Antonella Cornelio
Large-scale waste generation and high concentrations of pollutants in cities, especially particulate matter (PM), are
leading to important environmental challenges. New sustainable approaches, such as “Azure Chemistry”, need to be
investigated. This approach aims to restore or reconstruct the ecosystems by sustainable solutions in terms of energy,
materials and emissions. The aim of this work is to present a sustainable porous material, SUNSPACE (“SUstaiNable
materials Synthesized from by-Products and Alginates for Clean air and better Environments”), for airborne PM
entrapment. SUNSPACE is realized by using industrial by-products, like silica fume and bottom ash, low-cost materials
and low temperature thermal process. SUNSPACE is inspired by the ability of leaves to trap the PM and be regenerated
by rainfall. SUNSPACE characterization shows the clear presence of pores, from micron to nanometer sizes, ideal to
trap ultrafine PM, the most dangerous for human health. Different tests were conducted to evaluate the ability of
SUNSPACE to capture PM in not controlled (such as particles generated by diesel, incense and cigarettes smokes and
generated at industry of steel alloy) and controlled conditions (using an aerosol nanoparticles generator). In addition
the nanoparticle entrapment capacity of SUNSPACE was compared with the adsorption capacity of cement and leaves.
Results are encouraging to continue the development of this material. The idea is to use SUNSPACE as a coating, on all
the urban surfaces (such as wall, tiles, roof or street borders) leading to an improvement of urban air quality.
