Germany’s Fraunhofer-Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME) in Munich, together with the German city of Fulda, and pavement manufacturer F. C. Nüdling Basaltwerke GmbH, also in Fulda, have tested a new paving material that reduces the amount of nitrogen oxide pollutants in the air.
High levels of nitrogen oxide in urban areas are often caused by auto emissions. To cut the nitrogen oxide from car traffic, Fulda replaced the pavement on one of its main streets with pavement made by F. C. Nüdling that coats the cement driving surface with titanium dioxide nanoparticles.
IME’s Monika Herrchen field tested several samples of F. C. Nüdling’s pavement, varying the surfaces, colors, types of cement, and titanium dioxide content. Herrchen’s tests found the optimized samples degraded the nitrogen oxide by 20 to 30 percent. In calm winds, degradation rates reached as high as 70 percent.
In the coated pavement, the titanium dioxide nanoparticles act as photocatalyst, using sunlight to accelerate a naturally occurring chemical reaction. The more sunlight available, the faster the degradation of nitrogen oxide. The testers also found the coated pavement to hold up to wear-and-tear from traffic as well as the regular (uncoated) varieties.
Photo: Greg Chiasson/Flickr
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