46 PRODUCTS P a i nt s co a t i n g s a n d o th er b u i ld i n g ma t e r i a ls High brightness and good coverage ar e some of the most important attributes of wall paints Most common ingr edients that pr ovide these pr operties ar e titanium dioxide and silicate minerals Both of these pr oduct families exhibit a r elatively high carbon footprint compar ed to calcium carbonates Omya of fers a range of calcium carbonate pr oducts that can boost opacity in paints and coatings and thus allow for a partial substitution of titanium dioxide or even a complete r eplacement of silicate minerals In this way carbon footprint of a paint formulation can be r educed by up to 30 while maintaining optical and mechanical pr operties Socalled photocatalytic paints can convert hazar dous pollutants ie NO x in the air into less harmful components Specially designed Omya Calcium Carbonates play a key r ole in the ef fectiveness of such air cleaning coatings see details on the right Omya minerals ar e also added to r enders on facades and plasters inside buildings wher e they contribute to impr ove the wall br eathing In highperformance concr ete systems Omya Calcium Carbonates allow for impr oved fow ability and enhanced mechanical pr operties of the concr ete This leads to faster handling and in case of pr ecast concr ete applications r educed transition time to the fnal construction site