Kerry Pianoforte, Editor06.15.20
Coatings World interviewed manufacturers of performance enhancing additives. The experts included in the Q&A were Mark Piggott, senior account manager, Arkema Coating Resins; David Grabacki, president, keim additec surface USA; John W. McAllister director of Global Sales, Industrial Division, Micro Powders, Inc.; Richard Rehg, vice president of Commercial, Pilot Chemical Company; Joon Choo, vice president, Shamrock Technologies; Robert Ruckle. Global Marketing and Sales director, Siltech Corp. and Izzy Colon, senior vice president, Science & Technology and Brad McPhee, business manager, Performance Additives from Troy Corp.
CW: What types of performance enhancing additives does your company offer?
Arkema: Arkema Coating Resins produces functional coating additives for decorative and industrial coatings, sealants, inks and defoamers for paint. CRAYVALLAC coating additives include rheology modifiers, surface modifiers, and flow and leveling agents.
keim: keim additec surface USA offers products manufactured by; keim additec surface GmbH, CHT GmbH, euroceras Sp. Z.o.o. and ceronas GmbH. The products include a broad variety of aqueous ULTRALUBE wax additives, high performance SILCO coating additives also different types of solid / micronized waxes under the brand names CERALENE and mju:wax.
Micro Powders: Micro Powders offers a full range of synthetic and natural wax additives for surface protection, gloss reduction, texture, haptics and water repellency. These waxes can be used in a wide variety of paint and coating applications as well as graphic arts. We have the most comprehensive portfolio of dry wax powders, wax dispersions and wax emulsions available in the industry.
Pilot Chemical: Pilot Chemical offers anionic surfactants that are primarily used for emulsion polymerization, paint formulation and developing pigment dispersions.
Shamrock: Shamrock Technologies offers slip additives including PTFE, waxes, wax blends, compounds, dispersions
and emulsions.
Siltech: Silicone based materials for improving appearance, slip and mechanical properties
Troy: As a dedicated supplier of a broad portfolio of advanced preservatives and additives, Troy Corporation offers a diversity of products that can be considered performance enhancing. Troy’s Polyphase, Fungitrol, and Troysan dry-film preservatives enhance performance of interior and exterior coatings by offering broad-spectrum protection against diverse forms of microbial growth, thereby enhancing durability and extending the useful life of the coating. Troy’s performance additives similarly add value, durability, and aesthetic qualities to coatings. Troy’s performance enhancing additives include defoamers, rheology modifiers, thixotropic agents, substrate wetting and flow & leveling additives, mar resistance & slip agents, and dispersants. These performance additives are developed for a broad range of aqueous and non-aqueous system types.
CW: Given the added cost associated with these types of additives, what are the benefits to the customer?
Arkema: CRAYVALLAC additives offer value-added properties to control rheology, to provide antisettling properties, controlled thixotropy and antisag properties. The surface modifiers permit to control matting, anti-abrasion, slip and rub, sanding and texturing. The flow and levelling agent are offer superior recoatability. CRAYVALLAC coating additives are available around the globe.
keim: The broad product portfolios of the different companies within the group ensures the possibility of a very precise adjustment of the desired surface properties to achieve with the particular types; besides this several types of additives can be supplied out of “one-hand”.
Micro Powders: The role of a surface modifier is to optimize the performance of a finish to meet the expectations of the final customer. Composite waxes are the additive of choice for surface protection properties in demanding applications. In most cases, they offer the greatest efficiency at the lowest level of addition and formulation cost. Our PolyGlide 1226XF and Superslip 6515AL composite waxes are good examples of this relationship.
Pilot Chemical: Calfax and Calimulse emulsifiers can help improve shear stability, which contributes to lower grit formation and more consistent processing; reduced buildup on the inside of a reactor; and they can be used to reduce viscosity to improve material handling. In addition, while foam is not always a direct problem in emulsion polymerization, it can lead to other problems affecting uniformity of composition and the creation of shock grit with excessive shear. Diphenyl oxide-based surfactants such as Pilot Chemical’s Calfax DB-45 & 16L-35 produce much less foam than traditional emulsifiers such as alkyl sulfates and sulfonates. The addition of defoamers to an emulsion can often lead to other problems such as emulsion instability or defective coatings.
