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'Self-cleaning' pollution-control technology could do more harm than good, study suggests
http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/24329.html[font face=Serif][font size=5]'Self-cleaning' pollution-control technology could do more harm than good, study suggests[/font]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 13, 2013
[font size=3]BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Research by Indiana University environmental scientists shows that air-pollution-removal technology used in "self-cleaning" paints and building surfaces may actually cause more problems than they solve.
The study finds that titanium dioxide coatings, seen as promising for their role in breaking down airborne pollutants on contact, are likely in real-world conditions to convert abundant ammonia to nitrogen oxide, the key precursor of harmful ozone pollution.
"As air quality standards become more stringent, people are going to be thinking about other technologies that can reduce pollution," said Jonathan D. Raff, assistant professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IU Bloomington and an author of the study. "Our research suggests that this may not be one of them."
"Photooxidation of Ammonia on TiO2 as a Source of NO and NO2 under Atmospheric Conditions" is being published by the Journal of the American Chemical Society and is available online. Other authors include SPEA doctoral students Mulu Kebede and Nicole Scharko, Mychel Varner of the University of California-Irvine and R. Benny Gerber of UC-Irvine and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
…[/font][/font]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 13, 2013
[font size=3]BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Research by Indiana University environmental scientists shows that air-pollution-removal technology used in "self-cleaning" paints and building surfaces may actually cause more problems than they solve.
The study finds that titanium dioxide coatings, seen as promising for their role in breaking down airborne pollutants on contact, are likely in real-world conditions to convert abundant ammonia to nitrogen oxide, the key precursor of harmful ozone pollution.
"As air quality standards become more stringent, people are going to be thinking about other technologies that can reduce pollution," said Jonathan D. Raff, assistant professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IU Bloomington and an author of the study. "Our research suggests that this may not be one of them."
"Photooxidation of Ammonia on TiO2 as a Source of NO and NO2 under Atmospheric Conditions" is being published by the Journal of the American Chemical Society and is available online. Other authors include SPEA doctoral students Mulu Kebede and Nicole Scharko, Mychel Varner of the University of California-Irvine and R. Benny Gerber of UC-Irvine and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
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