Graviky lab’s AIR-INK® is a promising solution to pollution!

Black Exhaust to Black Ink!

How does vehicular pollution look – Black, White, or Grey? And how much does it contribute to environmental pollution? Is there a solution to this pollution?

In India, air pollution is led by industries at 51%, followed by motor vehicles at 27%, then a disturbing 17% by burning agriculture waste and 5% by other sources. Work is in progress to either find sustainable energy alternatives or offset the carbon impact using other green technologies/activities.

Research to not only reduce vehicular pollution but also make use of it continues to date. As a result, many technological innovations to tackle air pollution have emerged in recent years. One such unique innovation is Graviky Lab’s AIR-INK®

Developed in India, this technology by Graviky labs follows the laws of conservation of energy by converting exhaust pollution into usable ink, making it a perfect circular economy.

How does this work?

Kaalink (derived from a Hindi word, ‘Kaali’ meaning black), a carbon-capturing device, is mounted at the end of the exhaust/tailpipe of a bike, a car, or a diesel generator. This device stores up to 95% of the pollutants coming out of the engines. Kaalink collects the particulate matter (PM) of carbon emissions – the Carbon Soot. Inhaling carbon soot can cause severe respiratory diseases such as asthma, lung cancer, and more.

In an experiment, fitting a Kaalink to an old Euro 3 car removed 45 minutes’ worth of emissions by filling a 30 ml container. The magnitude of pollution control that can be achieved on motor vehicles older than five years, diesel engines generators on a macro scale can be a gamechanger for the automotive and industrial pollution practices.

How significant is this AIR-INK®?

The innovation takes on both sides of the coin in one go. Not only does it curb air pollution, but it also provides a sustainable option for manufacturing ink for various industries. Conventionally, ink preparation involves two stages: mixing the solvent, resin and additives and adding necessary pigments to provide printability to the ink. By this process of making the best out of waste, ink can be produced for the packaging and printing industry, personal and commercial paper printing, sticky ink for plastic cards, apparel and automotive interiors, marker pens for artworks, etc.

Graviky Lab’s Air-Ink is not available for the public, yet. However, with some kick-starter programs, they have managed to clear about 1 trillion litres of air and collected more than 770 litres of ink!

With home-grown innovations like this, challenging the traditional approach of balancing carbon footprint, the right growth platforms should be built to not only help them reach the right market quickly but also promote more start-ups to come up with unique solutions as ‘From India, For the world’.

About the Author

Abhijeet Parmar, founder of Senergy Pallet Pvt. Ltd., is working to introduce Eco-friendly Logistics Pallets in Asia-Pacific Region. He aims to bring the focus on outstanding clean-tech startups of India. ‘It’s not just that we have a huge talent pool in our country, but it is also the need of the hour’, says Abhijeet..

To know more such stories of eco-creativity, click here.

How bad are the impacts of climate change? How to deal?

Earth is warming, ice is melting, and we are chillin'!

The Afghanistan crisis due to the Taliban takeover, or the trade war between US-China, highlights contemporary International politics. Underdeveloped and developing nations are still facing the heat of the COVID wave while developed economies recover due to their vast vaccination programmes. But amid all these, another situation that needs to be addressed at utmost priority, but still ignored blatantly: CLIMATE CHANGE!!!

The impacts of Climate change are evident for quite a long time now, and we don’t need to dig many records to understand it. Many events that occurred globally during recent times are, by far, the most alarming signals of Climate change, and they need to be addressed, NOW!

But really, how bad are the impacts of Climate Change? Why do we need to worry?

A recent report by the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC) titled ‘Climate Change 2021: The Physical science basis’ has flagged many concerns and stats that need to be put on the table now, if not before! The report predicts that the world is on track for global temperature warming by at least 2.7 (degree)C by 2100, calling it “code red” for humanity.

According to the report Indian ocean is warming at a higher rate than any other ocean, which will eventually cause a rise in sea levels resulting in frequent and severe coastal flooding in low-level areas. Extremes such as heatwaves, droughts, floods, and storms are only intensifying with rising temperatures. The report warns of glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region shrinking and snow cover retreating to higher altitudes!

