustrating the components of the biological air purifying device of the present disclosure.
FIGURE 3: FIG.3 is a picture of the biological air purifying device of the present disclosure.
DESCRIPTION
Throughout this specification, the use of the words "comprises" and “include” and variations such as "comprises "comprising", “includes”, and “including” implies the inclusion of an element or elements not specifically recited.
All technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. Although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice of the disclosure, the preferred methods and materials are now described.
The biological indoor air purifying device of the present disclosure is a unique solution for air purification that uses photosynthetic microorganisms in liquid medium to purify air, produces zero waste, and the biomass created has multiple uses like fertilizers and as a pet feed. It works on the concept of mimicking photosynthesis to facilitate gas exchange wherein the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) and other harmful gases in the indoor air are taken in and oxygen is given out. Therefore, the device of present invention reduces the harmful gases including VOCs and particulate matter such as PM2.5 and PM 10 is significantly reduced from the indoor air and enriches it with oxygen, thus improving the indoor air quality.
The clean green technology of the present disclosure utilizes a light source, biomass and air pump for mimicking the photosynthesis process and acts as catalyst for exchange of toxic gases to give out oxygen using artificial photosynthesis and obtain a higher yield of biomass in the process. This biomass consumes VOCs available in the indoor environment and converts them into oxygen, giving out enriched breathable oxygenated air.
The biological indoor air purifying device of the present disclosure contains adequate nutrients and artificial lighting that promotes photosynthesis and grows the biomass within by feeding it. This gives a good biomass yield, which helps convert the VOCs present in the air into oxygen. The biomass is maintained at a pH value that most microorganisms cannot survive on. The heavy metals, particulate matter PM2.5 and PM10 are also suspended in the water molecules and not allowed to escape back into the atmosphere. It also acts as a source/medium for in-house cultivation of biomass which also has rich protein content that can be used as protein supplement, pet-feed and fertilizer leaving behind zero waste.
The biological indoor air purifying device of the present disclosure also comes with an inbuilt air quality monitor that is equipped with Bluetooth for easy viewing of AQI (Air Quality Index) on product’s android Application (102 of Fig. 1) as well as control the intensity of the light source to set the environment at its best ambience. It uses naturally occurring blue green algae for the purpose of oxygen production that would be bio-degradable and not produce further contamination to the environment. Air purification via gas exchange occurs in the system that consumes toxins such as CO2, NOx, SOx, VOC, etc., to give out oxygen in exchange.
In one of the embodiments the biological indoor air purifying device of the present invention (as seen in 101 of Fig. 1 & Fig. 2) comprises of a detachable transparent liquid holding vessel (205 of Fig. 2) fitted onto a base (206 of Fig. 2) via a locking mechanism to hold the integrity as one unit. The transparent liquid holding vessel (205 of Fig. 2) contains an air purifying liquid comprising of nutrient media for growing microalgae and microalgae. One end of the liquid holding vessel (205 of Fig. 2) is open to the ambient atmosphere and the other end is fitted on to the base (206 of Fig. 2). The hollow base (206 of Fig. 2) houses a plurality of components comprising of an air-pump/motor (204 of Fig. 2); a non-return one way valve (201 of Fig. 2) to avoid reverse flow of biomass into the air pump/motor (204 of Fig. 2); circuit board (202 of Fig. 2) which has the controller, light-emitting diodes (LED) lamps, and AC to DC converter; and AQI (Air Quality Index) monitor (203 of Fig. 2). The transparent liquid holding vessel (205 of Fig. 2) containing the air purifying liquid is