Swedish furniture retailer Ikea has developed a curtain that it says is capable of reducing indoor air pollutants.
The product, called "Gunrid", works in a similar way to photosynthesis, according to the company, as the curtain is coated in a "mineral-based, photo catalyst coating" that breaks down odours and pollutants such as formaldehyde when exposed to light.
Ikea says a team of engineers, designers and specialists have been working on the technology for years, and have collaborated with universities in Europe and Asia on the product, which has been tested in the laboratory but still needs to be trialled in homes.
Mauricio Affonso, Gunrid’s product developer, said: "We wanted to create a simple, convenient and affordable way to clean air that wouldn’t take up much space in people’s homes."
He added: "Photo catalysts are generally only activated by sunlight, but the coating we have developed together with our partners also reacts to indoor light."
Gunrid will be available in Ikea shops from 2020.
The firm notes that the World Health Organisation says "air pollution is the single largest environmental health risk, estimated to kill one in eight people globally, due to heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease and cancer".Â
Image courtesy of Ikea
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If this is based on Titanium Dioxide technology then its made by one of the most heavily polluting manufacturing processes in order to clean the indoor atmosphere.
This probably needs a some serious Life Cycle Assessment to prove its going to clean up more than it polluted in the first place.
Over to you guys to prove it make sense.