[Greenbuilding] Magic Carpets Suck Out Air Pollutants (TreeHugger)

[Chris Green]

> On Aug 15, 2007, at 11:51, Stephen Collette wrote:
>   
>> magic carpet sucks out pollutants from the air. 
>>     
Brent Neal wrote:
> Typically, this is accomplished by using photocatalytic TiO2, an  
> inert compound that is used as a white pigment. In the presence of  
> ultraviolet light, some kinds of TiO2 will break down organic  
> molecules. This is commonly used as a method of odor control, and is  
> part of the basis behind the self-cleaning window coatings that made  
> some news on WolrdChanging and other places a while back.
Back in '90 a carpenter I worked with told me the trick to rapidly 
cleaning up smoke damage, and to do 'forensic clean-up' after a corpse 
has been removed from a building, was to bring in a bunch of UV lights 
and blast the place for a couple of days.

I suspect the light works directly on the odour-causing compounds 
itself, since UV deodorizes clothes left on a clothesline. The light 
breaks down the soap and other particles left in the cloth.

According to a news article I read some years ago, tile manufacturers in 
Japan layer a one or two molecule thick layer of TiO2 on ceramic tiles, 
and the tiles are used in hospital operating rooms, etc., to kill bacteria.

Cheers,

Chris Green.