Roads Make the World Greener

So over in the Netherlands scientists were thinking about doing something that’s pretty cool. First, consider all of the carbon emissions that come out of the tailpipes of cars every day along with other chemicals. One of the major chemicals that come out of a tailpipe is nitrogen oxides. The problem with nitrogen oxides is that they cause acid rain. People that live in densely populated areas have to deal with a lot of smog in the air and it can definitely cause respiratory problems.

               Interestingly enough, at the Eindhoven University of Technology, scientists are coming up with new ways to solve this problem. In the laboratories, they came up with a concrete that can actually reduce nitric oxide. Former concrete contains titanium dioxide and this is a photocatalytic material that has the ability to remove nitrogen oxides from the air. Using sunlight, this nitric oxide can be converted to nitrate. 

On a busy road in the Netherlands, known as Castorweg, the scientists resurfaced it using the air purifying concrete paving stones. Over the course of the fall and the winter, the areas which contained the air purifying stones, in comparison to the regular concrete, showed improved NOx levels ranging from 25% to 45%. Actually although this type of concrete will cost 50% more than regular concrete, but with installation it will end up being only 10% more in costs. Pretty cool huh?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100706082058.htm