Boral Roofing has turned to titanium dioxide-dosed cement for Smog-Eating Tile, the latest addition to concrete offerings under the MonierLifetile brand. The specialty cement’s photocatalytic properties speed up oxidation of pollutants and contaminants deposited on concrete surfaces. Smog-Eating Tiles are molded with a base and face mixes, the latter bearing the performance powder.
Announced at the late-2010 Greenbuild Conference & Expo in Chicago, Smog-Eating Tile joins paving stones and architectural precast as commercial applications for a photocatalytic cement promoted in Eastern and Western U.S. markets, respectively, by Essroc Cement (TX Active) and Lehigh Hanson (TioCem).
A key compound imparting whiteness in paint, titanium oxide breaks down nitrogen oxide (NOx) molecules and significantly reduces their environmental impact and potential for fostering respiratory diseases. Over one year, 2,000 square feet of the new MonierLifetile product can neutralize approximately the same amount of NOx a car produces in 10,000 miles of travel. The photocatalytic properties in the Smog-Eating Tile also treat organic substances such as algae and organic dirt—remains of which rinse off with rain.
Smog-Eating Tile shelters five single-family prototypes Los Angeles builder KB Home added to its Alamosa community development in West Lancaster, Calif. The company began work on the first home in March 2010, unveiling a prototype mid-summer. Boral Roofing and KB Home teamed up on the prototypes with the City of Lancaster and BYD, a specialist in alternative energy sources.
“We incorporated a revolutionary, eco-friendly concrete tile system on the home, which literally cleans smog from the air,” explains Boral Roofing Marketing Communications Manager Robert Pacelli. “This cutting-edge tile will appeal to both builders and homebuyers looking to reduce their environmental footprint.”