Shamrock: Shamrock Performance Additives provide specific end properties such as slip control, mar and abrasion resistance, matting, and texturing/feel to our customers’ end products. These enable our customers to expand their product portfolio to meet their downstream needs while meeting regulatory requirements.
Siltech: Improving appearance, slip and mechanical properties.
Troy: Advanced dry-film preservative technology is essential to protect coatings from a wide variety of microbial threats, for as long as possible. Troy’s new controlled release technology based on a novel, patented encapsulation process, has led to the development of an expanding portfolio of Polyphase CR controlled release dry-film preservatives. These innovative products, such as broad-spectrum, zero VOC Polyphase 763CR, offer enhanced resistance to leaching of the active material from the coating, typically caused by rainfall. Additionally, these CR preservatives offer remarkably long-lasting exterior coatings protection, as evidenced by Troy’s long-term field testing evaluations. Additional advantages of performance enhancing CR technology include greater color stability, as well as environmental benefits resulting from minimized leaching of active substances. In many cases, cost-in-use associated with Troy’s CR preservatives is lower than conventional preservatives due to the performance efficiency of CR products, and retention of active substances.
Troy is also launching a unique, innovative antibacterial dry-film preservative for home and HI&I interiors. Troysan 1050 is based on Troy’s novel immobilized BIT technology, enabling the preservative to maintain prolonged antibacterial efficacy on coated surfaces, and continue to reduce bacterial count. This unique product can add value for formulators of modern coatings for interiors. Importantly for these types of coatings, advanced Troysan 1050 is a zero-VOC product.
Value-added performance additives are essential to the formulation, production, and application of high-quality coatings, whether for architectural or industrial use, and aqueous or non-aqueous systems. Wetting and flow & leveling additives, such as Troy’s Troysol products, control a wide range of product properties, enhance surface appearance and integrity, and eliminate film defects. These additives allow the formulation of films with excellent resistance to mar and abrasion, with increased surface slip. Wetting and flow & leveling additives also allow for coating over many substrate types, including contaminated substrates. Dispersants, such as the Troysperse line, ensure optimum color strength and uniformity. Defoamers, such as Troykyd additives, eliminate entrapped air so that bubbles and pinholes don’t degrade the applied coating film. Thixotropic agents and rheology modifiers, like Troy’s Troythix products, improve the storage stability, application, and appearance of manufactured products and production processes, and enable precise control of the rheological properties of the materials to which they are added. Troythix rheology products enable control of viscosity, settling resistance, and sag resistance. Additionally, Troy offers Powdermate powder coating additives, performance a variety of functions, such as flow & leveling, degassing, and texturing.
CW: What considerations should formulators make when choosing a performance enhancing additive?
Arkema: When choosing the right additive, formulators should consider the following: • Is it a aqueous, solvent based or solvent free formulation? Additives are typically designed for one or the other. • If it is a solvent-based formulation, what is the nature of the solvent? Again, this will help identify the best possible additive solution.• What is the resin system or chemistry (a cr ylic, polyester, epoxy, etc)?• Is the coating pigmented or does it cont ain fillers? If it does not, Arkema typically recommends the use of a pre-activated paste. • Once the above questions have been answered, it is matter of determining desired performance attributes. Do you need anti-setting and sag control, for example? • Finally, formulators should take the processing equipment used in the final product into account. Does the equipment allow for temperature control? What is the mixer speed or blade configuration?
keim: Besides satisfying the general technical needs at an adequate price/performance ratio especially more and more requests reaching us for environmentally acceptable (“green”) additives. We are facing this challenge by offering formulated products e.g. being VOC-free, without amines or other hazardous ingredients.
