This Hardwood Flooring Cleans the Air
U.S. Wood Industry Gets an Opportunity

This Hardwood Flooring Cleans the AirThe World Floor Covering Association says hardwood flooring with new types of coatings can actually clean the air.

Reversing concerns about off-gassing from flooring finishes or engineered flooring, this wood flooring is given a surface treatment that works with sunlight and artificial lighting sources to break down emissions and VOCs, and deodorizes the air, says WFCA, which represents flooring suppliers in hardwood, laminate, engineered panel, as well as carpeting, tile and stone.  

It is based on nanoparticles that interact with sunlight and trigger a chemical reaction that eliminates certain air pollutants.

This Hardwood Flooring Cleans the AirIt is reckoned that the reduction in atmospheric pollution could be 90 percent of nitrogen oxides, 80 percent of hydrocarbons and 75 percent of carbon monoxides emitted. These coatings were developed in the Ecofotomat project in which the L'Urederra R+D Centre in Spain and the construction company Obras y Servicios TEX S.L. have participated together with the Public University in Navarre.

As the researcher Javier Goicoechea explains, the coatings, “Have special nanoparticles with a photocatalytic effect; the nanoparticles interact with the light, thus triggering a series of chemical reactions that clean the air and break down the dirt.”

 

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