Solar Powered Air Ionizer (SPAI)

By Ananya Vinayak, 11 th Grade, TSRS Aravali

The Solar Powered Air Ionizer, also known as the SPAI, is a self-built negative air ionizer powered by
solar energy. The beauty of the SPAI lies in the fact that unlike
all commercially available ionizers, its self-sufficient and does
not leave behind any pollutants while purifying air. I have built
a 1ft x 1ft x 3ft model which has shown a significant
improvement in air quality (I used an air quality meter, details
below) The SPAI is not just a room air purifier, but can also be
scaled up approximately 6 times (1m x 1m x 3m) to be used in
public areas like parks and roundabouts to provide a better
quality of living to local residents. Other than the model and its
future prospects, I also performed a Cost benefit analysis of a
full scale model in a city such as Delhi, India. A benefit of an
astonishing 2550% was found over a period of 5 years for the
residents (Yes, it seems too incredible to be true but I checked
and rechecked my calculations and took the highest possible
cost and lowest possible return to calculate such a benefit).

Figure 1: The model of the SPAI that I built. Below are a few the details of the SPAI:
Beside it is an award I won in an interschool
competition for the SPAI First of all, what is an Air Ionizer?
Ionizers are devices which contain electrically charged wires which charge molecules and
particles in the air to produce ions.
Depending on the type of system, the charge on the air molecules force pollutants to stick to
walls or other insulated surfaces, or captures them on an electrically-charged collection plate
near the ionizing unit.
By removing these particles from the air, ionizers improve air quality by reducing the amount
of particulate pollutants that enter your lungs.
It does NOT change the gaseous composition of air.

After extensive research I decided that the SPAI must be a negative ion ionizer which means that it must
impart a negative charge to air molecules in order to precipitate the pollutant particles.

Why did I choose the SPAI to be a Negative Air Ionizer?

Negative ionizers are proven to clear the air of dust, pollen, pet dander, mold spores,
allergens and even some bacteria and viruses.
 Negative ions in air improve the function of the cilia in your respiratory tract thus leading to less
instances of respiratory illnesses and inflammations.
Unlike positive ions entering your blood stream, negative ions normalize breathing rate,
decreases blood pressure and relieves tension and fights depression.
Negative ions are absorbed directly into the bloodstream where they may help to combat harmful
free radicals within your body.

Heres how the SPAI works:

My model consists of a Solar powered input voltage of 24V which gets stored
in a safe lead acid cell.

This battery discharges 1.3-1.5A at 12V as a DC current.

The DC current is converted to an AC current using a switching circuit.

The now 12V AC is stepped up using a transformer to a 220V AC current,

which is gradually stepped up to 6500V using capacitors and diodes.

This is sufficient to ionize air and is made to ionize carbon fibre brushes which
then ionize the air blown in by a fan.

Picure of the SPAi with a view of

its solar panels.

Figure 2: The components of the SPAI, the solar panel is located above
the structure.
Howd I know whether the SPAI was working or not?
I used the air test meter LaserEgg to test particulate matter 2.5 (PM 2.5) present in the air of a closed
room in Delhi with dimensions 10ft x 8ft x 8ft (about 17.28 cubic meters). During 1.5 hours, the PM 2.5
count reduced from 248 ppb to 77 ppb in the room, the PM 10 count reduced from 258 ppb to an almost
negligible count.

Following are the results of the air composition tested by the LaserEgg:

Figure 3: Test results of the SPAI; above presented is the PM 2.5 count

Future prospects of the SPAI

Scaling the current model to a life size one (about 3 meters tall, 1 meter in length and breadth; scaled
up 6 times) is an idea presented by this project. The approximate cost for the full scale model was
calculated to be 35,000 (about $515). It can be made to look like an art installation to be placed in parks,
roundabouts and other such public areas.

Cost Benefit Analysis

Presented below is the cost benefit analysis I did on the scaled up version of the SPAI:
 Table 1: Cost Benefit analysis for the SPAI

How shall the full scaled model be maintained?

A self-sustaining model, the only maintenance would be of the solar panels and the carbon brushes
depending on the particulate pollution index of the area. Additionally, solar panels require very
little maintenance since there are no moving parts. The panels should be inspected for any dirt or debris
that may collect on them a few times a year. The carbon brushes can be cleaned by passing air through
the ionizer when switched off (basically, switching on its fans without switching on the ionizing unit).

Extensions:
Other than a ionizer, I wanted to implement another one of my ideas an eco-friendly wet
scrubber.
In a wet scrubber, the polluted gas stream is brought into contact with scrubbing liquid, so
as to remove the pollutant gases.
This scrubbing liquid consists of a mixture of chemical solvents meant to dissolve the
harmful gases.
Humidity levels could also be controlled hence.
But I havent done enough research on eco-friendly wet scrubbers, its simply an idea.
The SPAI was an original and self-conceived idea which started off with a prompt for an interschool
competition. It was interesting for it entailed several aspects of science. From conceptualization, to
electric circuit calculation, to actually piecing and soldering the parts together, the SPAI took a week to
complete (design, building and testing) on a rushed schedule.