BY: RHIANN MOORE
Tiger Beer and Graviky Labs definitely know something about how to make the best out of a bad situation. Asia has had a major issue with air pollution in recent years. In an attempt to ease the strain these two companies came together to take that air pollution off the streets, and out of people’s lungs, and made it into ink. This new product has been dubbed Air-Ink.
They have done this through an innovative unit that collects pollution from exhausts before it reaches the air. The unit turns on when the engine activates and gases start going through the exhaust. This activates the flow and thermo sensors that engage a mechatronic capture system. All the fine particle matter is then captured within the walls of the unit, allowing gases to pass through while still leaving the engine unaffected. Tiger Beer took this device and attached it to trucks, ferries and generators across Asia over a period of months and captured billions of particles. Back in Graviky Labs the scientists remove heavy metals and carcinogens, taking the purified soot and putting it through industrial processes to make different types of inks and paints.
Through all that effort Air-Ink is now able to sell a variety of pens, markers and spray cans. In order to further the recognition of this sustainable art product they hired emerging artists in Hong Kong and asked them to use Air-Ink to cover the streets of their city. Air-Ink is proving how art and science can go hand in hand to make the world a better place. Asia has grown exponentially in recent years, and while that is wonderful, it also meant that the air pollution was getting out of hand. Tiger Beer and Graviky Labs have done wonders to make sure that growth can happen, art can happen and sustainability can happen; all at the same time, in the same place.
