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China To Test Smog-Clearing Drone
Last update: 05/03/2014
By Niam Seet Wei
BEIJING, March 5 (Bernama) -- China is to test its home-made smog-clearing drone to curb the increasingly hazardous air.
Experts from the China Meteorological Administration and the aviation industry would conduct the first test of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at airports and ports this month, Xinhua news agency reported.
Xinhua quoted Ma Yongsheng, chief executive officer of state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China as saying that the UAV, with soft wings, had a maximum load of 700kg smog-clearing chemicals and was able to conduct the smog- clearing operation within a five-kilometre radius.
Its operation cost was 90 per cent cheaper compared with the hard-wing drone while its purchase and maintenance cost was 20 to 30 per cent cheaper than other types, Ma said.
He also said that it also enjoyed longer, smoother and safer flights, and could be widely used to conduct agricultural sowing, emergency rescue and other tasks.
China has been using aircraft and drones to spray chemicals as a novel approach to tackle severe air pollution for several years.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang declared war against pollution during the opening of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's annual parliament meeting, on Wednesday due to the country's worsening smog.
Li said the government would adopt strong measures to fight the worsening pollution, and would start by reducing PM10 and PM2.5 emissions, focus on improving the industrial structure, raise energy efficiency, reduce vehicle exhaust emissions and prevent and monitor wind-borne dust.
He said that this year, a total of 50,000 small coal-fired furnaces would be shut down and replaced by desulphurisation facilities, denitrification facilities and dust control devices while six million old vehicles would be banned from the road as well.
The government pledged to cut energy intensity by more than 3.9 per cent this year, and to reduce emission of sulphur dioxide and chemical oxygen demand by two per cent, he added.
-- BERNAMA
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