Concrete That Purifies the Air 88
fergus07 writes "Although much of the focus of pollution from automobiles centers on carbon emissions, there are other airborne nasties spewing from the tailpipes of fossil fuel-powered vehicles. These include nitrogen oxides (NOx). In the form of nitrogen dioxide it reacts with chemicals produced by sunlight to form nitric acid – a major constituent of acid rain – and also reacts with sunlight, leading to the formation of ozone and smog. Everyone is exposed to small amounts of nitrogen oxides in ambient air, but exposure to higher amounts, in areas of heavy traffic for example, can damage respiratory airways. Testing has shown that surfacing roads with air purifying concrete could make a big contribution to local air purity by reducing the concentration of nitrogen oxides by 25 to 45 percent."
Concrete roads are shit (Score:4, Interesting)
They're nice so long as you don't have any heavy weather, ground settling, or seismic activity. Then they go straight to hell and turn into the light version of Ice Crusher in Jet Moto, where you skip from slab to slab with a solid thump with each transition. Even in my MBZ it is enough to turn the stomach. The biggest problem with concrete is that you cannot repair it gracefully as you can with tarmac. If the ground settles under tarmac you plane the highs and fill the lows, then resurface a section of road (hopefully all lanes, but only the affected area in terms of distance.) If the ground settles under 'crete you grind the highs and pray. And if California is any indication, you probably cover it with some tarmac :p
You can get away with using them for speeds around 25 mph but even that is typically a tragedy. Just say no to concrete highways. Try to avoid using it in civil planning. Even the increased road glare is a hazard.
Anyone know how much CO2 is produced in the production of the concrete as compared to tarmac?
Side note: irony is a concrete company called tarmac. Fuckers did it just to confuse people.