USC Chemical Engineering Student

Air Pollution Control 2017

D e p a r t m e n t o f Term/Academic Year:
Chemical Engineering Second Semester AY 2017-2018
Talamban, Cebu City, Philippines 6000

Case Study:
“PH leads first street art project vs air pollution”

CHE EB13
Air Pollution Control

Submitted by:
John Christopher A. Torrefiel

Submitted to:
Engr. Ramir L. Jarabis

Date Submitted:
December 5, 2017
Introduction

It is common for many commuters in Metro Manila to wipe a layer of soot from their faces
after their daily commute to and from their schools or offices. Skin irritation and acne breakouts
are just some of the annoying inconveniences roadside pollution can cause, but just imagine what
could happen if many of us are consistently exposed to these noxious pollutants and inhale them
straight into our lungs? The World Bank reported that 5,000 premature deaths in NCR can be
attributed to the poor quality of air in the region. Indeed, the world-renowned Manila traffic poses
a more serious threat than just testing everyone’s patience.

One of the most harmful air pollutants is Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) produced by the
combustion of fossil fuels such as in automobile engines. Though the body can tolerate a minimal
amount of NOx, the sheer number of vehicles passing through our major thoroughfares like EDSA
often makes NOx readings exceed the World Health Organization (WHO) standard of 40
micrograms per cubic meter. In EDSA, for instance, NOx levels can reach up to 300 on certain
days, according to Johnson Ongking, Vice President of Pacific Paint (Boysen) Philippines, Inc.
During the recently held “SOLB!: A Sustainable Solutions Fair” organized by Philippine Business
for Social Progress (PBSP), Ongking raised the alarming issue of air pollution and presented one
of its solutions – an innovative product that can make almost every surface into an air purifier.

“The best way to address pollution obviously is to not produce pollution in the first place.
If we can commit to pollution-free transport: walk or bike or take the MRT, that’s the best solution.
But unfortunately this is what Metro Manila looks like on most days – hazy. Most of us have to
travel through motor vehicles going to work so most of us are part of the problem,” he said.

Boysen worked with Cristal, a leading company in ultrafine titanium dioxide technology.
This photocatalytic technology – utilized primarily to reduce pollutants produced by coal power
plants – uses the sunlight to breakdown NOx into harmless substances. Through this paint, the
Guadalupe MRT station in Makati was transformed into a gigantic air purifier, the world’s largest
paint trial at that time. But it did not stop there. Unknown to many, the mural paintings adorning
many 1,000-square-meter walls along EDSA are in fact air purifiers which not only help reduce
the risk of people getting sick but also provide commuters and pedestrians a visual treat.
 Boysen lunched a project called “Project EDSA”, in short for ‘Everyone Deserves Safe
Air’ is the first street art project in the world with air cleaning component. Just like how the world
was inspired by the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, many countries soon imitated the eco-
revolution initiated by the Filipino company in their most polluted places. Many cities in the world
have also followed our example here in the Philippines, like the mural paintings in Lima, Peru that
was done during the UN Climate talks in the city in 2014. Sakai City in Japan also has its own
version of this air cleaning street art revolution in their streetcar stops.

Although air quality monitoring in the Philippines has been sporadic and lacks good quality
assurance, there is no doubt that the air quality of Metro Manila is seriously degraded. Most
obvious is the presence of atmospheric particles that reduce visibility on most days, but there is
also evidence of very high concentrations of fine (invisible) particles, and occasional excessive
levels of some gases associated with motor vehicle emissions. The Asian Development Bank has
supported various initiatives to address Manila’s serious air quality problems, with studies
ofvehicular emissions control planning and air quality improvement. Those preparatory projects
led to loans and a technical assistance grant that together make up the Metro Manila Air Quality
Improvement Sector Development Program(Krupnick, Morgenstern, Rolfe, Logarta, & Rufo,
2003)

Key Issues

The main issue discussed in the news article is the state of NOx pollution in Manila,
specifically along the EDSA. In certain days, the concentration exceeds 300 ug/m3. This is far from
the 40μg/m3 acceptable limit for NOx concentration set the World Health Organization (WHO).
NOx are strong oxidants that can irritate the lungs and lower resistance to respiratory infections

such as influenza. Frequent exposure to high concentrations decrease lung function growth
especially in children. This includes reduced host defense against infectious pulmonary diseases,
bronchoconstrictive agents, and other irritant stimuli. NOx also increases the risk for adverse birth
outcomes including low birth weight, pre-term delivery, intra-uterine growth retardation, birth
defects, and stillbirth (CAI-Asia, 2010).
 According to the data presented by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR) in their National Air Quality Status Report for the year 2010 – 2011, the National Capital
Region is the second largest emitter of NOx in the country, most of this NOx emissions came from
mobile sources. The data for the amount of NOx emitted per year by every region in the Philippines
is presented in the Appendix.
For the stationary sources of NOx, the EMB-NCR was able to disaggregate its emission
inventory by industry source. The food manufacturing industry was determined to be the major
contributor in the emission of NOx in Metro Manila which is responsible for 25% of the total NOx
emitted in the region per year.

