Coatings World - April 2011

how the prices of oil and gas affect the downstream prices of acrylic and vinyl resins respectively. More and more, they are looking at the more economical natural gas chain and the vinyl resins it produces to help them meet their financial goals.

• Gibbons, Reichhold: As the cost of manufacturing increases, our operations team here takes a serious look at the way we manufacture and schedule product batches to ensure we are working as safe and efficient as possible. Our plants aim to make our coatings products right, the first time every time to reduce the cost to our customers.

• Coduto, Specialty Polymers: There is no doubt rising raw material prices have been tough for us and our customers. Personal communication with our customers is a key part of Specialty Polymers’ strategy. No one likes surprises. You have to communicate with your customers, and you have to understand their specific needs. We know our customers are faced with increasing demands from their customers. As a supplier, it is our responsibility to come up with innovative ways to meet our customers changing needs.

• Mike Manegold, new business development manager, Royal Adhesives & Sealants, LLC: With the increases in coating raw materials, customers are more willing to look at formulation modifications that can result in a lower overall cost to their operations. This requires a close partnership and working arrangement with our strategic customers. Our development group is actively involved with formulation modifications that can result in a lower overall cost to customer operations. This requires a combination of formulation expertise and in-depth knowledge of the customers manufacturing process. Royal has recently introduced new APEO-free thickeners and halogen-free flame retardant dispersions.

New Resins Technology

Stricter environmental regulations have led to the need for increasingly lower VOCs. What are some of the latest “green” technologies your company has launched?

• McDivitt, Celanese: Our customers look to us for help in meeting their goals in this area and many of our R&D projects center

In North America in late 2010, Celanese introduced a pair of resins: EcoVAE 501, a VAE emulsion, and Avicor 601, an acrylic emulsion. EcoVAE 501 is designed to meet low VOC regulations across the spectrum of gloss levels. Avicor 601 offers very good adhesion and block resistance in flat through semi-gloss paints and was developed to be used with vinyl-based resins. These products can be used separately or together as a package to help the paint formulator meet their performance, marketing and economic goals. In Europe, Celanese has introduced Mowilith LDM 1865, a VAE emulsion. In exterior façade paints, it shows good color retention, low dirt pick-up and good flame retardancy for use in EIFs.

Alberdingk Boley offers AC 2403, a self-crosslinking acrylate dispersion for direct-to-metal for industrial coatings with excellent corrosion protection and UV resistance. It has exceptional adhesion to metal including galvanized substrates. Corrosion in coatings is greatly reduced due to low vapor absorption and high condensation resistance. Alberdingk Boley also offers Lignocure 2010. This is a water-base polymer with Lignin reactive groups to help protect wood substrate. This polymer can be used as primer/sealer to react with the lignin of the wood in order to retard the degradation in the wood, which helps to preserve the wood.

American Casein Company offers Casein BL-330 LV, a specific protein polymer developed to allow for high solids emulsions at reduced viscosities in coatings and adhesives. The company also offers Casecrete SL, which was a specially developed protein polymer for use in cementitious applications. It was purposefully modified to offer water reduction or plasticization of cement or lime slurries.

Dow recently launched D.E.R. 6510 HT Solid Epoxy Resin for fusion bonded epoxy applications. The product enables the formulation of FBE coatings that are capable of withstanding the corrosion and temperatures associated with tapping and transporting oil and gas resources in the world’s harshest environments. Formulations with the new product can enable pipeline coatings with glass transition (Tg) temperatures exceeding 160 degrees Celsius and are compatible with a range of new curing agents that can further enhance long-term durability of the finished coating, according to the company.

Dow also recently launched D.E.R. 3680-X90 Epoxy Resin Solution, a new low-molecular-weight resin suspended in a xylene solution developed for use with polyamine and polyamide hardeners. This resin can be used to formulate highly flexible epoxy-based coatings for steel and concrete applications. Formulators can use this product to develop coatings with excellent corrosion resistance, mechanical properties, such as durability, adhesion, water resistance and chemical resistance for industrial protective coatings.

Omnova has developed a proprietary Hydro Pliolite resin system that when formulated in a water-based primer will block water-soluble stains. This resin also permits formulation of coatings that have outstanding adhesion, forms a film under difficult conditions and has excellent water resistance. This resin system can be formulated in very low VOC formulations because when using this resin, there is no need for coalescents, plasticizers or coalescent aids.

In addition, Omnova offers Pliotec CR30, a self cross-linking resin developed for low VOC horizontal floor coatings. Californian VOC legislation is driving the market to produce garage floor coatings with a VOC under 50 grams per liter. The challenge is to formulate at a lower VOC without compromising the performance of the coatings. Pliotec CR30 imparts the following characteristics in horizontal floor coatings: good resistance to hot tire pick up, freeze/thaw stability at four cycles, low temperature cure at 35°F, excellent (Continued on next page...)