FRUSTULE FOAMS

Air, including the indoor atmosphere, can be heavily polluted with various volatile organic compounds as well as NOx and other compounds that have a proven adverse impact on human health. Several conventional remediation strategies exist, including adsorption, thermal and/or catalytic degradation. All suffer from several drawbacks such as simple replacement of the pollutant from the air to the solid face, poor efficiency, high cost, etc.At the moment photocatalytic removal is among the most promising technologies because the polluting molecules are effectively destroyed. The catalyst immobilization, activity, stability, performance and reliability of TiO2 based materials has been extensively studied and demonstrated. On top of this, a more sustainable production method out of diatom algae has been developed. Diatoms, under controlled culturing conditions, incorporate significant amounts of titania in their biosilica frustules. The frustules consist of hydrated silica and offer a wide range of porosities combined with a high surface area.Due to the metabolic mode of incorporation of the TiO2 a biogenic, well-imobilised silica-titania material with superior photocatalytic properties is obtained. By incorporating the frustules in a foam-like structure, industrial problems like inadequate immobilization on reactor surfaces are avoided. We offer a sustainable, bio-based photocatalytic technology with applications in water and air purificiation. We are seekingindustrial partners interested in developing air or water purification systems and are willing to invest in sustainably produced catalytic materials.