Sustainable Solutions Drive Innovation in Coatings Industry

The April issue has two features focused on delivering more environmentally-friendly and sustainable solutions to the coatings industry.

“Low- and Zero-VOC Coatings Technologies”  (page 32) takes a look at the latest offerings from major paint manufacturers. “ It is vitally important to deliver coating solutions to the market that deliver a lower environmental impact,” said Nick Bartoszek, Sherwin-Williams global marketing director – Liquid & Powder Products. “Coatings that deliver low or zero-VOC are common requests our customers are asking for every day.  When we do this, we are looking for ways to improve the product or process as well.  We consistently ask ourselves how we take steps out of the process and limit total VOC emissions. Some examples: new resin developments have lowered VOCs and HAPs in polyurethane coatings; that’s something that allows finishers to meet environmental standards while realizing the potential energy and inventory savings that these finishes offer.”

The environmental benefits of radiation curable technologies are well known. Rather than using traditional methods, which typically use more energy and create harmful emissions, UV/EB curing is typically quicker and uses less energy. This year’s feature on Radiation Curable Coatings (page 35) contains a Q&A session with Dr. Mike J. Idacavage, an adjunct associate professor at SUNY-ESF in Syracuse, NY where he teaches courses in UV and EB curing technology. He answers some questions on the basic technology and applications for radiation curable coatings and technology.

According to Idacavage, there are quite a few benefits to using radiation curing technologies. “The most cited benefit on converting over from thermal to light or EB cured formulations is productivity,” he said. The typical light cured coating can go from a liquid to a fully cured solid in a few seconds or less as compared to an oven cure, which might take minutes or hours.  Another benefit of radiation curable coatings is that in many cases, there is considerable less energy required to cure the coating. With no need for lengthy thermal ovens and their required heating sources, the use of a small UV lamp as the energy source for curing results in clear energy savings.”