Ahlstrom's anti-pollution technology wins INDEX05 innovation award

Ahlstrom, the global leader in fiber-based materials, has been recognized for its ground-breaking photocatalytic technology in the "Nonwoven roll goods for durable end uses" category of the INDEX05 awards, the world's largest nonwovens event, in Geneva Switzerland. The award was presented by EDANA (European Disposable and Nonwovens Association).

Pioneered by Ahlstrom's R&D team, photocatalytic technology destroys pollutants in gas or liquid effluents. This new technique successfully fixes titanium dioxide (TIO2), a natural catalyst, to a nonwoven material. Combined with UVA from lamps or natural light, and often a layer of activated carbon, it allows for the continual purification and sanitation of air and water.

In everyday environments, photocatalytic technology can be used in applications to purify and disinfect public buildings, airline cabins, schools, fridges, wine cellars, and hospital environments such as waiting rooms and laboratories.

In the agro-industrial sector, applications such as odor covers remove smells from manure, industrial waste, lagoons or cheese factories. By disinfecting the air in wineries, photocatalysis removes the cork taste from wine. The purification of drinking, irrigation and waste water is another added benefit. Photocatalysis technology for air purification has been tested worldwide with success in both the US and Europe. In France it is being recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture as a proven technology for agro-chemical destruction.

This technology is also revolutionary because until now, large-scale air and water disinfection was not viable as it required the recovery of photocatalytic nanoparticles by heavy filtration, an operation too costly for widespread commercial operations.

Senior Vice-President, Nonwovens, Claudio Ermondi said, "Ahlstrom is proud to have won this award as it recognizes our effort to create high performance fiber-based material to provide unique, innovative, and environmentally-friendly answers to our customer's needs."

Ahlstrom's patented technology has also won the French Ministry's golden prize for innovation 1996-2000 (PREDIT) and the Silver medal for innovation SITEVI for
VINEO ®, a wine cork taste removal system, in 2003.

Contact: Arnaud Marquis, General Manager, Technical nonwovens,

tel: +33 (0) 4 76 45 35 15.

Trade media contact: Karen Renton, Marketing and Communications Manager, Nonwovens, tel: +44 (0) 773 616 8133.

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