„A kdy bude možné vaše produkty koupit?“ Návštěvníci summitu a expa o udržitelnosti, který proběhl pod názvem Planet Budapest v Maďarsku, byli překvapeni, že představované české nanotechnologické výrobky už lze zakoupit. Nejvíce laickou veřejnost zaujala udržitelná móda z nanomateriálů, nátěry, které čistí vzduch, nanoroušky, kosmetika z nanovlákenné membrány či lůžkoviny pro alergiky. Zástupci firem se zas nejvíce zajímali o ozónové generátory s destruktorem či způsoby čištění bazénové vody bez používání chlóru.

Cleaning water without chlorine

The Czech company Lifetech focuses on non-chemical cleaning of air and water. Chlorine is precisely the major problem, and not only for allergy sufferers. „Chlorine does work as a relatively reliable disinfectant, but on the other hand it is associated with the formation of toxic chemicals; one of the most dangerous is trichloramine, which is responsible for the majority of allergic reactions,“ explains Lifetech’s representative Michael Carvan. The Czech company therefore helps people clean their pools using safe medium-pressure UV lamps or ozonation. Ozone is also used in air purification.

„The use of ozone is completely safe and 100% environmentally friendly. Cleaning relies solely on the power of converting oxygen into active ozone,“ explains Carvan. Czechs are most familiar with their miniature ozone generator Ozzy, which is used in cars to remove odours and allergens from the car and from the air conditioning. 

Nano fashion from the Czech Republic

The well-known Czech designer Lada Vyvialová also came to Planet Budapest; she is one of the few people in the world who makes fashion from nanomaterials. Lada Vyvialová has long drawn attention in the Czech Republic to the unsustainability of the fashion industry, which churns out billions of items of poor-quality clothing every year. „Patented nanotechnologies give our designs exceptional properties and make them unmistakable,“ says Lada Vyvialová, explaining why she ventured into nanotechnology.

Paradoxically, she was led to it by her search for the most sustainable possible material for making clothing. Clothing made with nanotechnologies is antibacterial and destroys odours, and the materials used by Lada Vyvialová were originally intended for healthcare, for making the corsets used after operations. 

Nano coatings could clean up Budapest

The photocatalytic FN NANO coatings, which clean the air of pollutants and exhaust fumes, also attracted great interest at the expo. For Budapest, the use of smart coatings is topical, as the historic part of the city is currently undergoing extensive renovation. 

„Like Prague, Budapest has poor atmospheric dispersion conditions, and almost the entire city exceeds the permitted limits for nitrogen oxides and other fumes every day. Intelligent coatings are therefore ideal for the transitional period from diesel engines to electromobility, when they can take care of cleaning the air in the streets and reduce emissions to within the permitted limits,“ explains Jan Procházka of Advanced Materials-JTJ.

Cosmetics without preservatives

The Czech nanotechnology company Nanopharma presented dry nanofibre face masks at the expo. The advantage of dry nanofibre masks lies precisely in their added environmental value, as there is no need to use the preservatives required to stabilise standard sheet masks.

Nano face masks are not yet known in Hungary

„Our big theme is sustainability; we believe that innovative products should not only solve people’s problems in more efficient ways, but should at the same time be gentler on nature,“ says Lucie Konečná of nanoSPACE, a manufacturer of anti-mite bedding with a nanofibre membrane. At the summit they presented sustainable packaging and bed linen combining organic cotton and a nanofibre membrane. 

„What surprised us most was that in Hungary they are not at all familiar with nano face masks or nano respirators. Nanofibre protective equipment sounds like science fiction to them, and they are surprised that in the Czech Republic it is commonly on sale,“ recounts Konečná.