The in-vehicle air purification market could reach trillions.

　　A new air-purification technology recently passed the scientific and technological achievement evaluation organized by the China Association for High-Tech Industrialization, and is regarded as filling a gap in the domestic market for similar products while reaching an internationally advanced level. Experts in the field note that the air-purification technology market holds vast potential, with the in-vehicle air-purification segment alone projected to be worth trillions of yuan.

　　As air pollution and smog worsen across the country, air purification has become a hot topic, and with cars serving as spaces people interact with on a daily basis, in-car air purification has emerged as a key area of focus. In response to this consumer demand, many domestic automakers now prominently feature in-car air purification as a major selling point for their vehicles.

　　Experts have stated that more than 95% of air-purification products currently available in China rely on activated-carbon adsorption technology, yet product quality varies widely. “If evaluated strictly according to established standards, many of these products would not be permitted to be sold on the market,” one expert noted. “Many of these products would not be permitted to be sold on the market,” another expert added.

　　Meanwhile, in response to the current trend among domestic consumers of eagerly purchasing foreign-made air purifiers, some experts point out that these high-priced products do not necessarily deliver superior performance in air purification. “Air quality conditions abroad differ from those in China; for instance, the primary concern in Chinese air is particulate matter, including PM2.5, whereas such pollutants are relatively scarce overseas. Foreign air purifiers are often designed primarily to reduce allergens like pollen. Consequently, when imported models are used in China, they may not fully meet our specific needs.”

　　Experts note that among the commonly used air-purification methods today, high-voltage electrostatic dust-collection technology is effective at removing particulate matter but has little impact on eliminating harmful volatile organic compounds such as formaldehyde and toluene; negative-ion and active-oxygen technologies can moderately reduce levels of these VOCs but are less effective at capturing particulates and may also generate ozone; activated-carbon adsorption boasts strong adsorption capacity and can efficiently remove indoor formaldehyde, toluene, and other harmful VOCs, yet its ability to capture particulates is limited, it can itself lead to secondary pollution, and it is subject to adsorption saturation; photocatalytic decomposition technology can effectively adsorb indoor formaldehyde, toluene, and other harmful VOCs, but its performance in removing particulates is modest, and it is also relatively ineffective at eliminating low-concentration formaldehyde and toluene.

　　This new air-purification technology, which has now been evaluated as a scientific and technological achievement, was independently developed over six years by a company in Hubei Province. It can efficiently remove a wide range of volatile harmful substances from the air, including formaldehyde, benzene-series compounds, carbon monoxide, and chlorobenzene, as well as particulate matter (PM2.5), bacteria, viruses, and pollen.

　　According to Chairman Zhou Qianyin, this new technology delivers significantly superior air-purification performance compared with currently available air purifiers on the market. By incorporating a pre-treatment step prior to the adsorptive photocatalytic reaction, the new product enhances its ability to adsorb harmful substances such as formaldehyde and toluene before the catalytic process, thereby increasing the concentration of these pollutants at the catalyst site and more effectively reducing their levels.

　　“Simply put, current air-purification products can only reduce indoor and in-vehicle concentrations of harmful substances such as formaldehyde and toluene to a certain level—and then the reduction stalls because the reaction concentration is insufficient. By adding a pre-treatment technology before the purification reaction, we can concentrate the remaining harmful substances prior to the reaction, thereby increasing their concentration and enabling the purification process to continue, which significantly lowers the levels of these pollutants,” said Zhou Qianyin. He added that this technology can rapidly eliminate multiple airborne pollutants in a single step and maintain continuous purification until the air is completely clean, effectively preventing secondary pollution. Moreover, compared with existing products, it also offers lower maintenance and operating costs.