Air Pollution Turns Diamonds - Really, Coming to Beijing

Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde has come up with an innovative plan to tackle Beijing’s air pollution problem – and in doing so, turn a health hazard into a thing of beauty. After a pilot in Rotterdam, the Smog Free Project is coming to China. The project consists of two parts. First, a 7m tall tower sucks up polluted air, and cleans it at a nano-level. Second, the carbon from smog particles is turned into diamonds. Yes, diamonds.



The other aspect of the project will see the captured smog transformed into diamonds. 32% of Beijing’s smog is carbon, which under 30 minutes of pressure can be turned into diamonds. “As a designer, I’m like, this [the Beijing smog] is something we should use, this is something interesting,” he said. “In the future waste should not exist.” The money raised by jewellery made with these diamonds will go towards supporting the development and building more Smog Free towers.

Read the full article @ the World Economic Forum