Photo credit: www.t-2.biz
Although my last post also included a scientific-y looking chart, I promise you, I'm not suddenly embracing my inner chemist. The past few weeks have just brought a number of fascinating, scientific processes to my attention that could mean great things for the quest to detoxify our lives and businesses. The latest? Photocatalysis.
Green Come True, a California company marketing itself as the "Photocatalyst Company," describes photocatalysts as substances that absorb light to trigger an oxidation reaction in the environment. "When UV ray in sunlight or room light strikes a surface coated with photocatalyst, the surrounding organic compounds are decomposed by strong oxidation." This means that odor causing substances and bacteria (otherwise known as dirt) are eradicated from surfaces just by exposing them to sunlight!
While the implications of photocatalysis are huge for cleaning up the indoor environments of our homes and offices, I encourage you to think even bigger...Think about what an easily applied and almost maintenance free disinfectant like this would mean for large, public (and usually germ-infested) environments as well.
As images on the Green Come True site demonstrate, photocatalysts can be applied to exterior walls, roofs, and windows at resorts, amusements parks, train stations, restaurants, hospitals, and more to created "self-cleaning" structures that also help to deodorize the air and resist decay. This could also lead to a reduced demand for toxic chemical cleaners usually used to maintain these environments, which would lead to cleaner air and healthier people.
The Catch (and I'm not sure if it really is one): Photocatalyst cleaners, such as the one offered by Green Come True, are made using Titanium dioxide, also known as titania, the naturally occurring oxide of titanium, and a common ingredient in paint, printing ink, plastics, paper, synthetic fibers, rubber and other scary-sounding things.
Learn more about Photocatalysis and the safety of Titanium dioxide:
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It definitely sounds like a good idea for some applications, but I’d be pretty weary of applying it on a large scale. It could wreak havoc with chemical and microbes that are naturally occurring in the environment.
For example, bees require the fragrance molecules from flowers to travel long distances in order to undertake their vital task of pollination. They’re already been a hard time with it, and this system could make things even worse.
Titanium Dioxide, TiO2, is a FDA approved substance to use as food additives and cosmetics. It is widely used in, besides paint and other industrial purposes, white chocolate, toothpaste, cosmetics like facial powder, sun lotion, and cewing gums. Most likely, you are concuming TiO2 particles in daily basis. It is completely biocompatible and does not harm human body. And it is 100% recyclable.
It’s true.
In Italy Active Ceramic uses this method!
Look here: http://www.active-ceramic.com/