IIT Madras to develop air sanitisation tech for COVID prevention

The low-cost bioaerosol protection system will eliminate airborne pathogens and prevent their spread in confined spaces. 

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras and Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Chennai, are collaborating with Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), the UK, to develop India-centric air sanitisation technologies and guidelines to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and tuberculosis.  

The joint research aims at developing a robust low-cost bioaerosol protection system to suppress air-transmitted diseases in indoor locations. In collaboration with Magneto Cleantech, a pioneering industry start-up based in Delhi, the testing and implementation will be done with real-time applications in various Indian environments. It is expected that the project, when successfully implemented, will benefit nearly 10 crore people in the Indian sub-continent. 

The project will be aimed at developing an experimental proof-of-concept of a revolutionary air filtration system using ‘Ultraviolet-C’ radiation. It has a strong potential to increase the effectiveness of eliminating viruses and other airborne pathogens and reduce maintenance costs as compared to the available filters, which is important for developing countries such as India.  

Project Coordinator Prof Abdus Samad, Department of Ocean Engineering, IIT Madras, said, “The projects’ goal is to develop a solution that is extensively verified and tested from both theoretical and practical perspectives, and finally, the safety made visible in a consumer-friendly manner ensuring the live performance of the system.”

The joint consortium will develop products that would be commercialised through Magneto along with the academic institutions. This will pave the way for many new job openings for young budding engineers.   

This project has major funding from Royal Academy Engineering (RAENG), UK, under the ‘Transforming System through Partnership’ scheme. The total budget of the project is about £80,000, and it is for a period of two years (April-2021 to April-2023). Partial funding support is also made by the participating organisations.

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