41st Annual Waterborne Symposium
March 2014 www.coatingsworld.com Coatings World | 75
required properties for successful application and life cycle,” said
Hegedus. He said this is further complicated by environmental
concerns and specialty additives play a key role in reducing or
eliminating VOCs and APEs. Pigment wetting and dispersing
additives help wet, grind, disperse and stabilize pigments, which
span a variety of chemistries.
“Selecting additives for coating formulations sounds simple, but
it is far from it,” concluded Hegedus. “Not only is it complicated, it
is critically important to the success of the coating during application and service life. In the most simplistic terms, the most successful way of selecting additives is to clearly define and understand
formulation and application parameters and then match those parameters with the appropriate additive chemistry and properties.”
Robert Ruckle of Siltech presented “Incorporation of
Fluoro-Silicones into Various Coating Films and the Resulting
Properties.” In his talk a series of non-PFOS fluoroalkyl silicones
were examined in various coatings f ilms for their impact on
coatings properties such as coefficient of friction reduction, tape
release and stain release. According to Ruckle, earlier results of
reactive silicones in films have shown interesting results on stain
release and the expectation is that the fluoroalkyl group will
enhance these properties.
Axalta Coating Systems’ Ayumu Yokoyama presented “Use
of Melamine in Ambient Cire 2K Waterborne Polyurethane
Coatings.” Yokoyama explained the scientific breakthrough that
reduces the gassing that can result when traditional solvent based
coatings are reformulated to use water. The symposium is attended annually by leading scientific experts in water-based coatings.
“Ambient cure waterborne coatings have a tendency to gas in
thick film applications,” Yokoyama explained. “The gas results
from the reaction between residual water and other coating
components. We found a way to reduce this gassing by replac-
ing some of the components.”
Waterborne coatings are an environmentally responsible al-
ternative to traditional solvent-based coatings. However, con-
verting existing solvent-borne coating systems to water presents
technical challenges. The discovery presented by Dr. Yokoyama
not only resolves the gassing issue but also results in more du-
rable coating films. His discovery is the first in the industry to
resolve the gassing issue and improve coating quality with a
simple and cost effective approach.
The newly formulated waterborne coatings can be used by
both automotive original equipment manufacturers and refinish
body shops for vehicle coatings. The coatings can also be used
by commercial vehicle manufacturers who are involved in painting complex shapes like trailers, truck lifts, built-on cranes, and
truck and trailer bodies. Coatings used for rail systems such as
locomotives, high performance cars that carry liquids and dry
bulk material which must be insulated from substrate materials,
passenger carriages, high speed trains, tramways and metro, and
agriculture and construction equipment also will benefit.
Technology Showcase
In addition to the main technical program, the Waterborne
Symposium also included a three-day Technology Showcase.
The Showcase, now in its 17th year, focused on emerging technologies, new materials, innovative services and equipment.
New this year, the Showcase has added an exhibitor product
showcase to be held during show houses.
Student Poster Sessions/Awards
There were a number of awards presented at this year’s
Waterborne Symposium.
USM students presented their research during the Poster
Session. This year’s session included 22 student posters.
The winners of the Eastman Student Posters Graduate were
Phillip Pickett for “’Polysoaps’ to Serve as Uni-Molecular Micelles
for Oil Spill,” Keith Parson for “Polymer Micelles as Molecular
Templates for Size Control in Gold Nanoparticle Synthesis” and
Sarah Exley for RAFT Polymerization of 2-(D-Gluocosyloxy)
Ethyl Acrylamide [GLCEAM], 2-(-D-Galactosyloxy)Ethyl
Acrylamide [GALEAM] and Phosphatidylserine Mimics.”
The undergraduate Student Poster winners were
Patrick Carter for “Development and Characterization
Each presentation concluded with a question and answer session with attendees.
The Student Poster Session was one of the highlights of the three-day event.
