Powder Imparts Self-Cleaning Mechanism In C-I-P And Precast

Although widely accepted in the European Union, Essroc’s TX Millennium cement technology received its official North American rollout at World of Concrete

Although widely accepted in the European Union, Essroc‘s TX Millennium cement technology received its official North American rollout at World of Concrete in Las Vegas earlier this year. The product line consists of two key components: TX Arca cement, which provides concrete with a self-cleaning benefit; and, TX Aria cement, which results in concrete with the added ability to mitigate environmental pollution. The science behind the products is based on utilizing a hydraulic binder with photocatalytic properties that render the concrete self-cleaning and/or pollution-mitigating.

TX Arca reduces the maintenance requirements for concrete structures or buildings by destroying most organic and inorganic pollutants that come into contact with the surface and cause discoloration. Personnel from Nazareth, Pa.-based Essroc (a division of Italy’s Italcementi Group) were quick to point out at World of Concrete that better-looking buildings would also result in higher leasing rates and potentially higher market rates. Although the product is more expensive, Essroc says that cost savings from reduced maintenance will show owners a return on investment in a relatively short time.

TX Arca was originally developed in 1996 to achieve the strict design specifications of New York architect Richard Meier for his Dives of Misericordia Church project in Rome: purity of white, visual brilliance, and the preservation of those qualities for decades.

In addition to the self-cleaning benefit, TX Aria effectively destroys airborne pollutants that are responsible for urban organic pollution. The pollutants (including NOx) are trapped on the surface of the concrete structure and transformed via a photocatalytic reaction to light into nitrates, which are then eliminated by the cementitious matrix of the coating. Using this light energy, photocatalysts can induce the formation of strong oxidizing reagents, which can decompose some organic and inorganic substances in the atmosphere by oxidation. This promotes faster decomposition of pollutants and prevents them from accumulating on concrete surfaces.

Both TX Millennium products will be shipped from Essroc’s Front Royal, Va., blending facility by truck and in bulk bags, and will be available in white or gray compositions. Test panels have already been created in the U.S., according to Essroc, with applications for TX Arca and TX Aria including vertical, horizontal, structural, architectural precast, plasters and coatings, blocks, median barriers, retaining walls, roads and tiles.