Fraunhofer Researchers Study Coatings That Break Down Nitrogen Oxides
MUNICH, Germany - Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute are studying how coatings with photocatalytic characteristics behave during long-term tests.
In the 70s, the solution to air pollution in the Ruhr area of Germany was filter systems for the smokestacks. Today, people in urban areas are suffering from high levels of pollution that are caused by, among other things, automotive traffic, particularly nitrogen oxides (NOx). The European Union has continued to tighten pollutant limit values, and in many communities they are being exceeded. Michael Hüben of the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME in Schmallenberg, Germany, knows that “on stretches with heavy traffic there is a particular need for action.” During the next two years, Fraunhofer researchers will study the effectiveness of photocatalytic removal of NOx using coated building test panels. They will study how photocatalytic surfaces contribute to the removal of NOx and how the coatings prove themselves during long-term operation.