Strategy to remediate the NOx pollution in Metro Manila

To solve the problems caused by high concentrations of NOx in Metro Manila, Pacific
Paints (Boysen) Philippines launched the project “EDSA” which stands for “Everybody Deserves
Clean Air”. They worked together with Cristal, one of the leading company in ultrafine titanium
dioxide technology to develop a paint that utilizes this technology. This will turn any painted
surface into an air purifier that removes NOx from the air and convert it to less harmful products.
The mechanism of how this technology works is presented in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Photocatalysis of NOx with titanium dioxide

Project “EDSA” is an urban renewal initiative to lessen the concentration of NOx along
EDSA through large-scale artworks. The project uses Boysen’s breakthrough KNOxOUT paint in
painting artworks in sequence since 2011. Cristal Activ elements in the paint transform NOx in the
atmosphere into harmless residue, hence purifying the air in the vicinity of the surfaces painted
with it. Presented in Figure 2 is a mural along EDSA which are made using the innovative
KNOxOUT paint.

Figure 2. One of the KNOxOUT murals along EDSA

Aside from project “EDSA”, Pacific Paints (Boysen) Philippines in partnership with
Pilipinas Shell spearheaded the One Wall, One World initiative. The One Wall, One World
campaign aims to have as many walls in Metro Manila painted against pollution. In support of this
initiative, Shell, which has a long standing partnership with Boysen, is making Shell retail stations
as air purifiers, in line with Shell and Boysen’s common advocacy of creating a cleaner and
healthier environment.

Analysis

Nationwide utilization of the technology could help in the remediation of NOx levels in curbside
and ambient areas where NOx concentration is known to be high. Since ultrafine titanium dioxide
photocatalytic technology was originally developed to remove NOx in coal-fired power plant flue
gas, there is not much data on the effectiveness of the utilizing this technology in ambient air.
Therefore, a comprehensive study on the impact of utilizing this technology to remediate NOx
pollution is necessary to assess is the effectiveness of the technology for ambient air applications
since the cost of the paint with the titanium dioxide is 3 to 5 times that of normal enamel/latex
paints. Another disadvantage of the technology is that the acid produced by the photocatalytic
degradation of NOx could cause discoloration on the paint once the calcium carbonate extender is
exhausted which means repainting of the murals would be necessary and would imply additional
cost.

Recommendations

There is not much data regarding the effectiveness of using photocatalytic paints in remediating
curbside and ambient NOx levels. It would be ideal to conduct air monitoring studies in the areas
where the paints have been used (EDSA) to determine if using the “air-cleaning paints” will have
significant impact in reducing NOx levels in the area. Passive diffusion samplers (Figure 3 left)
could be deployed along EDSA to monitor if there is significant reduction of NOx concentration
in the area or the paint can be utilized in buildings near an air monitoring station (Figure 3 right)
that could measure and stored real time data for the level of pollutants around the area.

Figure 3. Passive diffusion samplers (inside red circle) and air monitoring station
If the paint can successfully reduce the NOx levels in the area, the company should design/develop
a more cost-effective process to produce the “air-cleaning paint” to encourage government
investment for future projects.

Conclusion

The NOx concentration along EDSA often times exceed the maximum allowable limit set
by the World Health Organization (WHO). To remediate this, paints utilizing ultrafine titanium
dioxide technology can be utilized to reduce the levels of NOx in the area although the effectiveness
of the technology needs to be validated by conducting comprehensive studies on the NOx
concentration of the air around the area,

References:
CAI-Asia. (2010). Nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) : Status and Trends in Asia.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources - Environmental Management Bureau.
(2012). National Air Quality Status Report 2010-2011.
Krupnick, A., Morgenstern, R., Rolfe, K., Logarta, J., & Rufo, B. (2003). Metro Manila Air
Pollution Control Policy Options for Metro Manila. Resources for the Future, 3(30), 1–61.
Appendix

Figure A1. Emission of NOx from stationary sources (DENR, 2012)

Figure A2. Amount of NOx emitted per region (DENR, 2012)