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2023 Committee Report

ACA’s committees address an array of issues impacting the industry and are classified by specific sector, issue, or project. While all committees are conduits for information sharing, some collaborate to respond to regulatory initiatives, direct industry guidance publications, or host conferences. This report offers an overview of the efforts and accomplishments of ACA’s committees over the past year.

Members Only Diving Deeper into VOCs

[…] in this area. To address these issues, digital tools such as molecular descriptors and machine learning models are being combined with experimental measurements to better understand the time-dependent mechanistic nature […]

PCI Powder Coating Week 2024

[…] years, the Powder Coating Institute has hosted an annual event that focuses on providing education for all those using powder coating and those interested in learning more about the technology.  

Natural Sunscreen Replacements

By Gloria Klees Active ingredients such as oxybenzone and octinoxate have been used as major UV protectants in sunscreens for decades. While these ingredients are key components in many sunscreens, […]

2023 CoatingsTech Conference: Technical Highlights

[…] “Future of Laboratory Work,” where several industry experts discussed the role of digitalization, automation, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and data security. Following the panel discussion, Dr. Victoria Scarborough of The ChemQuest Group delivered the plenary address, “A Heat Map of New Technology in a Post-Pandemic World,” an examination of megatrends that are driving technology and offering opportunities for the coatings industry. The final day of the conference focused on environmental, health, and safety issues facing the coatings industry, as experts from government and ACA addressed developments that impact business and compliance efforts. As the conference drew to a close, Dr. Dane R. Jones, professor and associate dean, emeritus, at California Polytechnic State University, was presented the inaugural David F. Darling Prize. This award, named for the late ACA vice president of health, safety, and environmental affairs who passed away in 2022, honors Darling’s legacy in the industry. For 25 years, Darling served as a staunch advocate for the coatings industry, extending his expertise and contributions into the areas of sustainability and product stewardship, where he developed a wide network of professionals with the goal of creating science-driven solutions for the coatings industry. Demonstrating that same commitment and focus, Jones was recognized for his research that has played a key role in the quantification, rationalization, and realization of air pollution reduction efforts, and have provided valuable tools for industry’s continuing commitment to create a more sustainable future. Furthering the discussions of industry advances, the conference presentations covered new research and technologies designed to address some of the issues facing the paint and coatings industry today, and this article spotlights a selection of the addresses and technical talks. As always, readers are encouraged to seek out papers, authors, and presenters for more information, as well as check future issues of CoatingsTech magazine for the publication of some of the papers presented at the 2023 CoatingsTech Conference. Sustainability Sustainability is something the paint and coatings industry has been concerned with for decades. Often, regulations have been the impetus for efforts toward sustainability. These efforts, such as removing volatile organic compounds (VOC) content or materials of concern from raw materials and coating formulations, have also resulted in the development of safer products. Now the sustainability journey also encompasses ideas such as using more renewable or biobased materials, increasing coating durability to lower lifecycle costs, and improving production processes to lower carbon content or even achieve carbon neutrality, among others. It is heartening to see that our industry has truly embraced the underlying importance of working toward a more sustainable world, and many of the presentations at the CoatingsTech Conference clearly demonstrated that commitment. For instance, John Gilbert’s keynote presentation—”Developing Coatings for a New Sustainable Future”—touched on many of the areas where sustainability intersects with coatings, such as the elimination of materials of concern (including VOCs, PFAS, marine pollutants, and biocides); the efficient production and use of paint; the focus on the recyclability of both products and packaging, and efforts toward lowering one’s carbon footprint. Gilbert stressed that to lower VOC content, formulators must first understand ASTM D-6886—the analytical method used to measure VOC content and thereby determines what is considered a VOC—as well as monitor the VOC content of their raw materials. Accurate data on VOCs in raw materials are needed to ensure that formulating software can correctly calculate the levels of VOCs. Also, formulators need to educate their raw material suppliers and set limits for raw material VOCs early in the development cycle. Gilbert said that the strategy for removing PFAS from paint formulations is to work with raw material suppliers to remove fluorosurfactants and to evaluate alternative technologies to meet performance properties such as block resistance, substrate wetting, and dirt resistance. On the topic of making paint more efficiently, Gilbert stressed that some companies in the industry are already frequently using a zero-waste batch process but that they probably don’t get enough credit for it. In this process, the water that typically results from rinsing mixing kettles at the end of a batch, which now contains some paint solids, is then used in the next batch, thus eliminating the generation of waste. The efficient use of paint includes designing formulations for good coverage and hiding, as well as for better interior and exterior durability to