Billboard purifies the air with the power of 1,200 trees

The University of Engineering and Technology in Peru has created an air purifying billboard that delivers pollution-free air to the surrounding area.

Regular readers of Springwise may remember our previous coverage of The University of Engineering and Technology (UTEC) in Peru, which created a billboard that captured airborne humidity and filtered it into drinkable water. The institution has now created another environmentally-friendly advertising hoarding, this time in the form of an air purifying billboard that delivers pollution-free air to the surrounding area.

The university is currently a new campus in Lima and the atmosphere around the construction site can often be dusty, with small particles of metal, germs and bacteria being propelled into the air. Aside from this, Lima has the highest air pollution levels in all of South America and it’s a problem generally for the city. As well as advertising the new buildings that will soon be erected, the university worked with agency FCB Mayo to create a unique system that provides a cleansing effect equal to a 1,200 tree forest. The billboard features low-power machinery that creates a combination of temperature, pressure and vacuum that sucks in polluted air from its surroundings, filtering it through water and pumping the clean air back into the local environment.

Watch the video below to find out more about the project:

The concept neutralizes the negative effects on the environment typically associated with building sites, helps create a nicer atmosphere in the city, and could prevent illnesses arising in both workers and nearby residents. Are there ways to implement this technology in more longstanding structures in smog and pollution-affected cities?