connected to the air pump/motor (204 of Fig. 2) via non-return one way valve (201 of Fig. 2) to stop the reverse flow of the biomass into the pump. The device may be connected to an electrical power source through an electrical power-cord to power the device. The AQI (Air Quality Index) monitor in the biological air purifying device (101 of Fig.1) is connected to the controller board continuously monitoring and transmitting data via BT (Bluetooth) which can be viewed via proprietary android application (GardenAir) (102 of Fig.1). The same application can also be used to change the intensity of the LED light lamp which is focused into the air purifying liquid in the transparent liquid holding vessel (205 of Fig. 2) as seen in 101 of Fig 1. The capacity of the biomass used in the device is around 1L to 2.5L through which 2 to 4.5L/min air is passed and operating voltage of 5 to 9 V. The same can be scaled according to the space it has to cover.
In one of the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure the capacity of the biomass used in the air purifying device is 2.25L of biomass with air circulation of 3 to 4L per minute through the biomass, with operating voltage of 5 to 9V.
In yet another preferred embodiment of the present disclosure the device has a biomass capacity of 1.1L with 2 to 3L of air circulating through the biomass and an operating voltage of 5V.
In another preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the transparent liquid holding vessel (205 of Fig. 2) is made of glass and contains air purifying liquid comprising of blue-green algae Spirulina (procured from Oferr Nallayan Spirulina Research Centre, Tamil Nadu, India), which grows with adequate feeding of nutrients and artificial lighting that promotes photosynthesis. This gives a good biomass yield, which helps convert the VOCs present in the air into oxygen. Also, biomass is maintained at a pH value between 9.5 to 11.5 that most microorganisms cannot survive in. In the device of present disclosure, the heavy metals, PM2.5 and PM10 are suspended in the water and not allowed to escape back into the atmosphere.
In another preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the nutrient media composition in the air purifying liquid comprises of Sodium Bicarbonate (12 grams), Sodium Chloride (10 grams), Potassium Sulphate (4 grams), Magnesium Sulphate (0.40 gram), Ferrous Sulphate (0.1 ml) dissolved in 2.5 L of non-chlorinated distilled/RO water.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a process of purifying air is provided which involves pumping in air through the biomass using an air-pump/motor (204 of Fig. 2). The air from the atmosphere is sucked and passed through the biomass in the air purifying liquid contained in the transparent liquid holding vessel (205 of Fig. 2), which undergoes gas exchange to give out oxygen by biomass and consuming the toxic gases. The pure oxygenated air comes out of the biomass and escapes to the atmosphere through the open end of the glass liquid holding vessel (205 of Fig. 2). The capacity of the biomass used in the device is around 1.1L to 2.5L through which 2 to 4.5L/min air is passed. The same can be scaled according to the space it has to cover. The air purifying liquid in the device may be replaced once in 2 to 3 months with fresh liquid comprising of nutrient media and microalgae as biomass.
Results
Testing of the device of the present disclosure for removal of harmful components from ambient indoor air was done in CVR Labs Pvt. Ltd. In Chennai, a laboratory accredited by NABL (National Accreditation Board for Testing & Calibration Laboratories). The air quality survey was done using various sampling procedures in the field monitoring room and the harmful gases and oxygen levels were measured.
The results obtained vide Report No. 22040165.01 dated 30.04.2022 for testing presence of heavy metal in the biomass sample (100 ml) in the device of present disclosure after purification of ambient air are summarized in Table 1.
Table 1:
S.No. Test Parameters Test Method Unit Results
1. Lead as Pb CVR/SOP/ENVI/228 mg/L 0.016
2. Mercury as Hg CVR/SOP/ENVI/228 mg/L 0.012
3. Chromium as Cr CVR/SOP/ENVI/228 mg/L 0.005
4. Arsenic as As CVR/SOP/ENVI/228 mg/L 0.002