Micro Powders: Choosing a wax additive can be intimidating because there are many options. You must first identify the properties that need to be optimized as well as associated test methods. Other considerations include: system type, incorporation method, desired gloss, film thickness, substrate, cure mechanism and recoatability. Micro Powders is available to provide technical assistance either directly or through one of our certified distribution partners around the globe.
Pilot Chemical: Formulators need to look at total formulated cost vs. raw material cost relative to the performance gain. If you get hung up on the cost of the additive, you may miss out on performance synergies that give you the ability to charge more for the final product, or raw material savings by reducing use levels of other additives. So rather than look at the additive cost, look at the total formulation cost and the performance gain realized using that additive.
As the coatings market continues to consolidate through mergers and acquisitions, coatings manufacturers are faced with the challenge of managing regulatory requirements across multiple regions. It’s important to stay informed on changes in regulatory requirements globally. If a product enhances performance but needs to be registered globally, suppliers and manufacturers need to work together to ensure that product registration is factored into the development process and timeline. Lastly, reliability and security of supply is key – you need to make sure you have partner that has multiple assets to make the product and supply chain capability to supply the product where you need it.
Shamrock: Formulators should be focusing on the entire value proposition. More and more emphasis is now placed on the efficacy of the additive, as well as the sustainability and impact on the environment.
Siltech: Additives normally do what they are advertised to do, but they also do other things. You have to be aware of the other impacts such as foaming, overcoatability, defect formation, etc.
Troy: For preservatives, formulators should consider substrate types, geographic markets as they affect climate and microbial exposure, desired film duration, and VOC/APE requirements. When choosing a performance enhancing additive, formulators should consider system type, as well as pH, application temperature, and the type of incorporation the additive and the formulator’s manufacturing processes require. VOC and APEO requirements should be taken into account. Troy offers a broad portfolio of performance additives for every system type, including Z-line additives, which are zero VOC and APEO-free for modern ‘green’ systems. The new Troysperse ZWD line of dispersants is an excellent example of these ‘green’ products.
CW: What are the latest technologies being developed for additives in paint and coatings?
Arkema: Legislation is pushing towards greener technologies with lower VOC contents. This trend comes along with specific challenges related to rheology particularly for industrial coatings. Those paints present logically higher viscosity but also different drying profiles and are more difficult to spray. To control rheology is key to ensure coatings stability, ease of application and to insure thickness control. It is why our additive department developed rheology modifier suitable for higher solid content (very high solid and solvent free. Crayvallac rheology modifiers can help to face up these challenges.
keim: Todays paint market is pushing for low- / non emission paints. Solvents are no longer formulated. By that reason the time frame to rework painted areas is shortened and the open time needs to be extended. SILCO developed an open time extender without the negative side effects of decreased stain resistance or longterm stickiness.
Micro Powders: Wax additives are our core business so we listen to the market. We recently introduced several nanoalumina and ceramic fortified composite waxes for customers who wish to move away from PTFE containing additives. We also introduced several products based on natural and biodegradable materials, giving today’s formulators even more options to develop next-generation coatings.
Pilot Chemical: Macro trends for additives in paint and coatings continue to drive towards sustainability, low VOC, and regulatory compliance. We see the industry continuing to shift more toward waterborne systems and high solid systems to replace VOC containing solvent-borne coatings and adhesives. Additives that help enhance the performance of waterborne coatings to be more competitive with solventborne systems continue to be a driver in the market.
Shamrock: Shamrock launched the new “RC” (Reach Compliant) products towards end of 2019, and is now steadily supplying customers with RC grades that are tested on a per-lot basis for specific applications.
Siltech: Our focus at Siltech has been on reactive products that modify the mechanical properties of the matrix. In addition to affecting the appearance, wetting, foaming and slip, reactive silicones can add flexibility and impact resistance to the
cured material.
