It looks like an Italian company has worked up a new kind of air freshener, made of concrete!

By including titanium dioxide in the mix, they have found that the concrete will absorb both nitrous dioxide and carbon dioxide from the surrounding air. Both of these are emissions from automobiles, so it makes sense to absorb these gases.

Unfortunately, large quantities of CO2 are generated in the production of concrete in processing and transporting the components and the concrete itself.

They claim is can reduce urban air pollution by up to 40%, a tall order.

Stay tuned, and I’ll let you know if I find out more about how the absorption balances out with the production.

Via Social Design Notes: M&C Science and Nature