>Trorov at 22:44, 2 May 2021

2021-05-02T22:44:50Z

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{{Multiple issues|
{{Notability|Companies|date=October 2020}}
{{POV|date=October 2020}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2018}}
{{Infobox company
| name = AIR-INK
| logo = https://www.peopleofprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/AirInk013.png
| logo_size =
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| trading_name =
| type = Private
| industry = [[Material Science]], [[Industrial inks]]
| founded = 2016
| founder = MIT Media Lab
| hq_location_city = [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]]
| hq_location_country = [[United States of America]]
| area_served =
| key_people = Anirudh Sharma, Nikhil Kaushik, Chris Bremen<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ted.com/talks/anirudh_sharma_ink_made_of_air_pollution|title=air-ink home page|publisher=}}</ref>
| products = 'Kaalink,' [[Pen]]s, industrial inks, [[spray paints]], markers
| brands =
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| website = {{URL|www.graviky.com/}}
}}

'''AIR-INK''' is a proprietary brand of [[ink]] and composites products made by condensing [[carbon]]-based gaseous effluents generated by [[air pollution]] due to [[incomplete combustion]] of [[fossil fuels]].<ref name="dwell">{{cite journal |title=Pollution ink |journal=[[Dwell (magazine)|Dwell]] |year=2019 |issue=2 |page=34 }}</ref> Founded by Graviky Labs, a spin-off group of [[MIT Media Lab]], AIR-INK produces its materials through a step-by-step process which primarily involves capturing of emissions, separation of [[carbon]] from the emissions, and then mixing of this carbon with different types of oils and solutions to achieve advanced material properties. It uses a patented device and technique called 'KAALINK' to carry out the filtration of soot, which contains carbon and other polluting agents like [[heavy metals]] and [[Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon]].

AIR-INK is marketed as a solution to [[air pollution]] and its negative effects on human life, by allowing the print industry to offset its carbon. Dubbed as "the first ink made out of recycled air pollution," its products were used in June 2016 in association with [[Heineken]] to create [[street art]] and [[murals]] in [[Hong Kong]]'s [[Sheung Wan]] district.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.graviky.com/air-ink.html|title=Kaalink|publisher=}}</ref> 30–50 minutes of car pollution can supply enough [[carbon]] to fill one AIR-INK pen.

==History==
Anirudh Sharma, the founder of Graviky Labs, first conceived the idea of AIR-INK during an experiment at MIT, while designing a printer that could print with carbon nanoparticles. Sharma and his team spent close to three years researching how to purify and repurpose carbon soot from auto and factory emissions, a major contributor to air pollution and global carbon footprint.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.in/This-company-is-turning-car-exhaust-into-inks-and-paints/articleshow/53834554.cms|title=This company is turning car exhaust into inks and paints|publisher=Business Insider}}</ref> In 2013, the Fluid Interfaces research group, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology demonstrated the process of converting carbon residue into ink for use in an inkjet cartridge.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fluid.media.mit.edu/projects/kaala-printer-prints-uses-pollution-ink |title=KAALINK-RECYCLING AIR POLLUTION TO BLACK INK KAALA PRINTER-RECYCLING AIR POLLUTION TO BLACK INK |publisher=Fluid Interface research group}}</ref>

In 2016, AIR-INK products were given to graphic artists in [[Hong Kong]], which is known for its high air pollution,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2015/04/21/natpkg-open-mic-hong-kong-pollution.cnn|title='I barely can breathe': Hong Kong's pollution problem - CNN Video|publisher=}}</ref> who were requested to paint murals. An artist, who participated in this campaign, said of the product, "genius, and deserves a chance."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/27/arts/air-ink-painting-with-pollution/index.html|title=Here's how to paint with pollution|first=Zahra |last=Jamshed|publisher=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://gizmodo.com/this-artists-ink-is-made-from-air-pollution-1785366606|title=This Ink For Artists Is Made From Air Pollution|first=Jennifer|last=Ouellette|publisher=}}</ref>

==Technology==
Soot composed of 2.5-micrometer black carbon particles found in petrol or diesel [[Exhaust gas|carbon emissions]] is captured from the [[tailpipe]]s of cars and diesel generators through a device called 'Kaalink.' A separate ensures that carbon particulate is recycled into safe inks without heavy metals/toxins<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iflscience.com/environment/these-pens-use-ink-made-out-of-recycled-air-pollution/ |title=These Pens Use Ink Made Out Of Recycled Air Pollution |publisher=IFL Science |date=17 August 2016}}</ref> A single Air Ink pen contains 30–50 minutes of air pollution.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://spectrum.mit.edu/continuum/an-artful-solution-for-capturing-pollution/|title=An Artful Solution for Capturing Pollution - MIT Spectrum|publisher=}}</ref> The emissions from 2,500 hours of driving one standard diesel vehicle produces about 150 litres of ink.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://inhabitat.com/new-graffiti-ink-made-from-pollution-hits-the-streets-of-hong-kong/ |title=New graffiti ink made from pollution hits the streets of Hong Kong |publisher=inhabitat |date=21 June 2016}}</ref>

==='Kaalink'===
Kaalink is a cylindrical device that is retrofitted into a diesel generators' exhaust system or exhaust pipe to collect the emissions. It can collect up to 93% of the total exhaust, which is then processed to remove heavy metals and carcinogens.<ref name="dwell"/> The end-product from this device is a purified carbon-based pigment. Kaalink has been tested on cars, trucks, motorcycles and fishing boats in [[Bangalore]] and [[Hong Kong]]. The company now has started to work on capturing pollution from static sources of emission such as diesel generators.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://observers.france24.com/en/20160819-converting-tailpipe-carbon-emissions-ink |title=Turning car emissions into ink |publisher=France24 |date=26 August 2016}}</ref> Third party polluters also send in their PM2.5 pollution to Graviky's recycling warehouses.

Some critics have proposed this device will act similar to a [[Diesel Particulate Filter]], which has been shown to increase back pressure on the engine, thereby marginally affecting the efficiency of the engine, resulting in a loss of power, decreased mileage, and increased CO2 emissions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sae.org/publications/technical-papers/content/2010-01-0535/ |title=Dependence of Fuel Consumption on Engine Backpressure Generated by a DPF |publisher=SAE.org |date=12 April 2010}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==

{{refbegin}}

* {{Cite news| issn = 1059-1028| last = Stinson| first = Liz| title = Hey Eco-Warriors: Now You Can Buy Ink Made of Car Exhaust| work = Wired| accessdate = 2019-09-15| date = 2017-02-07| url = https://www.wired.com/2017/02/hey-eco-warriors-now-can-buy-ink-made-car-exhaust/}}

{{refend}}

==External links==
*{{Site|http://www.graviky.com/|Graviky Labs}}

[[Category:Companies based in Bangalore]]
[[Category:Emissions reduction]]
[[Category:Indian brands]]
[[Category:Inks]]
[[Category:Kickstarter-funded products]]
[[Category:2016 establishments in Karnataka]]

Air Ink - Revision history

>Trorov at 22:44, 2 May 2021