Troy: When choosing a performance enhancing additive, formulators should consider system type – aqueous or non-aqueous – as well as pH, application temperature, and the type of incorporation the additive and the formulator’s manufacturing processes require. Furthermore, VOC and APEO requirements should be taken into account. Troy offers a broad portfolio of performance additives for every system type, including Z-line additives, which are zero VOC and APEO-free for modern ‘green’ systems. The new Troysperse ZWD line of dispersants is an excellent example of these ‘green’ products.
CW: What types of performance enhancing additives does your company offer?
Arkema: Arkema Coating Resins produces functional coating additives for decorative and industrial coatings, sealants, inks and defoamers for paint. CRAYVALLAC coating additives include rheology modifiers, surface modifiers, and flow and leveling agents.
keim: keim additec surface USA offers products manufactured by; keim additec surface GmbH, CHT GmbH, euroceras Sp. Z.o.o. and ceronas GmbH. The products include a broad variety of aqueous ULTRALUBE wax additives, high performance SILCO coating additives also different types of solid / micronized waxes under the brand names CERALENE and mju:wax.
Micro Powders: Micro Powders offers a full range of synthetic and natural wax additives for surface protection, gloss reduction, texture, haptics and water repellency. These waxes can be used in a wide variety of paint and coating applications as well as graphic arts. We have the most comprehensive portfolio of dry wax powders, wax dispersions and wax emulsions available in the industry.
Pilot Chemical: Pilot Chemical offers anionic surfactants that are primarily used for emulsion polymerization, paint formulation and developing pigment dispersions.
Shamrock: Shamrock Technologies offers slip additives including PTFE, waxes, wax blends, compounds, dispersions
and emulsions.
Siltech: Silicone based materials for improving appearance, slip and mechanical properties
Troy: As a dedicated supplier of a broad portfolio of advanced preservatives and additives, Troy Corporation offers a diversity of products that can be considered performance enhancing. Troy’s Polyphase, Fungitrol, and Troysan dry-film preservatives enhance performance of interior and exterior coatings by offering broad-spectrum protection against diverse forms of microbial growth, thereby enhancing durability and extending the useful life of the coating. Troy’s performance additives similarly add value, durability, and aesthetic qualities to coatings. Troy’s performance enhancing additives include defoamers, rheology modifiers, thixotropic agents, substrate wetting and flow & leveling additives, mar resistance & slip agents, and dispersants. These performance additives are developed for a broad range of aqueous and non-aqueous system types.
CW: Given the added cost associated with these types of additives, what are the benefits to the customer?
Arkema: CRAYVALLAC additives offer value-added properties to control rheology, to provide antisettling properties, controlled thixotropy and antisag properties. The surface modifiers permit to control matting, anti-abrasion, slip and rub, sanding and texturing. The flow and levelling agent are offer superior recoatability. CRAYVALLAC coating additives are available around the globe.
keim: The broad product portfolios of the different companies within the group ensures the possibility of a very precise adjustment of the desired surface properties to achieve with the particular types; besides this several types of additives can be supplied out of “one-hand”.
Micro Powders: The role of a surface modifier is to optimize the performance of a finish to meet the expectations of the final customer. Composite waxes are the additive of choice for surface protection properties in demanding applications. In most cases, they offer the greatest efficiency at the lowest level of addition and formulation cost. Our PolyGlide 1226XF and Superslip 6515AL composite waxes are good examples of this relationship.
Pilot Chemical: Calfax and Calimulse emulsifiers can help improve shear stability, which contributes to lower grit formation and more consistent processing; reduced buildup on the inside of a reactor; and they can be used to reduce viscosity to improve material handling. In addition, while foam is not always a direct problem in emulsion polymerization, it can lead to other problems affecting uniformity of composition and the creation of shock grit with excessive shear. Diphenyl oxide-based surfactants such as Pilot Chemical’s Calfax DB-45 & 16L-35 produce much less foam than traditional emulsifiers such as alkyl sulfates and sulfonates. The addition of defoamers to an emulsion can often lead to other problems such as emulsion instability or defective coatings.
