Will the answer to global warming come out in the wash? Thanks
to research collaboration between the University of Sheffield in
South Yorkshire, England, and the London College of Fashion,
that’s now a distinct possibility. The schools have jointly
developed a rinse cycle additive that clings to clothesand
purifies the air around them. It could be commercialized within
the next two years. The revolutionary liquid laundry additive,
called CatClo, contains microscopic pollution-eating particles.
Clothing only needs to be washed in the additive just once; the
nanoparticles of titanium dioxide grip fabrics very tightly.
When the particles come into contact with nitrogen oxides in the
air, they react with these pollutants and oxidize them. Dressing
in the clothing is not dangerous, either to the person wearing
the special fabric or to those with whom he or she comes into
contact. CatClo is completely odorless and colorless, and the
pollutants are removed harmlessly during the next wash cycle, f
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