Meilin Song

• BEng (Hons) Chemical Engineering
• Learning from trees: do we get dirtier air in the Winter time because trees shed their leaves?

The threat that air pollution poses to human populations is a significant global issue. There are few methods available for the large-scale removal of pollutants from the atmosphere, however, it has recently been demonstrated, in city-scale studies, that trees represent one of the few effective options. In particular, growth of roadside trees appears to be one of the most promising ways to reduce urban particulate matters (PM) concentrations, and two recent empirical studies found >50% reduction in PM10 level inside houses screened by a line of trees. The goal of this project is to work with chemical engineers and biologists to learn the underlying/hidden filtration mechanism from trees and grasses. The knowledge gained from this study will help us to design a robust, and high efficiency capture system to aid in solving a major global pollution problem. In particular, we attempt to answer the long-standing research question ‘is there a correlation between air quality and leaf detachment in the Winter time?’

Funding source: Newcastle University

Project supervisor: Dr Steven Wang and Dr Stevin Pramana