Shamrock: Shamrock Performance Additives provide specific end properties such as slip control, mar and abrasion resistance, matting, and texturing/feel to our customers’ end products. These enable our customers to expand their product portfolio to meet their downstream needs while meeting regulatory requirements.
Siltech: Improving appearance, slip and mechanical properties.
Troy: Advanced dry-film preservative technology is essential to protect coatings from a wide variety of microbial threats, for as long as possible. Troy’s new controlled release technology based on a novel, patented encapsulation process, has led to the development of an expanding portfolio of Polyphase CR controlled release dry-film preservatives. These innovative products, such as broad-spectrum, zero VOC Polyphase 763CR, offer enhanced resistance to leaching of the active material from the coating, typically caused by rainfall. Additionally, these CR preservatives offer remarkably long-lasting exterior coatings protection, as evidenced by Troy’s long-term field testing evaluations. Additional advantages of performance enhancing CR technology include greater color stability, as well as environmental benefits resulting from minimized leaching of active substances. In many cases, cost-in-use associated with Troy’s CR preservatives is lower than conventional preservatives due to the performance efficiency of CR products, and retention of active substances.
Troy is also launching a unique, innovative antibacterial dry-film preservative for home and HI&I interiors. Troysan 1050 is based on Troy’s novel immobilized BIT technology, enabling the preservative to maintain prolonged antibacterial efficacy on coated surfaces, and continue to reduce bacterial count. This unique product can add value for formulators of modern coatings for interiors. Importantly for these types of coatings, advanced Troysan 1050 is a zero-VOC product.
Value-added performance additives are essential to the formulation, production, and application of high-quality coatings, whether for architectural or industrial use, and aqueous or non-aqueous systems. Wetting and flow & leveling additives, such as Troy’s Troysol products, control a wide range of product properties, enhance surface appearance and integrity, and eliminate film defects. These additives allow the formulation of films with excellent resistance to mar and abrasion, with increased surface slip. Wetting and flow & leveling additives also allow for coating over many substrate types, including contaminated substrates. Dispersants, such as the Troysperse line, ensure optimum color strength and uniformity. Defoamers, such as Troykyd additives, eliminate entrapped air so that bubbles and pinholes don’t degrade the applied coating film. Thixotropic agents and rheology modifiers, like Troy’s Troythix products, improve the storage stability, application, and appearance of manufactured products and production processes, and enable precise control of the rheological properties of the materials to which they are added. Troythix rheology products enable control of viscosity, settling resistance, and sag resistance. Additionally, Troy offers Powdermate powder coating additives, performance a variety of functions, such as flow & leveling, degassing, and texturing.
CW: What considerations should formulators make when choosing a performance enhancing additive?
Arkema: When choosing the right additive, formulators should consider the following: • Is it a aqueous, solvent based or solvent free formulation? Additives are typically designed for one or the other. • If it is a solvent-based formulation, what is the nature of the solvent? Again, this will help identify the best possible additive solution.• What is the resin system or chemistry (a cr ylic, polyester, epoxy, etc)?• Is the coating pigmented or does it cont ain fillers? If it does not, Arkema typically recommends the use of a pre-activated paste. • Once the above questions have been answered, it is matter of determining desired performance attributes. Do you need anti-setting and sag control, for example? • Finally, formulators should take the processing equipment used in the final product into account. Does the equipment allow for temperature control? What is the mixer speed or blade configuration?
keim: Besides satisfying the general technical needs at an adequate price/performance ratio especially more and more requests reaching us for environmentally acceptable (“green”) additives. We are facing this challenge by offering formulated products e.g. being VOC-free, without amines or other hazardous ingredients.
Micro Powders: Choosing a wax additive can be intimidating because there are many options. You must first identify the properties that need to be optimized as well as associated test methods. Other considerations include: system type, incorporation method, desired gloss, film thickness, substrate, cure mechanism and recoatability. Micro Powders is available to provide technical assistance either directly or through one of our certified distribution partners around the globe.
