www.american-coatings-show.com 10
AC SHOW
1. As a supplier of binders and additives
in the coatings industry, we continue to
hear interest for low- or zero-VOC products. Water-borne paints are very well established globally, in decorative paints;
but in these applications, having water-borne systems as an alternative to solvent-borne coatings is no longer enough;
there is ever-increasing pressure to get rid
of all VOCs, including co-solvents or coalescing agents, residual monomers, and
by-products like formaldehyde or methanol. In addition, there is an increased
awareness about other ingredients in
everyday coating applications that face increased scrutiny, such as surfactants like
APEO, biocides, and BPA.
Whereas some states’ tougher stance in
regulation may have forced a move toward lower VOC (California), we expect
this shift towards lower VOC products to
ripple through the entire North American
region, even if regulation in other states
may lag behind, simply because the cost
of an increased supply chain complexity
may become too high. Other trends we
see: ‘smart’ coatings, such as self-healing coatings, phase-change materials,
super-hydrophobic coatings and coatings
that indicate defects by changing color. In
contrast to this increased functionality of
the coatings, there is a desire to reduce
complexity and save system costs across
the value chain, and we see a lot of smart,
new technologies born out of collaboration between players in different parts of
the value chain.
2. For the decorative paints market, the
products we will showcase at the ACS in
2016 will include “Ecrylic RA 6479,”, a
pure acrylic water-borne paint binder offering excellent weatherability and UV resistance allowing paint producers to formulate hydrophobic, lotus-effect façade
paints. Also, “ProHere S 06004”, a binder
that can be used to formulate a rust-con-version primer, allowing the application
of a protective primer on rusty ferrous
metals without the need for rust-removal,
saving valuable time and money for the
end-users. In addition, we will showcase
“ProHere V 30290”, a water-borne coating
binder that will allow paint manufacturers
to formulate intumescent coatings with a
fire retardancy rating of 90 minutes. For
use in industrially applied wood coatings
we will showcase “Ecrylic RA 666”, a
water-borne binder for 1k wood lacquers
with 2k-like chemical resistance and
best-in-class anti-blocking properties.
News and Trends for Indy
LOW- AND ZERO-VOC AND SMART COATINGS REMAIN PREVALENT TOPICS
Brian Duke (Celanese), Marcelo Rufo
(Air Products and Chemicals), and Mark
Wubbels (Michelman) describe the latest trends they expect to see in Indy
and offer a sneak peek of the products
they will present at the show.
QUESTIONS:
1. What will be the latest trends to be
seen at the American Coatings SHOW
2016?
2. What novel products will your company be presenting?
1. Paint manufacturers want to learn
about what raw materials are available to
help their sustainability and environmentally friendly message. VAE emulsions
continue to displace more traditional
coatings binder systems (including acrylics, styrene acrylics, and vinyl acrylics)
because of the low-odor, low-VOC coatings that formulators are able to achieve
using VAE emulsions. Paint companies
are becoming increasingly more comfortable using zero-VOC coalescents to
achieve VOC targets. Additionally, emulsion binders are wanted to answer a more
demanding set of performance requirements, including early block resistance,
and more importantly stain resistance
and washability.
2. Celanese will be presenting “EcoVAE”
vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer emulsions, which allow paint manufacturers
to formulate to < 50 g/L VOC. Celanese
CLX coalescents are zero VOC. “Avicor
384” is a versatile emulsion for formulation contractor and DIY interior paints.
We will also be testing customer interest
and market demand for new concepts
for acrylics and VAE, which include novel
morphologies beyond homogenous and
core-shell products.
Marcelo Rufo,
Air Products
and Chemicals,
Brazil
1. We expect the trends at the American
Coatings SHOW to be all about the development of new products through innovation. As the industry has over the last several years learned to meet “zero VOC” and
other regulatory and consumer-driven
EHS requirements, the focus now is on
bringing to market a second generation of
such products that have better performance and overcoming any compromises
in performance that were made to meet
the regulatory specifications. In addition,
as the recession fades, the industry is
now deploying its R&D resources towards
developing truly novel products, rather
than focusing mostly on cost cutting.
2. On the additives side, Air Products and
Chemicals will be unveiling products that
continue to expand our defoamer product line. These products not only provide
improved performance over traditional
molecular defoamers, but also have an
improved EHS profile. We also continue
to add new oil defoamers to our line-up,
some of which are based on natural oils.
In addition, we continue to expand our
range of dispersants, which go hand-in-hand with our online FAZT tool that helps
formulators quickly identify an optimized
dispersant for a formulation.
On the epoxy side, Air Products will be
presenting new amine curing agent technologies for improved chemical resistance
at elevated temperature; low emitting
technologies, allowing the industry to develop epoxy coatings that meets requirements like LEED and green building initiatives; and a new curing agent designed for
hydroblasted surfaces amongst new applications of water-based epoxy for OEM.
Mark Wubbels,
Michelman,
Luxembourg
Celanese
