Studio Roosegaarde‘s smog-sucking vacuum tower may actually be cleaning up the air in China. The Smog Free Tower has been installed in Beijing, a city notorious for its air pollution, and the country’s Ministry of Environmental Protection recently announced the air around the tower is in fact 55 percent cleaner than it was before. According to Studio Roosegaarde, the tower has snatched billions of PM2.5 fine particles out of the polluted air.
Over the last 41 days, the Smog Free Tower has busily scrubbed 30 million m3 of air, according to Studio Roosegaarde. That’s equal to the volume of 10 Beijing National Stadiums. Studio Roosegaarde reports that locals referred to his tower as a “clean air temple,” drawing comparisons to China’s famed pagodas.
Related: Daan Roosegaarde’s smog-sucking tower will clean the skies of China
What to do with all that pollution captured by the tower? Make jewelry out of it, of course. Smog particles sucked up by the Smog Free Tower during its stint in Beijing will make 300 special Smog Free Rings, similar to the rings Studio Roosegaarde has designed in the past. However, these rings can hold even more smog than the ones made with Rotterdam pollution.
Daan Roosegaarde was especially inspired to tackle air pollution in China after a trip to Beijing around three years ago, when he noticed children had to stay inside because the air quality outdoors was so poor. According to Studio Roosegaarde, over 80 percent of people dwelling in urban places are “exposed to air-quality levels that exceed World Health Organization limits.” Roosegaarde’s Smog Free Tower aims to combat the issue by sucking 75 percent of PM10 and PM2.5 particles from the air.
UPDATE: However, there’s some debate over just how accurate the Ministry of Environmental Protection’s statistic is, and how effectively the smog-sucking tower really works. The Chinese Forum of Environmental Journalists (CFEJ) discussed another assessment of the tower. The best statistic gathered didn’t meet World Health Organization standards, according to CFEJ, for PM2.5 particles. They said ultimately the tower is very limited in scope. They suggested the tower be renamed the “Haze Warning Tower” instead, in keeping with Roosegaarde’s goal of raising awareness, as the government, scientists, or entrepreneurs seek better solutions to address China’s air pollution issue.
The Smog Free Tower will continue to tour China, and Studio Roosegaarde will announce soon which city the smog-sucking tower will venture to next.
Images via Studio Roosegaarde
This article was updated November 25 at 1:20 PM.
