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Every day, 7.2 billion people are forced to inhale toxic air, that claims over 7 million lives annually, as reported by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Outdoor air pollution caused by fossil fuel burning in industries, automobile emissions, construction etc, accounts for 2.18 million deaths per year in India, second only to China, according to a modelling study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) last November. Factories, manufacturing plants and industrial facilities have the most toxic air; blue-collar workers inhale air quality over 50 times worse than the WHO-prescribed norms, causing respiratory diseases, cancers and asthma.
The urgency for prompt action is clear, and Praan, a venture-backed deeptech startup based in San Francisco, California and Mumbai, has built, what it claims, the world’s most advanced air purification technology by using a unique combination of mechanical filtration, electrostatic precipitation and UV-C light to neutralise air contaminants. Its patent-pending technology for filter-less capture of particulates and carbon dioxide from ambient air, has brought clean air within reach for more than 100 million low-wage workers in Indian factories.
Praan’s innovation has the potential to improve the lives of these blue-collar workers, many of whom suffer from respiratory issues due to prolonged exposure to polluted air for years, says the company’s founder & CEO, Angad Daryani. “Our technology works through a network of air purifying units capable of cleaning the air within large factory spaces. These units use nanotech filters and sensors capable of detecting particles as small as PM 2.5 and removing them from circulated air.”
Praan is implementing its technology with organisations committed to prioritising the health
How it began
Founded by Daryani during his sophomore year at Georgia Tech in 2017, Praan has expanded from a solo endeavour to a team of over 250 skilled individuals hailing from renowned companies like Tesla, Apple, SpaceX, and Microsoft
What’s on offer
Praan’s filterless air purifiers effectively tackle pollutants from various sources such as biofuel and industrial emissions, construction debris, road dust, and agricultural practices like stubble burning. The technology employs fans to pull in polluted air, charging particles and temporarily trapping them in a charged cylinder without traditional physical filters. This innovative process relies on electric fields to move and separate particles, ensuring a supply of clean air.
Basically, the focus is on two models of air purification systems — MK I and MK II. The MK II model, rolled out in April 2023, represents a significant leap forward from its predecessor, the MK I introduced in 2021. With eight times the filtration capacity and 10 times the speed, the MK II has undergone substantial enhancements. Originally conceived as a 20-foot outdoor air purification unit, the current iteration of the MK II stands at a height of 6.5 feet.
Explaining the transition, Daryani says, “Initially designed for outdoor air purification in public spaces, our research found lower particulate density at higher altitudes. This prompted us to shift focus to developing devices targeting pollution at breathing level.”
With a impressive purification rate of 1,300 cubic feet per minute, the MK II has versatile applications in factories, airports, schools, malls, hospitals, and public areas. Costing between Rs 6 lakh and RS 12 lakh depending on the application, a factory might require anywhere from one to 100 machines based on scale and process.
At the beginning of this year, Praan unveiled HIVE, a compact, high-capacity air purification device for Indian households. Made from aircraft-grade aluminum, it’s priced at Rs 54,999. Praan installed 19 HIVE devices across all classrooms and rooms in schools to deliver cleaner air to over 250 students daily. At its peak, Praan’s HIVE improved the school’s air quality by 88.58%, reducing the AQI from 324 to 37 in the classrooms.
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