Catalyzed Reactions on Mineral Plaster Materials Used for Indoor Air Purification

Zeolites have been used for a long time for purification and catalytical purposes. Recently, first products appeared on the market using zeolites also for improving the indoor air quality so far volatile organic compounds (VOC) are concerned. However, porous compounds like zeolites can be found also in plaster material. Therefore, it was manifest to evaluate the capability of plaster with regard to air cleaning. In this article, the contribution of plaster compounds toward adsorption and catalytical decomposition of VOCs is evaluated using α‐pinene, chlorobenzene, 2‐ethoxyethylacetate, and pentanal as target substances under standard conditions (23°C, 50% r.H.). These compounds were chosen because of their VOC typical physicochemical properties like molecular dimensions, density, boiling point, vapor pressure, and octanol–water distribution coefficient (logk_ow). Hydrated lime and metakaolin were found out to have good adsorption properties under these circumstances. Also natural zeolites showed good results especially on pentanal. By investigations in environmental chambers the reduction potential of test plasters on chlorobenzene and 2‐ethoxyethylacetate concentrations could be shown. Application of coatings had no or only temporary influence on the performance of the plaster. Additional tests in small chambers demonstrated the possibility to improve the properties of plasters with help of FAU‐ or MFI‐type zeolites but the experiments also showed that α‐pinene and pentanal undergo chemical reactions. Further effort should be made on investigations also toward other compounds, especially more volatile ones like formaldehyde. Also additional building materials like insulation material or boards should be taken into account.     

Heavy Air Pollution in Beijing and Possible Impact on Olympic Athletes

In 2001 the Olympic Games were awarded to the city of Beijing, China's second‐largest industrial center after Shanghai. Although the extreme air pollution in Greater Beijing has already been examined for some time in the scientific literature, it only gained public interest recently. The article summarizes the scientific facts.