High-tech road pavements decompose nitrogen oxides
In summer 2015 the European Commission submitted a complaint to Germany due to several years of non-compliance with the threshold value of 40 µg/m³ stipulated for nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a major air pollutants.
The Federal Ministry of the Environment attributes more than 45,000 deaths per year to excessively high particulate and nitrogen dioxide concentrations in Germany. Vehicle traffic emits a particularly large amount of this pollutant gas.
Alternative to traffic prohibitions
Enlarged low-emission zones, traffic slow-downs or even prohibitions are very unpopular with the general public. Concrete pavers that contain Photoment provide a practical alternative to effectively improve the quality of the air in polluted city areas.
Over several years, this concrete additive has been developed and improved by Steag Power Minerals in cooperation with Kronos. It can be added to any type of concrete paver. Light triggers photocatalytic processes that decompose airborne nitrogen dioxide – without requiring additional energy input. A Photoment pavement the size of a FIFA football pitch has the capacity to remove 17 g/h of nitrogen oxides from the air we breathe, thus completely neutralizing the associated harmful effect.
