|
contents | news | |||||||||
| PICADA project go-head for cement that cleans the air  PICADA project (Photocatalytic Innovative Coverings Applications for Depollution Assessment), part of the European "Competitive and Sustainable Growth" research program, certify that photocatalytic cement building materials and coverings absorb and eliminate from 20 to 80% of air pollutants, depending on atmospheric conditions and the level of sunlight that triggers photocatalysis. The recently completed PICADA project, which began in 2002, was a joint effort involving a number of European private and public bodies and the continent's leading research centers – CNR (Italy), CSTB (France) and NCSR Democritos and AUT (Greece) – together with four industrial partners – Italcementi Group (Italy), GTM Construction (France), DBT (Denmark), Millennium Chemicals (United Kingdom)."Architects and materials for the cities of the future", a conference organized as part of the "Italcementi day" at the 10.International Architecture Biennale in Venice, provided an insight, in the form of the results of the PICADA project, into the way photoactive cements can help improve the quality of urban life. The project researchers conducted laboratory and full-scale tests to determine the ability of varying strengths of titanium dioxide to remove pollutants (NOx and aromatic compounds), and consequently assess the substance's potential for use in building construction materials, such as wall facings. After completing four years of research into photoactive processes, the EU researchers have certified that the new materials offer a significant contribution to reduction of air pollutants. Italcementi – whose laboratories patented the TX Active photoactive principle for cement products – worked with the PICADA project researchers on developing and executing, in a laboratory environment, test procedures to study photoactive removal of organic and nonorganic substances in the concentrations normally found in outdoor urban environments. The experiments conducted by the ITC CNR labs were of fundamental importance in measuring emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) from building materials, in particular in monitoring the techniques developed over the last few years to re-create and verify atmospheres with a predetermined trace VOC content. The commitment to innovation geared to Sustainable Development and the results of the PICADA project led to the Venice conference featuring Italcementi and Vema, the city of the future being shown in the Italian Pavilion. During the conference, speakers presented data and analyses on photocatalysts, discussed their new applications in urban areas and illustrated prospects for their use in cities. The effectiveness of the depolluting properties of TX Active cements has already been tested in other practical applications organized by the Italcementi researchers. In Bergamo, for example, a road has been paved with blocks made from cement containing TX Active. Using a mathematical model and the lab data obtained with the blocks, it was demonstrated that on a 500-meter road with two-way traffic and 400 vehicles an hour, pollution was reduced to the equivalent produced by 150 vehicles. In Segrate, in the province of Milan, a TX Active photocatalytic mortar was used to resurface a section of via Morandi, with daily traffic of approximately 1,000 vehicles/hour; the test certified a reduction of around 60% in nitrous oxide. Photoactive materials have been used on countless projects in many Italian cities, including Brescia, Forlì, Florence and Rome. Major works of architecture built with TX Active products include the Dives in Misericordia church in Rome and, in France, the new Air France building at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, the Citè de la Musique et des Beaux Arts in Chambéry and the Hotel de Police in Bordeaux. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Construction News :: home page |