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Dutch Town to Be Paved With Air Pollution-Sucking Bricks
Posted by Kit Eaton at 7:39 PM on August 7, 2008
The small Dutch town of Hengelo is about to test out a new kind of concrete paving slab that actually grabs onto the car-exhaust pollutant nitrogen oxide (a key smog and acid rain ingredient) sucking it out of the air and rendering it harmless. The special bricks contain a component based on titanium dioxide that acts to "fix" the pollutant with the aid of sunlight. The best bit is that the resulting nitrates just wash away with the next rain. Clever stuff: and if the trial results next summer show improved air quality, I'm sure we'll see environmentalists dancing along singing "Follow the green concrete road!" Or something. [Physorg]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
User Formerly known as Arelar
Posted 8:34 PM 7/8/08
sweeping it under the carpet? again?
User Formerly known as Arelar
Tired_
Posted 8:30 PM 7/8/08
Mmmm. Algae blooms and dead fish. Harmless?
Tired_
j05hu4
Posted 8:44 PM 7/8/08
I was born in Hengelo, this too will be a big step towards a better world...
j05hu4
jrguitar311
Posted 9:19 PM 7/8/08
Awesome idea I hope it works.
jrguitar311
Git Em SteveDave displays attention-grabbing vanity
Posted 9:49 PM 7/8/08
Everyone's gonna be soooo pissed when Al Gore reveals his true identity and lets us know that the planet is now cool enough for his people to colonize.
Git Em SteveDave displays attention-grabbing vanity
SirNirian
Posted 9:38 PM 7/8/08
That's awesome It's about time they start investing time and money into things that are going to help the environment instead of useless surveys and what not.
SirNirian
CubFan81
Posted 10:17 PM 7/8/08
So what they're saying is they'd rather have dirty water than dirty air. Then clean the water at some plant just so they'll be able to drink of and hope that it's not one of those normal plants that pollute the air.
CubFan81
Gann
Posted 11:03 PM 7/8/08
if this concept works in asphalt or concrete, then we're getting somewhere. These pavers are nice, but too expensive to apply on a large scale.
Gann
DisposableInterloper
Posted 11:17 PM 7/8/08
Didn't Beijing do something like this? Or was it Hong Kong? In any event, some Chinese city covered damn near everything - roads, buildings, sidewalks - with titanium dioxide, and last I heard, it only had a minimal impact on pollution levels.
DisposableInterloper
DisposableInterloper
Posted 11:40 PM 7/8/08
@Me:
I just double-checked. T'was Beijing in preparation for the Olympics. Roads and whatnot got coated with a polymer containing TiO2, according to Treehugger.
Can't seem to find the source about air quality not being affected, though.
DisposableInterloper
Nyle
Posted 12:08 AM 8/8/08
Great idea, now take the rain water and send it through a swamp to eat the extra nitrates and create more oxygen.
Nyle
philbert
Posted 12:23 AM 8/8/08
They could take a hint from "The Simpsons Movie" and just dome Beijing for being too polluted... Just take out any sandboxes first.
philbert
damnElantra
Posted 1:10 AM 8/8/08
would this only work marginally without a constant stream of air passing through the bricks?
damnElantra
gloveofpower
Posted 1:40 AM 8/8/08
WOW! That's a sweet idea!
gloveofpower
ChowderFacial
Posted 3:57 AM 8/8/08
So what drunk moron is going to be the first to get his penis caught in the sucking force....Maybe it will make a great reality show stunt...
ChowderFacial
Thrillcekr
Posted 4:51 AM 8/8/08
@Gann: True but they say those pavers are getting much cheaper. I was reading something awhile back about Lawrence, Kansas was going to start restoring the roads in some of the neighborhoods to brick ones because it's no longer cost prohibitive.
Thrillcekr
Thrillcekr
Posted 4:48 AM 8/8/08
@Git Em SteveDave displays attention-grabbing vanity: Hahahahaha! Good one. Even Al Gore would get a laugh out of that. Seriously though, I'm so impressed with the innovation that's going on these days in this regard. I hear clean planets are good but I couldn't tell ya. I've never lived on one.
Signed,
Al Gore
Alien Boy
Thrillcekr
StopTheLHC
Posted 4:42 AM 8/8/08
Awesome, now it won't be a Dutch oven...
StopTheLHC
GadgetPlay
Posted 5:27 AM 8/8/08
Unintended consequences, anyone?
GadgetPlay
Git Em SteveDave displays attention-grabbing vanity
Posted 5:50 AM 8/8/08
@GadgetPlay: We will find out it dissolves rubber. It will only be viable to the Dutch and their Clogs and the Japanese and their Geisha shoes.
Git Em SteveDave displays attention-grabbing vanity
Gregpooh
Posted 11:51 PM 7/8/08
Yeah, Having lots more Nitrogen in the water supply could be potentially more damaging to the environment than a little smog.
What happens when all the dripping oil from passing motorcars mixes with the nitrogen on the road? Isn't that what they make Fetilizer/Fuel-oil bombs out of?!
Gregpooh
kathartik
Posted 8:40 AM 8/8/08
they better have armed guards to protect the streets from manbearpig
kathartik
Git Em SteveDave displays attention-grabbing vanity
Posted 9:41 AM 8/8/08
@kathartik: Are you serial?
Git Em SteveDave displays attention-grabbing vanity
hezz05
Posted 10:13 AM 8/8/08
Interesting! Hengelo isn't far, but then again nothing in the Netherlands is far. But hey, if it works I say they use it on a larger scale. It's about time they started taking more action.
hezz05