CW: What types of additives does your company offer?

Arkema: Arkema Coating Resins offers a wide variety of functional coating additives for non-aqueous decorative and industrial coatings, sealants, inks and defoamers for paint.
Crayvallac coating additives products include rheology modifiers, surface modifiers, and flow and leveling agents. Its products also include paint additives designed to improve properties like matting, anti-abrasion, slip and rub, sanding and texturing.

Katie Fagan, marketing manager, Formulation Additives, BASF: BASF is one of the few suppliers that offers a comprehensive portfolio of additives.  Our portfolio includes additives that make a coating formulation successful – rheology modifiers to make a paint or coating “go on” exactly as users desire; defoamers to avoid craters and defects in the final coating or to avoid foam during manufacture; dispersants to create beautiful tint strength and depth; and wetting agents or other surfactants for that perfect “finish” – as well as additives that improve the performance of the coating once it’s applied, like UV light stabilizers (Tinuvin) or even anti-foulants for heavy marine use (Irgarol).

Clariant: For the paints and coatings industry, specifically for manufacturers of architectural coatings and pigment preparations, Clariant provides a variety of performance additives including: APEO-free wetting agents, label-free dispersing agents, low VOC humectants, and specialty ingredients such as a sugar-based neutralizing agent, rheology improving stabilizers for biocide-free paints and silver biocides for the antimicrobial preservation. Additionally, we deliver emulsifiers for emulsion polymerization and components for the synthesis of rheology modifiers and leveling agents.  Clariant’s business unit Industrial & Consumer Specialties (ICS) has the advantage of a broad technology base which positions us to develop products tailored to specific customer needs.  Key core technologies include surfactants, polyethylene glycols and polyether amines.

Coatex: Coatex is a world-leading producer of waterborne rheology additives for low VOC aqueous coatings, adhesives and sealants formulations. We offer a full range of solutions such as dispersing aids to optimize and stabilize pigments and fillers dispersion as well as thickeners to fine-tune the desired rheological profile according to your objectives. Coatex offers solvent free, APEO free, heavy metal free and zero-VOC solutions to coatings, adhesives and sealants markets for a sustainable future.

Pilot: Pilot Chemical Company offers a variety of fluorosurfactants, disulfonates and sulfonates.

Siltech: Siltech offers a complete line of organomodified silicone polymer based foam control, wetting, flow and leveling, slip, and mar and stain resistant additives.

Unimin: Unimin/ Sibelco offers:
• Mineral-based anti-blocking additives and fillers
• Halogen-free mineral additives for flame retardancy and smoke suppression
• UV cure synergist in clear and pigmented systems
• Additives for gloss control
• Additives to improve scratch and abrasion resistance
• Low silica additives to help comply with new OSHA regulations in North America

CW: What considerations should formulators make when choosing an additive?

Arkema: When choosing the right additive, formulators should consider the following:
• Is it a 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 (acrylic, polyester, epoxy, etc)?
• Is the coating pigmented or does it contain 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?

All of these factors can help a formulator identify the proper additive for their formulation.  At Arkema, we can help them address each of these and recommend the Crayvallac additive that best meets their application needs.

Tony Moy, technical specialist, BASF: Broadly speaking, the most common considerations we hear from formulators are whether an additive is easy to handle, whether the end application can bear the cost of the chosen additive(s), how the health/safety profile of the additive impacts the rating of the overall formulation, and compatibility of the additive. 
But more specifically, formulators must first understand the application environment (and accompanying constraints, such as chemistry, VOC, other ingredients, exterior/interior, sustainability factors), and secondly, the performance attribute or target.  For example, when selecting a dispersant for a water-based application, the dispersant must be compatible with water, but further constraints have to be explored, such as the pigment surface chemistry, or any “side effects” the dispersant may bring with it (e.g., water sensitivity in the case of acid polymer types of dispersants, or potential interactions with other elements of the formulation), etc. 

To achieve a performance attribute or target, in most formulations, the attributes of the resin, pigment, and carrier medium (water or solvent) are insufficient, leading to various shortcomings or problems.  Additives fill these gaps by addressing a specific issue in the coating performance.  For example, if a formulation can’t properly wet the substrate upon which it’s applied, severe defects (pinholes, craters, etc.) may form, defeating the protective intent for the coating.  A wetting agent could be used to lower the surface tension of the coating, enable it to fully wet the substrate, and form a uniform, defect-free coating.

Clariant: Formulators can choose from a variety of additives.  Choice additives should be in line with the overarching trends in architectural coatings, which are health & well-being, convenience, multifunctionality, operational efficiency and of course aesthetics.  Formulators expect an additive supplier, to offer more products with a sustainable profile (e.g. label-free, VOC-free) which are multifunctional to reduce formulation complexity and at the same time help to boost the paint quality and performance.  It is very important to a paint formulator to identify in a short time the most appropriate additive suitable in his new development or for an existing formulation problem.  To help address this need we have extensively scrutinized our additives portfolio in our Paints & Coatings lab at Clariant’s Innovation Center in Frankfurt, taking into consideration a broad variety of performance parameters, for various coating systems. We are open to share with our customers not only the additive’s benefits, but also comment on any side effects.  A formulator can find value in a supplier which can provide specific use recommendations with more narrowed dosage levels.  Finally, to address ever-changing regulations, it is necessary to have a partner that can support customers with regulatory questions and provide guidance for ecolabel certifications.

