The advent of spring in Korea brings warmer temperatures,... but also brings a guest that always outstays its welcome: fine dust.
Help may be at hand with local researchers developing a new nano-fiber based filter technology that can collect more nasty particles than anything that's on the market now.
Cho Sung-min reports.


Local researchers have recently come up with a new air-filtering technology using nano-fiber material.
The tiny fibers enable the material to catch more of the microscopic fine dust pollution that's been making Korea's skies so hazy this spring.
Teams from the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology and from Chonnam National University... say their material collects 25 percent more fine dust than existing air filters.
If used in a car, it could get rid of all the fine dust inside in just 16 minutes.
That's even if the dust was at the level of 70 micrograms per square meter... more than twice the amount considered safe by the World Health Organization.

The new material also helps reduce pressure loss -- something that's a problem with almost all fiber-based air filters on the market.
Normally, filters that catch a lot of dust also block air circulation, creates noise and consumes more energy.
The new nano-fiber material, in that respect, is a huge improvement.

"Compared to existing fiber-based models... we were able to minimize pressure loss by 30 percent while maintaining the same dust collection capacity."

The team says, in addition to cars, the technology could also work in smart masks and window filters.
Currently, they're looking at other areas, like batteries and medical equipment,...where the technology could be implemented.
Cho Sung-min, arirang news.