Sunday, November 13, 2011

Titanium Dioxide, Smog Eating Floor?

For many years, D&B Industrial has worked to eliminate solvent based coatings from our lineup of products, and we continue to purchase more water based products annually than solvent, targeting low to zero VOC applications whenever possible. The rise in LEED projects has contributed to this on a large scale, and many new and existing buildings are turning to concrete in an effort to reuse and recycle. BBC had a recent article on smog eating properties of titanium dioxide on building exterior coatings. I have attached the link below. Several of the pigmented coatings we carry use titanium dioxide, and I am wondering if any of our suppliers have reviewed the possibility of the properties of this product in concrete? Specifically, if used in integrally colored concrete and/or dyed concrete, would it possibly reduce the residual effect of propane powered fork truck emissions inside a building? Just an interesting thought for one of our many suppliers to jump on and review. Thanks for indulging the question, I look forward to any feedback from anyone who knows about this product. In addition, I attached a photo of a large grocery project, on which we used Prosoco's Color Hard "White", which lists titanium dioxide as an ingredient. Could this be a new LEED point contributor? Smog eating floors? Fun to explore the possibilities. Link to BBC story and photo of titanium dioxide floor below.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15694973



85,000 sq ft Prosoco Color Hard application with concrete polishing (titanium dioxide pigment)