Coatings World - November 2009

EUROPE

International Coatings Scene

DSM’s own solutions are hybrid resins with a narrow molecular weight distribution with a low VOC level and without the drawback of wrinkling or slow drying. “There is a general acceptance that low molecular weight compounds can cause problems,” said Besamusca. “Our solution is superior to others but we do have the disadvantage of being more costly.”

In its 2007 survey, DSM’s customers expected by 2010 the market share in Europe’s decorative sector would be 70- 30% in favor of water-based coatings with the remainder being solventborne, including high solids.

“We expect that the balance will be 50/50 next year,” said Besamusca. “The customers in the 2007 survey were expecting a revolution which is turning out to be only an evolution. The switch to waterborne is not taking place as quickly as expected. Next year’s VOC regulatory limits achievable with traditional, low cost, old technologies which have been shown to work better than expected.”

Decorative coatings companies are selecting formulations which enable them to carry on using alkyd resins. As a result ingredient suppliers are offering low-VOC alkyd-based systems.

Croda has launched a dispersion system centered on polymeric surfactants whose large molecules offer enough stability to allow water to replace the solvent content of high solids—as much as 20-30%. “The dispersion helps the remaining solvents to be more efficient so that it reduces the amount of solvent, cuts costs and still gives the same performance,” said Ridderikhoff. “Coatings formulators can continue to use alkyd resins with only a limited change to the formulation while complying with the VOC limits.”

Companies like Rhodia of France are promoting a range of additives as a means for cutting VOC content. These include wetting agents, defoamers, stabilizers and coalescents, which enable the whole formu-

lation to work more efficiently.

“It’s not just a reduction in the solvents which helps producers to cut VOCs, but the application of different additives as well,” said Adrian Archer, Rhodia’s business development director for solvents market.

For many coatings producers the recent priority has been to develop formulations that meet next year’s VOC limits in Europe. The next step is to upgrade the performance of these products.

“We see the market becoming quite dynamic,” said Archer. “Some formulations have been the same for years. We see a need to improve formulations over the next few years as companies make more use of new technologies. They will be looking to balance cost-in-use and sus-

tainability with performance, which will be a continuous process.”

There should also be opportunities for suppliers of low-VOC bio-chemicals. “Most decorative coatings customers are able to meet the VOC regulations with petrochemical solutions,” said Shailesh Shah, director global marketing for coatings at Cognis AG of Germany, a specialist in renewables for coatings. “They see a clear need for higher efficiency, improved dirt pick-up resistance and renewable-based chemistry whenever it is possible without a performance sacrifice.”

Now that the stricter VOC limits are making coatings companies reformulate they are becoming much more willing to consider innovations in their products. CW

Use grind gages more consistently.

Little Joe Industries offers the ADM Automatic Draw-Down Machine for use with grind gages. The ADM automates the draw down process controlling scraper angle, speed, and force. Since these aspects are no longer operator dependent your grind gage draw-downs will be more consistent while requiring less operator training and supervision.