A study by the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology at Dehradun states that precipitation of summer periods at higher altitudes may change from snow to rain, disturbing the summer and winter patterns!! Now, at least “No Snow in the North” should open our eyes wide open! The IPCC report warns clearly of mountain glaciers shrinking, and permafrost will continue to thaw in all regions where they are present.

Another staggering event that occurred recently was rainfall at the highest point on the Greenland ice sheet for the first time on record, another signal of warming accelerating ice sheet melting at a rapid rate. Recent series of towns washed away in Germany, Subways turned into storm water drains in China, forests fried in the US, and many lives lost due to flooding in India, all are the impacts of CLIMATE CHANGE!! It would be appropriate to quote “warming is coming!”

via GIPHY

How can we deal with this crisis?

We should consider all these findings the tip of the iceberg (worried about future generations being puzzled while using such a phrase, as the warming would melt all icebergs for them to witness it!) We need to act globally, and it should be now! Territorial disputes can take a break to limit ourselves to ecological boundaries. World leaders must frame appropriate policies. Private investments should chip in for sustainable growth, with collective efforts at all local levels.

The IPCC report clearly states that for limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 Degrees, cumulative net emissions should be net-zero and not just net emissions. Developed countries need to revamp their environmental policies. Developing and underdeveloped nations need to frame their development agendas, prioritizing environment and sustainability.

The commitment of leaders at the G7 summit towards Climate change is somewhat of a relief; but, it needs to be taken ahead by all the stakeholders. The 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) of the UN Framework Convention on climate change is scheduled for November in Glasgow. All eyes will be on the world policymakers to take some global measures to mitigate the climate crisis!

Our history shows that extensive public outcry has pulled off massive revolutions. It is not wrong to say that we are at the stage where we might need a new global reformation! An eco revolution! To strive for ourselves and the generations to come! We ought to look at the bigger global picture and act on it. As Gandhiji said, “Be the change you want to see in the world” we need to be the wave of that change and rise against the rise of warming! While the earth is warming and glaciers are melting, we definitely cannot be chillin!!!

We would love to know your views on this matter. Feel free to express what you think in the comments 🙂

To read more such articles click here.

Can the Earthshot Prize Save Us from Climate Change?

The Earthshot Prize - A Ray of Hope; Or is It?

In recent years, environmental awareness has taken a positive momentum. From companies pledging to go carbon-neutral to commoners practicing eco-lifestyles, it is safe to say that there’s hope. The Earthshot prize can have a significant impact on this optimism.

What is the Earthshot Prize?

The Royal Foundation’s Earthshot Prize is the most prestigious Environment award. This Nobel-like prize is an effort to inspire and fund the solutions for a better future.

“The Earthshot Prize revolves around five ‘Earthshots’ – simple but ambitious goals such as,

1. Protect and Restore Nature
2. Clean Our Air
3. Revive Our Oceans
4. Build a Waste-free World
5. Fix Our Climate
which if achieved by 2030 will improve life for us all, for generations to come.”

In a conversation with Sir David Attenborough, Prince Williams says that they expect at least 50 solutions until 2030. These solutions will be significant in changing the current scenario.

A yearly award ceremony is expected to take place in different cities across the world from 2021 to 2030. Each year, only 5 Earthshot prizes will be awarded for finding solutions to great environmental problems. These could be to 5 people, teams, or collaborations.

With £1 million prize money as the prize money, the winner will also receive a global platform to showcase the solutions.

“Shortlisted nominees will also be given tailored support and opportunities to help scale their work, including being connected with an ecosystem of like-minded individuals and organizations.”

For now, the Royal Foundation is managing the Earthshot prize; but it is expected to be its own entity by 2021.

Final Thoughts

The Earthshot prize is a promising effort to influence the change we need today.

For a globally sustainable future, major solutions need to be popular. This way, they can be in action within the masses.

The very cornerstone of this movement is to negate pessimism while motivating optimism. And that’s pretty progressive.

environmental sustainability