Those towering billboards and advertisements may soon be more than just plain eye-catchers against a backdrop of blue skies and skyscrapers. In a matter of years, they could be the solution for the escalating problem of air pollution, and it all begins with a poem solely dedicated to one of human's sources of life.
The poem, fittingly titled "In Praise of Air," is written by award-winning British poet, playwright and novelist Simon Armitage who is also a professor of poetry at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom. What sets it apart from all of the usual printed-out literary work is that it literally purifies the air.
How does it work? The material used to carry the 122-word poem is made from a unique formula that was developed in the University. It is coated with titanium dioxide particles, a recognized agent capable of cutting air pollution significantly by using sunlight and oxygen to react with nitrogen oxide pollutants, hence cleansing the air.
The 10-meter by 20-meter piece of material on which the poem was printed on can eliminate the same amount of the toxic nitrogen oxide produced by roughly 20 cars in Britain each day. The technology is tad inexpensive, adding about only less than £100 in each ad that would be using it, and if could be included in every flag, banner, or advertisements alongside cities' busies roads they could turn into "catalysts in more ways than one" and help Britain meet its air quality target in one easy step.
"This is a fun collaboration between science and the arts to highlight a very serious issue of poor air quality in our towns and cities," said professor Tony Ryan, who is also the University's Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Science. "The science behind this is an additive which delivers a real environmental benefit that could actually help cut disease and save lives."
The poem can be seen on one side of the University's Alfred Denny Building and it will be on display for the entire year. The unveiling also signals the start of the annual Sheffield Lyric Festival, with Armitage leading the public reading of the poem he made. Afterwards, Ryan would explain the science behind the catalytic poem.
Previous studies have already discovered titanium oxide's promising potential in getting rid of the poisonous element mixing in the air we breathe. Ryan, meanwhile, has also been campaigning for years about the benefits of this wonder compound through his Catalytic Clothing Project with artist and designer Helen Storey, even lobbying the use of titanium oxide in detergents.