The test results from Report No. 22020049.01 dated 12/02/2022 testing the level of harmful gases and oxygen before and after use of the device of present disclosure are summarized below in Table 2.
Table 2:
S.No. Parameters Protocol Unit Results
Before After
1. Carbon monoxide as CO EPA Compendium Method IP 3A, 3c ppm 1.1 BDL (DL:1.0)
2. Nitrogen oxides as NO2 NIOSH 6014 mg/m3 5.2 2.3
3. Oxygen as O2 CVR/SOP/ENVI/100 % 20.9 28.6
4. Sulphur oxides as SO2 NIOSH 6004 mg/m3 8.0 2.0
5. Chloroform NIOSH-2549 µg/m3 30.0 BDL (DL:1.0)
6. Methylene Chloride NIOSH-2549 µg/m3 28.45 BDL (DL:1.0)
6. Toluene NIOSH-2549 µg/m3 12.12 BDL (DL:1.0)
BDL: Below Detection Limit DL: Detection Limit
The test results vide Report No. 23040153.01 dated 27/04/2023 from test conducted from 25/04/2023 to 27/04/2023 testing the levels of particulate matter, harmful gases, oxygen, and VOCs before and after use of the device of present disclosure are summarized below in Table 3.
Table 3.:
S.No. Parameters Test Method Unit Results
Before After
1. Particulate Matter PM10 EPA Compendium method IP-10 µg/m3 286 11.2
2. Particulate Matter PM2.5 EPA Compendium method IP-10 µg/m3 126 8.6
3. Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) NIOSH - 6014 ppm 3 BDL (DL:1.0)
4. Sulphur Oxides (SOx) NIOSH - 6004 ppm 8 BDL (DL:1.0)
5. Formaldehyde NIOSH - 2016 mg/m3 0.04 BDL (DL:1.0)
6. Butanol NIOSH - 1401 ppm 2.54 BDL (DL:1.0)
7. Carbon Monoxide (CO) EPA Compendium method IP-3A,3C ppm 46 BDL (DL:1.0)
8. Carbon Dioxide (CO2) EPA Compendium method IP-3A,3C ppm 2100 420
9. Oxygen (O2) CVR/SOP/ENVI/100 % 20.8 28.9
10. Benzene NIOSH - 2549 µg/m3 0.1212 BDL (DL:1.0)
11. m, p-Xylene NIOSH - 2549 µg/m3 0.1349 BDL (DL:1.0)
12. o-Xylene NIOSH - 2549 µg/m3 0.1130 BDL (DL:1.0)
13. Toluene NIOSH - 2549 mg/m3 0.1016 BDL (DL:1.0)
BDL: Below Detection Limit DL: Detection Limit
As seen in Tables 1, 2 & 3, the levels of heavy metals, particulate matter PM10 & PM2.5, harmful gases like CO, NO2 and SO2 and the VOCs were reduced in the ambient air and the level of oxygen went up with the use of device of the present disclosure.
Advantages of the present invention
The present disclosure uses naturally available resources to address the problems of indoor air pollution and creates a sustainable, clean Green-Tech solution for air purification. The product of present disclosure purifies the ambient air efficiently giving out oxygen in exchange of harmful chemicals in the air, produces zero waste, and the biomass created has multiple uses like fertilizers and as a pet feed.
The technology of the present disclosure uses artificial photosynthesis to obtain a higher yield of biomass. This biomass consumes Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) available in the indoor environment and converts them into oxygen, giving out enriched breathable oxygenated air. The heavy metals, particulate matters PM2.5 and PM10 are also suspended in the water molecules and not allowed to escape back into the atmosphere.
Also, the biomass in the biological air purifying device of the present disclosure is maintained at a pH value that most microorganisms cannot survive in, hence preventing unwanted microbial growth.
Additionally, the biological indoor air purifying device of the present disclosure comes with an inbuilt Air quality monitor that is equipped with Bluetooth for easy viewing of AQI (Air Quality Index) on the product’s android Application.
The biological indoor air purifying device of the present disclosure is a standalone system that is compact, low noise and self-contained. It replaces the need for keeping plants inside the room (equal to 12 plants). It’s a zero-waste product with no toxic waste and even biomass, which is a byproduct that can be filtered and used as protein supplement, pet feed & fertilizer. The cost of our product is 4 to 8 times cheaper than the conventional air purifiers.
The biological indoor air purifying device of the present disclosure comes in affordable price and small size to every household to improve their living environment and enrich the quality of the air.
To sum up the advantages, the biological air purifying device of the present disclosure has multiple uses like purifies the air, produces protein supplement for pet feed and biofertilizer, has air quality monitor and adjustable light source to set the environment at its best ambience, is light weight, produces low noise and is self-contained and zero waste product.
Possible future enhancements:
To produce algae-based carbon sink in a large scale that would cover an entire township or even a city. All metro cities in India show signs of high pollution levels that are the biggest threat to livelihood of the people living there, we are working on solving this by introducing our clean tech that would be best fit even in a space constrained environment yielding better air purification as well as improve the oxygen content in the area.
The same principle can be extended to highly crowded area such as Movie mall, malls, business centers where clean air with enriched oxygen can be delivered. Large scale carbon sinks can be connected city wide along the highly polluted neighborhoods that would cut down the majority of the carbon environment. It can also be modified for channeling the high concentration carbon emitted from industries to be directly passed on for absorption thus converting carbon to oxygen source.
We are also working on improving the AQI monitor/ sensor and the touch screen display integration for interactive experience. We also plan to implement Wifi connectivity for remote AQI reading via internet apart from the present Bluetooth connectivity. Integrated Air Quality Sensor Module AM1008W from CUBIC with highly integrated ultra-thin laser particle sensor, NDIR CO2 sensor, semiconductor VOC sensor, temperature and humidity sensor, which can real-time output digital measurement data has been identified to be used in the device of the present disclosure.