Pilot Chemical: Formulators need to look at total formulated cost vs. raw material cost relative to the performance gain. If you get hung up on the cost of the additive, you may miss out on performance synergies that give you the ability to charge more for the final product, or raw material savings by reducing use levels of other additives. So rather than look at the additive cost, look at the total formulation cost and the performance gain realized using that additive.
As the coatings market continues to consolidate through mergers and acquisitions, coatings manufacturers are faced with the challenge of managing regulatory requirements across multiple regions. It’s important to stay informed on changes in regulatory requirements globally. If a product enhances performance but needs to be registered globally, suppliers and manufacturers need to work together to ensure that product registration is factored into the development process and timeline. Lastly, reliability and security of supply is key – you need to make sure you have partner that has multiple assets to make the product and supply chain capability to supply the product where you need it.
Shamrock: Formulators should be focusing on the entire value proposition. More and more emphasis is now placed on the efficacy of the additive, as well as the sustainability and impact on the environment.
Siltech: Additives normally do what they are advertised to do, but they also do other things. You have to be aware of the other impacts such as foaming, overcoatability, defect formation, etc.
Troy: For preservatives, formulators should consider substrate types, geographic markets as they affect climate and microbial exposure, desired film duration, and VOC/APE requirements. When choosing a performance enhancing additive, formulators should consider system type, as well as pH, application temperature, and the type of incorporation the additive and the formulator’s manufacturing processes require. VOC and APEO requirements should be taken into account. Troy offers a broad portfolio of performance additives for every system type, including Z-line additives, which are zero VOC and APEO-free for modern ‘green’ systems. The new Troysperse ZWD line of dispersants is an excellent example of these ‘green’ products.
CW: What are the latest technologies being developed for additives in paint and coatings?
Arkema: Legislation is pushing towards greener technologies with lower VOC contents. This trend comes along with specific challenges related to rheology particularly for industrial coatings. Those paints present logically higher viscosity but also different drying profiles and are more difficult to spray. To control rheology is key to ensure coatings stability, ease of application and to insure thickness control. It is why our additive department developed rheology modifier suitable for higher solid content (very high solid and solvent free. Crayvallac rheology modifiers can help to face up these challenges.
keim: Todays paint market is pushing for low- / non emission paints. Solvents are no longer formulated. By that reason the time frame to rework painted areas is shortened and the open time needs to be extended. SILCO developed an open time extender without the negative side effects of decreased stain resistance or longterm stickiness.
Micro Powders: Wax additives are our core business so we listen to the market. We recently introduced several nanoalumina and ceramic fortified composite waxes for customers who wish to move away from PTFE containing additives. We also introduced several products based on natural and biodegradable materials, giving today’s formulators even more options to develop next-generation coatings.
Pilot Chemical: Macro trends for additives in paint and coatings continue to drive towards sustainability, low VOC, and regulatory compliance. We see the industry continuing to shift more toward waterborne systems and high solid systems to replace VOC containing solvent-borne coatings and adhesives. Additives that help enhance the performance of waterborne coatings to be more competitive with solventborne systems continue to be a driver in the market.
Shamrock: Shamrock launched the new “RC” (Reach Compliant) products towards end of 2019, and is now steadily supplying customers with RC grades that are tested on a per-lot basis for specific applications.
Siltech: Our focus at Siltech has been on reactive products that modify the mechanical properties of the matrix. In addition to affecting the appearance, wetting, foaming and slip, reactive silicones can add flexibility and impact resistance to the
cured material.
Troy: When choosing a performance enhancing additive, formulators should consider system type – aqueous or non-aqueous – as well as pH, application temperature, and the type of incorporation the additive and the formulator’s manufacturing processes require. Furthermore, VOC and APEO requirements should be taken into account. Troy offers a broad portfolio of performance additives for every system type, including Z-line additives, which are zero VOC and APEO-free for modern ‘green’ systems. The new Troysperse ZWD line of dispersants is an excellent example of these ‘green’ products.