Breathing in Bangkok's Makkasan area gets easier thanks to new air-purification tower
In a bid to tackle rising air pollution and intensifying PM2.5 issues, MQDC’s Research and Innovation for Sustainability Centre (RISC) has put up a second air-purification tower, “Fahsai 2”, at Bangkok’s Makkasan Airport Rail Link station.
The first Fahsai tower had been installed at the 101 True Digital Park in 2020.
Fahsai 2 aims to ease air pollution, especially PM2.5 or dust particles smaller than 2.5 micrometres in diameter and kill airborne germs.
Assoc Prof Dr Singh Intrachooto, chief adviser to RISC, said the research centre is following its “sustainnovation” principle for the well-being of all life. Fahsai 2 is being launched along the lines of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for good health and well-being, clean water and sanitation, sustainable cities and communities, and life on land.
“RISC does not just serve MQDC projects but is also open to the public. Hence, we developed the first Fahsai tower in 2020. Then Covid-19 arrived, immediately sparking research to develop another tower that can also combat bacteria and viruses. We intend to keep developing to meet demand and have experimented and achieved the requisite efficiency. We hope to be part of solving air pollution in many areas,” Dr Singh said.
Napol Kieatkongmanee, a senior researcher and co-developer at RISC, said Fahsai 2 is run on a hybrid system, with solar panels during the day. It is an improvement on the first tower as it has the enhanced ability to kill bacteria, fungi and viruses with UV rays and ozone.
“The new tower has bigger capacity, and now covers a total of 120,000 cubic metres per hour, or an area of about one football field. The machine is also more compact, only 5.1 metres in height and 2.4m in width to allow easier access and installation and lower construction costs. The fan has been repositioned to prevent reverse airflow,” Napol said.
“The moisture trap in the air outlet has been redesigned to prevent water from being blown out. The solar panels have an adjustable design to clean air further and more effectively. The solar panels unfold to collect sunlight during the day and shut at night when the area is lit up for safety.
“Fahsai 2 can help mitigate PM2.5 air pollution and dust and help create a sustainable environment for people under RISC’s ‘sustainnovation’ principle,” he added.