Coatex: Although additives account for a small portion of final formulations, rheology modifiers, thickeners and dispersants can significantly impact the final performances, ease of application, stability and film properties. Their effectiveness and the benefits they provide make them key components of water-based systems. As a consequence, the choice of the right additive requires the formulator to take into consideration first, its objectives in terms of performance and second, the formulation characteristics (binder, filler nature, PVC, etc…) and application tools.

Pilot: When choosing an additive, the formulator needs to understand the application, the intended properties the additive needs to impart and the concentration of the additive to be used.

Siltech: There are many considerations that formulators have to contend with, especially since additives are often used specifically to prevent a problem.  Use level is a somewhat underappreciated factor, with some additives not working as well or causing issues when too much is used.  Most silicone-based additives will be used at 0.1% or less in applications where surface tension reduction is the mechanism of action.  Flow and leveling, wetting, defect elimination are examples of this.  When coefficient of friction reduction is the mode of action, such as with slip and stain and mar resistance, use levels may be higher but are rarely above 1%.

A critical factor on additive choice is the compatibility with the solvent or carrier, the resin and the additive.  Too much compatibility can result in poor performance, foam generation or entrained air problems from using the wrong additive.  Too little compatibility can cause defects or change of properties with time.  The degree and type of organomodification of the silicone polymer provides the varying compatibility. 

Unimin:
• Is the additive compatible with my system and can it be easily incorporated?
• Will this additive cause a side-effect, and if so, is it easy to adjust for?
• Is there a more basic approach to achieve the same modifications or a lower cost option?
• Will the additive provide a value-added benefit to differentiate your product from the competition?
• How will you determine whether the desired properties have been met with the (new) additive?
• What are the regulatory constraints (if any) limiting the choice of additives?

CW: What are the latest technologies being developed for additives in paint and coatings?

Randy Brown, technical specialist, BASF: Additives are moving into some very interesting technology areas!  Additives that react into the coating to prevent or reduce leaching, are of very high interest.  Difficult-to-disperse pigments have long been an issue, and so there’s a need for additives with enhanced dispersing power for those complicated pigments.  Finally, rheology modifiers that thicken in shear-specific regions…viscosity usually changes when a paint or coating moves from “in the can” (low shear) to spray-application (high shear), for example…developing rheology modifiers that can address one area, without significant impact to another, is definitely a hot topic.

Clariant: Clariant’s latest innovation is a sugar-based neutralizing agent Genamin Gluco 50, a dimethylglucamine, derived from glucose.  The precursor of this amine, NMG, is also used to produce additional sugar-based surfactants which Clariant markets for cosmetic products, cleaners, detergents and agrochemicals.  Genamin Gluco offers a ground-breaking combination of VOC/SVOC-free, label-free, renewable content and multifunctional performance.  This additive creates an unrivalled opportunity to improve paint characteristics, beyond the pH-value and system stabilization of a standard neutralizer, and reduce additive use.  Genamin Gluco 50 is proven to outperform alternative multifunctional additives,  including AMP, in aspects such as storage stability, flash rust, pigment compatibility, and odor.  Genamin Gluco 50 has no negative influence on paint properties such as gloss or on drying or film hardness.  Developed specifically for use as 3-in-1 neutralizer, Genamin Gluco 50 also functions as a compatibilizer and stabilizer for ecofriendly, waterborne paints. The result of our breakthrough? Manufacturers can develop waterborne paints and lacquers with improved paint lifetime and storage, which have a pleasant smell and are easy to apply – ideal for indoor environments – and satisfy ecolabel criteria.

Coatex: Paints, coatings, adhesives and sealants formulations are getting more and more complex to answer new requirements in terms of performance and regulations. New raw materials from different sources are constantly introduced. Since the additives are interacting with the various components, they need to be re-designed accordingly. As an example, new thickeners with specific structures are developed for the new generation of binders being introduced on the market. HASE and HEUR technologies are completely revisited. When it comes to dispersants, they are not only expected anymore to disperse and stabilize pigments and fillers but they also bring additional benefits such as hydrophobicity, water marks reduction, reduced surfactant leaching.

Thus, additives designers have reconsidered the nature of anchorage groups, molecule architecture and backbones.

Pilot:  Different types of short chain fluorosurfactants and intermediates are being developed to impart dirt resistance, grease/oil resistance, cleaning ability and antimicrobial properties to the paint and/or coating.

Siltech: At Siltech we are constantly evaluating different combinations of organomodification, resulting in more complex additives but also enhanced performance.  In particular reactivity with the resin can be provided to give permanence of properties.

Unimin:
• Non-halogenated flame and smoke retardants
• Stain resistant additives for interior paint
• Additives compatible with radiation curable systems (coatings, inks, adhesives and plastics)
• Near or zero VOC additives