Boral Roofing, an American company, is making a “Smog Eating Tile” they say will reduce air pollution. The concrete tiles are coated with titanium dioxide, a photo-catalyst that can oxidize harmful air pollutants emitted in the burning of fossil fuels.
Titanium dioxide then converts nitrogen oxide pollutants into harmless calcium nitrate when it comes in contact with natural light. John Renowden, Boral Roofing Vice president of technology said “Calcium nitrate… washes off your roof with normal precipitation and is a regular garden fertilizer.”
Renowden also states that the tiles on a 2,000 square foot house over a one year period would be like reducing the pollution equivalent of driving your car 10,000 miles that year. The company says the tile works like a catalytic converter does in your car.
The Technology is Not New
The technology began in Japan and in 2005 the European Commission’s Environmental Technologies Action Plan stated “Tests in urban settings determined that some pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides, which are a major pollutant contained in exhaust gases, could be reduced by 20-70%.”
Boral Roofing has corporate offices in Irvine California; they make clay and concrete roof tiles. You can find where to purchase the BoralPure Smog Eating tiles and installation guides on their website www.boralna.com. Your roofing contractor will be using the same techniques for laying clay or concrete tiles for the smog eating tiles.
