Self-Cleaning, Pollutant-Eating Cement

 

Cement is used in a wide variety of settings, as this graphic from Italian cement maker Italcementi shows. A new cement formula could help remove air pollution from urban environments.

An Italian company has created a photocatalytic cement that reacts with light to break down nitrogen dioxide compounds. The concrete also breaks down other organic and inorganic substances responsible for air pollution by using light and air.

The cement, treated with titanium dioxide, reacts with ultraviolet light to decompose smog-forming nitrogen dioxides. Photocatalytic white cement is able to keep architectural cement clean and white due to its self-cleaning abilities.

Photocatalysis occurs naturally when a substance known as photocatalyst uses light to change the rate of a chemical reaction. By using energy from light, photocatalysts can induce the formation of powerful oxidizing reagents that decompose some organic and inorganic substances in the atmosphere by oxidation.

For more than a decade, photocatalysis has been used in materials such as glass, ceramic and cementitious binder to obtain a self-cleaning effect. The Photocatalytic Innovative Coverings Applications for De-pollution Assessment (PICADA) is currently testing photocatalytic concrete streets and walls to significantly lower nitrogen oxide levels in urban areas.

The cement maker, Italcementi Group, is the parent company of ESSROC, a leading manufacturer of cement and chemical admixtures in North America.

Find more information at: www.italcementigroup.com