Dated this, the 05th Day of May 2022.
--------Digitally signed-------
Bandita Panda
IN/PA-1880
Agent for the Applicant

,CLAIMS:We Claim:
1. A biological indoor air purifying device (as seen in 101 of Fig. 1, Fig. 2 & Fig. 3) comprising of:
i. A detachable transparent liquid holding vessel (205 of Fig. 2) fitted onto a base (206 of Fig. 2) via a locking mechanism to hold the integrity as one unit; the transparent liquid holding vessel (205 of Fig. 2) contains an air purifying liquid comprising of nutrient media for growing microalgae, and microalgae; one end of the liquid holding vessel (205 of Fig. 2) is open to the ambient atmosphere and the other end is fitted on to a base (206 of Fig. 2);
ii. A hollow base (206 of Fig. 2) housing a plurality of components comprising of an air-pump/motor (204 of Fig. 2); a non-return one way valve (201 of Fig. 2) to avoid reverse flow of biomass into the air pump/motor (204 of Fig. 2); circuit board (202 of Fig. 2) which has the controller, light-emitting diodes (LED) lamps, and AC to DC converter; and AQI (Air Quality Index) monitor (203 of Fig. 2); wherein
The transparent liquid holding vessel (205 of Fig. 2) containing the air purifying liquid is connected to the air pump/motor (204 of Fig. 2) via non-return one way valve (201 of Fig. 2) to stop the reverse flow of the biomass into the pump; the device is connected to an electrical power source; the AQI (Air Quality Index) monitor in the biological air purifying device (101 of Fig.1) is connected to the controller board continuously monitoring and transmitting data via BT (Bluetooth) which can be viewed via proprietary android application (102 of Fig.1); the same application can also be used to change the intensity of the LED light lamp which is focused into the air purifying liquid in the transparent liquid holding vessel (205 of Fig. 2) as seen in 101 of Fig 1; the capacity of the biomass used in the device is around 1L to 2.5L through which 2 to 4.5L/min air is passed; and with operating voltage of 5 to 9 V.
2. The biological indoor air purifying device (as seen in 101 of Fig. 1 & Fig. 2) as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the transparent liquid holding vessel (205 of Fig. 2) is made of glass and contains air purifying liquid comprising of blue-green algae Spirulina, which grows with adequate feeding of nutrients and artificial lighting that promotes photosynthesis; the device is connected to an electrical power source through an electrical power cord to power the device; the biomass is maintained at a pH value between 9.5 to 11.5 that most microorganisms cannot survive in; and the PM2.5 and PM10 are also suspended in the water and not allowed to escape back into the atmosphere.

3. The biological indoor air purifying device (as seen in 101 of Fig. 1 & Fig. 2) as claimed in Claim 1 & 2, wherein the nutrient media composition in the air purifying liquid comprises of Sodium Bicarbonate (12 grams), Sodium Chloride (10 grams), Potassium Sulphate (4 grams), Magnesium Sulphate (0.40 gram), Phosphoric acid (0.1 ml), Ferrous Sulphate (0.1 ml) dissolved in 2.5 L of non-chlorinated distilled/RO water.

4. The biological indoor air purifying device (as seen in 101 of Fig. 1 & Fig. 2) as claimed in Claim 1, 2, & 3, wherein the capacity of the biomass used in the device is 2.25L through which 3 to 4 L/min air is passed through; with operating voltage of 5 to 9 V; and the air purifying liquid in the device may be replaced once in 2 to 3 months with fresh liquid comprising of nutrient media and microalgae.

5. The biological indoor air purifying device (as seen in 101 of Fig. 1 & Fig. 2) as claimed in Claim 1, 2, & 3, wherein the capacity of the biomass used in the device is 1.1L with 2 to 3L of air circulating through the biomass with an operating voltage of 5V; and the air purifying liquid in the device may be replaced once in 2 to 3 months with fresh liquid comprising of nutrient media and microalgae.

6. A process of purifying air is provided which involves pumping in air through the biomass using an air-pump/motor (204 of Fig. 2) in the biological indoor air purifying device (as seen in 101 of Fig. 1 & Fig. 2) as claimed in Claim 1, 2 & 3, wherein the air from the atmosphere is sucked and passed through the biomass in the air purifying liquid contained in the transparent liquid holding vessel (205 of Fig. 2), which undergoes gas exchanges to give out oxygen by biomass and consuming the toxic gases and pure oxygenated air comes out of the biomass and escapes to the atmosphere through the open end of the glass liquid holding vessel (205 of Fig. 2).

7. The process as claimed in the Claim 5, wherein the capacity of the biomass used in the device is around 2.25L through which 3 to 4 L/min air is passed through with operating voltage of 5 to 9 V and the air purifying liquid in the device may be replaced once in 2 to 3 months with fresh liquid comprising of nutrient media and microalgae.

Dated this, the 05th Day of May 2022.
--------Digitally signed-------
Bandita Panda
IN/PA-1880
Agent for the Applicant

To
The Controller of Patents
The Patent Office at Chennai