Air purifying

Researchers at Rice University have developed a new air filter made of graphene foam, which can kill captured microbes with small zaps of electricity.

We all know that houseplants help purify the air inside a home. If you don't have a green thumb, though, you may still be in luck – Ikea has developed curtains that are claimed to clean indoor air, utilizing a process similar to that which occurs in plants.

​While plants do help clean the air within a home, it is estimated that over 20 per room would be required to make a difference. That likely wouldn't be the case with a new genetically-modified ivy, however, which has proven to be highly effective at removing chloroform and benzene from the air.

Two new products from Wynd are suggested to be the ultimate in home air purification – Halo, an app-controlled sensor that can monitor specific pollutants in the air, and the Home Purifier, a massive air cleaner that can quickly clear contaminants from large spaces.​

​First installed in Rotterdam and Amsterdam, and then moving onto Beijing in 2016, the pollution-sucking Smog Free Tower is now headed for a park in Poland. Part of a wider project aimed to highlight the need for cleaner air in urban centers, the tower will be put to work in Kraków.

​​Although only at the proof-of-concept stage right now, scientists in Belgium have come up with a way of capturing polluted air and converting it into power in the form of hydrogen gas, a technology that could prove a two-pronged environmental panacea.

Dyson has rolled its air purification, heating and cooling products into one all-powerful air-manipulator. The Dyson Pure Hot+Cool Link can purify the air in rooms and keep them at a comfortable temperature year round, without the need for separate devices.

It is in the more portable air purifying arena that startup Wynd is looking to make an impact, with a personal filter designed to keep you breathing easy when you're on the move.

Peanut shells are generally considered to be a worthless agricultural byproduct. That could be about to change, however, as scientists have developed an air-purifying filter that utilizes the shells.​

Most so-called portable air conditioners stretch the definition of "portable," but the Evapolar isn't one of them. In a form factor about the same size and weight as a small toaster, the unit packs an evaporative cooling system​ to cool, humidify and purify the air.

Every year since 2003, the Electrolux Design Lab competition has challenged budding stylists and inventors to produce home appliance concepts that may emerge in the not-too-distant future. The 2015 competition is now down to just 35 semi-finalists.

Italian architectural firm, Nemesi & Partners, has revealed its award winning plans to clad Palazzo Italia in Milan with a smog-filtering facade as part of the Milan Expo 2015. The unique pavilion will be made from a special air-purifying cement created by Italcementi.