New Development Paves the Way to a Future of Cleaner

                                                                                         

With all the attention on the global warming effects of carbon dioxide it is easy to overlook the harmful effects of other pollutants. Nitrous oxides (NOx) emitted by automobile engines pose an environmental hazard in a number of ways. They contribute to global warming and smog, as well as cause breathing problems and acid rain. Scientists at the University of Twente in the Netherlands have come up with a novel way of removing nitrous oxides from the air and thus create a more biofriendly environment.

The Dutch scientists remove NOx from the atmosphere and thereby reduce air pollution by mixing a small amount of titanium dioxide into the top layer of concrete paving stones. When sunlight strikes these paving stones, they convert the nitrous oxides into harmless nitrates that later get washed away by rain.

The city of Hengelo and the University of Twente (UT) are paving a test road section in Hengelo with air-purifying stones. The top layer of the concrete stones converts nitrogen oxide from exhaust fumes into harmless nitrates.

The idea of paving stones to clean the air was based on a Japanese invention and further developed and tested at the University of Twente`s concrete research labs. The municipality of Hengelo is embarking on a project to test these paving stones in the real world. They will divide a street into two sections, with one half paved with the air-purifying paving stones and the other half with conventional paving stones. They will then measure the air quality in both sections to determine the effectiveness of the new stones. It is further claimed that the new stones also repel dirt as an added bonus.

The test location was chosen because of its high volume of traffic and because of road works being carried out. The construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2008 and measurements are targeted to be completed by mid-2009.

If this project proves to be successful and economically viable, the new paving stones could become a significant contributor to a cleaner and more biofriendly environment.

Creating a greener environment is also on the minds of the principals of Biofriendly Corporation, a company that has developed the Green Plus® liquid fuel catalyst that provides a cleaner, more linear fuel burn in internal combustion engines, resulting in fewer harmful emissions, increased torque and better fuel economy.

For more information about Green Plus visit the Biofriendly website at www.biofriendly.com.

About the author:
Peter Verhoeff is a freelance writer who contributes articles on environmental issues for Biofriendly Corporation. More information about environmental issues can be found at http://www.biofriendly.com.




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