Impact of cement renders on airborne ozone and carbon dioxide concentrations

The uptake of pollutants by building surfaces can potentially improve both indoor and outdoor air quality. Cement renders provide a unique opportunity for passive pollutant removal because they can cover large surface areas. This study investigated the passive removal of carbon dioxide and ozone by cement renders having varied binder compositions and curing durations. The results from this study demonstrated shorter curing durations resulted in greater pollutant uptake. However, the use of the supplementary cementitious material, metakaolin, in the cement render increased the carbon dioxide ingress while decreasing the ozone uptake. Therefore, the adaptation of the render composition for the best effective application may result in valuable indoor air quality or carbon savings consequences.