Air-Purifying Concrete

Traffic exhaust has had a negative environmental impact on society. This study aims to evaluate the use of nano-titanium dioxide in concrete pavement and its ability to purify the air from harmful gases such as NOx. The nanoparticles are synthesized for experimental work including the STM test and Sonicator bath that were performed to the classification of the product. The method to produce TiO2 nanoparticles yielded particles of size less than 15 nm. In order to utilize the photocatalytic properties of the produced particle, the air-purifying pavement blocks were poured into two layers. The top layer which contains the TiO2 nanoparticles was designed to be pervious to allow the maximum reaction between the polluted air and surface area allowing the UV light to penetrate. The bottom layer consists of conventional concrete pavement components. Using a tailor-made experimental setup, a measuring device was used to quantify the air quality parameters in and out of the glass chamber. Three control samples were tested under the same circumstance and results were compared. The outcome of this study reveals that the use of nano-TiO2 in concrete pavements reduces the percentage of NOx in the air. Recommendations are made to enlarge the scale of the project to be implemented effectively. Ultimately, this study can be a step toward cleaner air and reducing the effect of climate change.