Slashdot Mirror
A Concrete Solution To Pollution
PreacherTom writes "With concerns over global warming and pollution control reaching an all-time high, an Italian company has developed an interesting solution. It is called TX Active: a concrete that literally breaks down pollutants in the air. The effects are significant: 'In large cities with persistent pollution problems caused by car emissions, smoke from heating systems, and industrial activities, both the company and outside experts estimate that covering 15% of all visible urban surfaces (painting the walls, repaving the roads) with products containing TX Active could abate pollution by up to 50%.' Even more significant is that the cost is only 30% over that of normal concrete. Remarkable."
And if you use limecrete rather than concrete then you can reduce CO2 emmisions by 40% as well.
Limecrete
Unfortunately the parent (first post) is probably right. Cathalitic convertors (for instance) are still not required in China due to the slight increase in cost of a vehicle. When I was there our tour guide had never even heard of them and was amazed that something existed that could stop some of the thick black smoke coming out of the vehicles there, having no idea (aside from price) why they were not already mandatory.
Warhammer forums
"Buildings, roads and sidewalks have developed an appetite for air pollution. Researchers in Japan and Hong Kong are testing construction materials coated with titanium dioxide--the stuff of white paint and toothpaste--to see how well they can fight pollution. Better known as a pigment for whiteness, titanium dioxide can clear the air because it is an efficient photocatalyst: it speeds the breakdown of water vapor by ultraviolet light. The results of this reaction are hydroxyl radicals, which attack both inorganic and organic compounds, and turn them into molecules that can be harmlessly washed away with the next rainfall." - Scientific American (Feb 2002 Issue)
Reduce, reuse, cycle
Note: the 30% quote is for pavement with this catalyst. Adding the catalyst to paint would cost much less (TFA says $120 for a five-storey building).
>> Emission laws for cars have been hugely successful
NO they haven't. They've been a token gesture. There's still way too much air pollution from vehicles. We need to do more.
Pollution is not absorbed in the "TX active". The organic molecules (which create the pollution) are decomposed at the surface of this product using light energy. That's why it's called photocatalysis. It may contain titanium dioxide in its anatase phase. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tio2#As_a_photocataly st for details.
Catalytic converters will not prevent black smoke if your engine is spent. Cats work mainly on NOx, Hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide, none of these are black smoke. Black smoke is generally soot, and would write off a catalytic converter in all likelihood.
30% increase in price may not convince those that don't consider the environment that important
30% more for the *painting*; when you're dealing with city buildings, this part is next to negligible compared to the rest. If that product is as efficient as TFA says, I don't see it as a problem at all, and personally would like to see it either made non-optional, or tax assisted. The fact it also helps to keep surfaces clean would by itself be enough to motivate buyers.
As with hybrid cars and low-e windows, this is one area where tax credits could make the difference. Presumably the manufacturers and distributors of this stuff were generous in the last round of political campaign fundraising.
From the italcementi site.
TX Active® is a photocatalytic principle for cement products which can reduce organic and inorganic pollutants that are present in the air. Its effectiveness has been thoroughly tested and thus certified by important independent research centers (CNR, ARPA, IspraResearchCenter). Its formulation is the result of 10 years of research, tests and applications carried out by CTG (Centro Tecnico di Gruppo, a company in the Italcementi Group) which has led to the final formulation of the active principle.
Apple iProduct. Non importa cosa sia, lo comprerete!
It's actually fairly common practice in LEED-certified buildings to use concrete walls as thermal stores, where the sheer mass of the concrete makes it effective at storing heat to be radiated back out later.
I knew this sounded familiar. This one is from back in July of 2005 so I suppose it may be worth a repost. The CNN article linked in the earlier post no longer exists.
2 4/064246
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/07/
But why is the rum gone?
On the contrary, cement production adds more CO2 to the atmosphere than the airline industry. (Source) The production of 1 tonne of cement clinker results in the generation of: ~535 kg "process" CO2 from the calcination of limestone; 375 kg CO2 from fuel used in the kiln; and 70kg CO2 "indirect" emissions from the electricity used. (Source)
cause 1% less profits, it's their legal _duty_ to _not_ do it
Not quite. There are grey elements there too - if you can improve your public image by being sane, responsible, ethical, then more people will buy your product. My pension advisor asked me whether I wanted to invest into strictly ethical companies, it seemed to be a standard question; the implication then is that companies with ethical policies get some more investment. Sure, the companies with unethical policies can make more money by those actions, but the companies still have a choice; Google could make more money by being evil! But they somehow still manage to be one of the most lucrative companies.
It's never black and white.
Browsing with +2 to insightful posts and a higher threshold makes the average post seen seem a lot more ingenious