airial

Mo Van der Hallen

Master Productontwikkeling
2021 — 2022

ontwerp

promotoren
Jan Meersman
Marjan Michels

Airial

 

Airial is a plant-based air purifier that provides a more complete solution to the problem of indoor air quality, which has become a growing concern for human health in recent decades. It is a hybrid system that combines the power of plants and microalgae to treat a broad range of pollutants.

Airial works by continuing the idea of using plants to eliminate VOCs, VICs, and PM, while also adding microalgae to the equation. This addition is essential for solving the previous bottleneck of CO2 removal and providing a more complete solution.
The polluted air is pulled into the system in two ways. A fan on top pulls air through the plant foliage and across the roots, while an air pump at the bottom pulls air into the microalgae tank. After, the purified air is released at the top of the system. To facilitate co-cultivation between the plants and the microalgae, the microalgae liquid from the tank is pushed to the top by a water pump, after which it flows down across the roots of the plants to provide nutrition and create synergy.

The design is modular in various ways. In terms of aesthetics, different color combinations can be made to fit the user’s interior. For air purification, a different number of plants can be configured, to allow for a tailored solution to the context it is in. Airial is designed to be used during the nighttime (e.g. a bedroom), and the daytime (e.g. an office) to provide clean air for the majority of the day.Communication with the product is created through a smartphone application. This app allows control over the system, it notifies the user when a nutrient refill is due, and it shows the indoor air quality to illustrate the improvements made by the system.

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