BiomiTech beat out six other finalists in the innovation category with its BioUrban 2.0 system at the Contamination Expo Series 2018 held in Birmingham, England. This Mexican company’s air purification system uses microalgae to transform contaminants such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide into oxygen.
The company is proud to say that the technology used in the system is 100% Mexican. BiomiTech founding partner Jaime Ferrer told the newspaper Milenio:
“A single BioUrban [system] is capable of carrying out the photosynthesis process and returning oxygen equivalent to [that released annually by] more than 300 trees. But we’re not replacing them. At crossroads, in urban infrastructure where contamination is found, roads where cars drive on a daily basis, at intersections where buses stop… These are places where we can’t plant 300 trees but we can complete the same function through a natural biological process.”
The structure of BiomiTech’s purification system is four meters high with steel casing. Its apex has a three-meter diameter and contains 500 liters of microalgae, enough to filter up to 99.7% of the particles it captures. The overall design is in the form of a tree.
Not only that, but there are additional bonus features built into the device for user convenience. The system is equipped with a sensor to monitor air quality as well as wireless internet capability to transmit the data it collects. Furthermore, waste microalgae can even be used as a raw material for products such as biogas and biofuels.
Ferrer said:
“The most important cities in the world with significant pollution problems have highly-advanced sensors that measure contamination… but very few do something to control the problem. This is the first technology, which through a 100% biological and natural process, enables contamination to be reduced.”
The first BioUrban system was installed in Puebla in 2017. The company hopes to have the opportunity to expand to other parts of the country, especially after having won such a prestigious award. BiomiTech was also the winner of the Latam Edge Awards, which supports the expansion of Latin American technology companies in the United Kingdom. Their filtration system is brilliant and works so well everyone is impressed by it. It has the capacity to capture more than 13 million cubic meters of air and release oxygen equivalent to that released by 368 young eucalyptus trees over the course of a year!
Ferrer said:
“It was very gratifying because they recognized Mexican talent abroad. The [Latam] prize consisted of 125,000 pounds (US$162,450) in services, marketing, offices and advertising with the aim of starting operations in the United Kingdom… It makes me very proud to say that we’re being recognized at an international level but there’s still a lot to do in our country.”
