China to use drones to clear its smog-filled skies by spraying the pollution with chemicals which make the particles fall to the ground
By kchild2013 on March 7, 2014 • ( 2 )
•Device is designed to tackle the worsening pollution crisis
•Scientists have likened the smog in Beijing to a nuclear winter
•Premier Li Keqiang has declared a ‘war on pollution’
By Leon Watson, 5 March 2014, MailOnline
China will test a new drone to clear the toxic smog that is filling its skies with pollution, it emerged today.
The device is designed to tackle the worsening pollution crisis that has seen scientists liken the smog in Beijing to the effects of a nuclear winter.
Trials for the unmanned aerial vehicle are expected to take place at airports and ports later this month, Ma Yongsheng, an aviation official who is a delegate to the National People’s Congress, said.
The project is being led by the China Meteorological Administration and aviation experts, state news agency Xinhua reported.
Ma is the CEO of state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China, which has developed the nation’s first parafoil UAV, which can carry up to 700kg of smog-clearing chemicals that can be used within a five-kilometre radius.
For several years, China has used aeroplanes and fixed-wing drones to spray chemicals in the air which freeze pollutants, allowing the particles to fall to the ground.
The soft-wing UAV can carry three times more weight than fixed-wing drones and is 90 per cent less expensive to operate.
The purchase and maintenance cost of the new drone is 20 to 30 per cent cheaper than other types, the South China Morning Post reported.
Ma said the drone was easy to control and had no complicated landing requirements, making it suitable for airport and port conditions.
He said the drone could also be used for emergency rescue, disaster relief, aerial photography and surveying activities. It can also be used in agriculture, as it can spread seeds over a designated area.
Premier Li Keqiang has declared a ‘war on pollution’ at the start of the annual meeting of the NPC and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Beijing.
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