Phayao gets North’s first air-purification tower to combat PM2.5 smog
The city of Phayao has erected Thailand’s third “Fahsai” (Clear Sky) air purification tower to combat seasonal smog conditions that are among the worst in the North.
Rising more than 5 metres into the air, the Fahsai 2 at Phayao is designed to help alleviate PM2.5 pollution whipped up by field-burning at the end of the growing season.
“Phayao is in the top three northern provinces for PM2.5 dust, mainly from open-air burning of biomass,” said Assoc Prof Singh Intrachooto.
Singh is chief adviser to the Research & Innovation for Sustainability Centre (RISC) under Magnolia Quality Development Corp (MQDC), which launched the tower with help from the University of Phayao.
“Breathing fine PM2.5 particulates can greatly harm respiratory systems and lungs, causing high blood pressure, heart disease, and strokes,” said Singh, adding that Phayao had been chosen to pilot the Fahsai project on air quality research in the North. Aided by the university’s School of Public Health and the Faculty of Engineering, the RISC is creating a digital dust database for the northern city.
The hybrid air purifier tower is powered by solar panels along with mains power to reduce its carbon footprint. The device has also been upgraded from first-generation Fahsai to kill bacteria, fungi, and viruses using UVC and ozone.
Capacity has also been enhanced with four larger fan blades each moving 30,000 cubic metres/hour (up from 15,000) for a total of 120,000 cubic metres/hour to serve an area of about one football field.
The first-generation Fahsai city-level air purification tower was installed at 101 True Digital Park in 2020. RISC launched the second generation of Fahsai 2 in early 2021 at Bangkok’s Makkasan Airport Rail Link Station.