Quach Duc Huy and Tran My Duyen are students who invented a form of house which protects people from pollution in areas near the Khanh Son, Da Nang City.

The people lived in Khanh Son not only bear the bad odor of rubbish piles in the area, but also have to breathe the polluted air caused by stone exploiting in the site.  

They also discovered toxic gas is emitted by the cause of burning the wastes when they recoverd copper. 

In order to overcome this problem, some kinds of plants have been suggested for growing inside the house and they use some paints containing  titanium dioxide to cover the roof and the yard to oxidize toxic gas. Meanwhile, windows are made of plastics-coated fiberglass.

Titanium dioxide is highly resistant to corrosion, is waterproof and chemically durable. It is able to react to light to neutralize the effects of air pollutants. It is a photocatalytic substance which can oxidize the air pollutants emitted during the burning of hazardous fossil fuels. 

When it is exposed to natural light, TiO2 breaks the nitrogen oxides in the air and turns them into harmless calcium nitrate. Calcium nitrate will wash the roof in the conditions of normal rainfall and is a common fertilizer for plants.

The main door to the house is designed  at the same form of the sail which can be regulated manually in order to avoid dust and toxic gas.

According to the authors, it would take about 10 million VND to upgrade an existing house with an area of 100 square meters into the special house against pollution.
Source: 4/2016, VNN