From New Scientist.

[den]

Smog-busting paint soaks up noxious gases

This sounds like a really good idea, and I like it a lot! The down side is that there is less incentive to fix the problem at the source.

Comments

Re:

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

You could have a giant catalytic converter at the bottom of the smokestacks, something that can be swapped out and repainted every couple of years.

They give a 5 year active life for the paint. If you painted something like the Sydney Harbour Bridge with it, you'd have an excellent toxin sink and rust-proofing to boot.

Re:

[hafoc.livejournal.com]

It's not going to last years in the base of a stack, because of the much higher concentrations. You could rig a wet scrubber with a catalyst and calcium carbonate in solution, that way constantly replacing the calcium carbonate as it's used up, but a plate painted with this magic paint would get eaten up almost instantly in a high concentration of NOx.

However, a NOx removal system that works on low concentrations is not a BAD thing. The more different special-contition "arrows" we have to our quiver, the more likely one will fit the conditions you're facing.