What if the roads you drive on, or the buildings you drive past, could reduce the pollutants in the air around you by absorbing them and breaking them down into less harmful elements?
It sounds like something out of science fiction, but this forward-thinking technology is already in use around the world. TX Active cement, made by Essroc Italcementi, works due to a photocatalytic reaction. What this means is that when natural or artificial light hit the surface of concrete with TX Active used as an admixture, a chemical reaction is triggered that breaks down organic pollutants into water, oxygen and harmless salts.
The website for TX Active lists two product lines that provide different benefits based on end-user needs. The first, TX Arca, resists organic and inorganic pollutants that can cause discoloration of light-colored buildings. Recently, LSU used TX Arca in precast components of its new basketball practice facility to greatly reduce maintenance costs associated with mildew. The climate in Louisiana, with high humidity and an excess of rain, makes discoloration a major issue but a white building was needed to match exciting facilities.
TX Aria, a second product offered by the company, not only helps keep concrete components clean, it “absorbs and reduces atmospheric pollutants deemed harmful to human health and our environment,” according to the product website. TX Aria has been used in a road project in Segrete, Italy, and proved to reduce nitric oxide on the street by 60%.
To see more projects that have utilized the TX Active product line, including exemplary projects in the U.S. and Canada, or to learn more about the product and how it can be used, visit the product website.
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