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Photocatalytic Treatment Removes Pollutants from Car Park

Car parks and road tunnels are two environments where air pollution significantly affects the users of these infrastructures as well as the people working there. Pollutants mainly come from vehicle exhaust and can also be conveyed into the car park from the surrounding area. Treating the appropriate surfaces in a tunnel or car park with photocatalytic materials enables significant reduction of the air pollution. Photocatalytic materials have other functionalities that provide added value to these infrastructures. Being hydrophilic, a photocatalytic surface is cleaned more easily than a regular one. The antibacterial effect reduces the formation of mold and helps in keeping the coated surfaces cleaner for longer periods.

CristalACTiV™ technology was tested in representative field test trials to confirm the laboratory findings on the developmental products. A trial using paint from Pacific Paints (Boysen), containing CristalACTiV photocatalyst was conducted in a car park in Manila, Philippines.

·The interior walls and the ceilings were painted with this photocatalytic treatment for a total surface of nearly 9,000 m².

·Six months of data on pollutant level trends were gathered and analyzed by our statisticians.

·Despite the relatively low lighting in the car park, at least 1.9 kg NOx were removed per year, 22 g removed per 100 m² per year.

·A surface of only 100 m², painted with KNOxOUT™ containing CristalACTiV photocatalyst removes in one year the NOx emitted by a car driving more than 130 km. (Calculation made on an average vehicle respecting Euro 4 emissions regulations.)

Also an Antibacterial Solution

Cristal Global has developed a transparent sol (PC-S7) that demonstrates excellent activity against bacteria such as MRSA and Staphylococcus aureus. The colloids have been shown to work well when applied to painted surfaces, stainless steel and glass. The ISO standard 27447:2009 specifies a method of evaluating the photocatalytic antibacterial activity of photocatalytic materials and provides a mean of quantifying the antibacterial effectiveness of a photocatalytic material surface.

The following conclusions were reached:

·PC-S7 on a painted surface showed overall good photoactivity against MRSA (>99.0 to 99.9% kill).

·PC-S7 on stainless steel demonstrated overall good photocatalytic activity against MRSA (>99.0 to 99.9% kill).

·PC-S7 on glass demonstrated excellent antibacterial activity against MRSA (>99.9% kill).

·PC-S7 on glass demonstrated overall excellent photocatalytic antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (>99.9% kill).

All testing was carried out by the Paint Research Association, London.

For more information about CristalACTiV technology, visit www.cristalglobal.com.