{"id":963,"date":"2026-06-05T06:22:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T06:22:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greencampus.uph.edu\/?p=963"},"modified":"2026-06-05T06:25:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T06:25:25","slug":"cleaning-the-air-uph-industrial-engineering-turns-styrofoam-waste-into-innovative-air-purifier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greencampus.uph.edu\/?p=963","title":{"rendered":"Cleaning the Air: UPH Industrial Engineering Turns Styrofoam Waste into Innovative Air Purifier\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"963\" class=\"elementor elementor-963\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-24db934 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"24db934\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-8971e13\" data-id=\"8971e13\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4973bdd elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4973bdd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span class=\"TextRun SCXW259858750 BCX8\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW259858750 BCX8\">Styrofoam is one of the most non-degradable forms of plastic, taking centuries to break down in landfills.&nbsp;<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW259858750 BCX8\">To help solve<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW259858750 BCX8\">&nbsp;<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW259858750 BCX8\">this problem,&nbsp;<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW259858750 BCX8\">Universitas Pelita Harapan\u2019s (UPH) Department of Industrial Engineering has developed a prototype that&nbsp;<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW259858750 BCX8\">recycle<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW259858750 BCX8\">&nbsp;<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW259858750 BCX8\">discarded styrofoam waste into a high-tech air purifier. Designed specifically to combat urban air pollution, this innovative device targets dangerous particulate matter<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW259858750 BCX8\">,&nbsp;<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW259858750 BCX8\">specifically PM 1, PM 2.5, and PM 10<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW259858750 BCX8\">,&nbsp;<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW259858750 BCX8\">which are microscopic particles commonly emitted by vehicle exhaust that can easily penetrate our lungs.<\/span><\/span><span class=\"EOP SCXW259858750 BCX8\" data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-7aef868 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"7aef868\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-0150bf6\" data-id=\"0150bf6\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-941abff elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"941abff\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"263\" src=\"https:\/\/greencampus.uph.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Air-Purifier-300x263.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-image-964\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/greencampus.uph.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Air-Purifier-300x263.png 300w, https:\/\/greencampus.uph.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Air-Purifier-1024x898.png 1024w, https:\/\/greencampus.uph.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Air-Purifier-768x673.png 768w, https:\/\/greencampus.uph.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Air-Purifier.png 1121w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\"> Cleaning the Air: UPH Industrial Engineering Turns Styrofoam Waste into Innovative Air Purifier<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-84d9460 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"84d9460\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-d318e7f\" data-id=\"d318e7f\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-70b060f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"70b060f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>What makes this purifier\u00a0interesting\u00a0is how it generates power. It\u00a0utilizes\u00a0a technology called a\u00a0triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG). TENG is a specialized energy-harvesting device that converts simple mechanical energy,\u00a0like\u00a0everyday\u00a0ambient vibrations, motion, or pressure,\u00a0into electrical energy. By using discarded\u00a0styrofoam\u00a0as the core material to trigger this static-electricity effect, the device generates its own filtration power from the movement around it, creating a highly sustainable, self-powering system.\u00a0<\/p><p>The prototype&#8217;s\u00a0initial\u00a0testing has yielded incredibly promising results. Even in its\u00a0early stages, the device successfully filtered out\u00a0&gt;65%\u00a0of PM\u00a0particles from the air. While the research team notes that the prototype still requires further modification and fine-tuning before it can be mass-produced, this breakthrough stands as a powerful testament to UPH&#8217;s commitment to circular economy solutions,\u00a0proving that yesterday&#8217;s waste can become tomorrow&#8217;s clean air technology.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Styrofoam is one of the most non-degradable forms of plastic, taking centuries to break down in landfills.&nbsp;To help solve&nbsp;this problem,&nbsp;Universitas Pelita Harapan\u2019s (UPH) Department of Industrial Engineering has developed a prototype that&nbsp;recycle&nbsp;discarded styrofoam waste into a high-tech air purifier. Designed specifically to combat urban air pollution, this innovative device targets dangerous particulate matter,&nbsp;specifically PM 1, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-container-style":"default","site-container-layout":"default","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-transparent-header":"default","disable-article-header":"default","disable-site-header":"default","disable-site-footer":"default","disable-content-area-spacing":"default","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greencampus.uph.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greencampus.uph.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greencampus.uph.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greencampus.uph.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greencampus.uph.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=963"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/greencampus.uph.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":967,"href":"https:\/\/greencampus.uph.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/963\/revisions\/967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greencampus.uph.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greencampus.uph.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greencampus.uph.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}