extend the lifetime of a paint. For example, the industry has improved hiding with the introduction of higher hiding color pigments and binders and pigments that contribute to the proper spacing of titanium dioxide in the dry film, both of which lead to improved opacity. In addition, the improved dispensing accuracy of point-of-sale tinting equipment has enabled the use of more concentrated colorants, facilitating higher volume solids and better hiding. Regarding recyclability, Gilbert mentioned the PaintCare™ paint recycling program,1 through which consumers in 11 states and the District of Columbia can drop off old paints that are then recycled into new paint products. Gilbert explained how Behr has addressed the recyclability of paint cans by developing a new all-plastic can. Made of 100% recycled plastic, the can is also 100% recyclable after it has been emptied and any residual paint, once it has dried, has been peeled away from the interior of the container and then disposed. In the presentation titled “Novel Functional Coatings and Inks Fabricated with Biobased Polymers,” Shan Jiang, Ph.D., of Iowa State University described the use of biobased polymers in functional coatings. Jiang presented research on a biobased nanocomposite formed with cellulose and zinc oxide nanoparticles for the blocking of UV light in transparent films and discussed efforts toward developing an ink based on biobased cellulose polymers and silver nanoparticles for possible use in printing electronic circuits for space applications. While attempting to develop a transparent coating for food packaging using biobased materials that protects sensitive food from UV light, Jiang and his team evaluated the combination of biobased polymers, such as starch, cellulose, and their modified derivatives hydroxyethyl starch (HES) and hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC), with zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles, which are known to be good UV absorbers. Jiang found that the films based on HES and ZnO nanoparticles (0.8% by weight) provided only a slight improvement in lowering UV transmittance compared with a traditional food packaging film, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), that used the same level of ZnO. In an interesting result, however, he observed that a film based on HEC and 0.8% ZnO significantly lowered the amount of transmitted UV light to about 6%, while maintaining excellent visible light transmittance (73%) and transparency. This film was also much thinner compared with other technologies with similar performance. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the HEC-based films form a unique fractal network of ZnO nanoparticles, while the HES-based films show clustering of the nanoparticles. The more even distribution of the ZnO leads to better UV-blocking properties for the HEC-based films. Jiang explained that, although they have similar molecular structures, the differing cis- and trans-configurations of HES and HEC (Figure 1) lead to a difference in persistence length, resulting in a more linear conformation of the HEC polymer and a more coiled conformation of the HES polymer. The different conformations impact how the ZnO nanoparticles aggregate, and for HEC-based films, the result is less clustering than in the HES-based films. Figure 1. Molecular structure of hydroxyethyl starch (HES) and hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC), with R being either H or CH2CH2OH. Jiang also described the development of an ink based on HEC and silver nanoparticles, in which the HEC acts as both a stabilizer and viscosity modifier for the silver nanoparticles. The ink can be applied by electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing, a process in which the ink is propelled to the substrate by an electric field. Using EHD printing, the ink can be applied in very high-resolution lines with a width of just a few microns on flexible substrates and in low gravity. After sintering, the printed pattern has high conductivity. The intended application is to enable the printing of electronic circuits in space. Jiang explained that he and his team evaluated the EHD printing tests’ feasibility by running them in zero-gravity during parabolic flights, with good results. A presentation titled “Incorporation of Sustainability and Circular Economy Principles in Product Development” by Mike Jeffries of Covestro also addressed sustainability. In it, Jeffries discussed how circularity requires cooperation and joint solutions with companies working alongside partners up and down the value chain. Jeffries also stressed that sustainable raw materials are available to formulators. One of several examples he gave was biobased aniline, which is used to produce biobased methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI). Based on the biomass of unrefined sugar from corn starch, wood, or straw, MDI is produced first through biocatalysis whereby the sugar becomes pre-aniline via use of microorganisms, and then with a second chemical reaction step whereby the pre-aniline material becomes 100% biobased aniline. The aniline is further reacted to eventually form biobased MDI. Jeffries also stated that pentamethylene diisocyanate (PDI) is the first aliphatic isocyanate with significant bio-content (71% renewable carbon) and offers a non-petroleum alternative to isocyanates such as hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI). In addition, he described how the biobased PDI compares favorably with HDI for performance when formulated into coatings. He then spoke about the joint solutions that are enabling Covestro to work toward biobased HDI. For example, Covestro worked with Genomatica to develop biobased hexamethylene diamine (HMDA), the precursor to HDI, using biotechnology and renewable plant-based feedstocks. According to Jeffries, these are just some of the examples of biobased raw materials that are becoming more available to coatings formulators. Jeffries touched on how using coatings technologies that cure at lower temperatures can impact the use of energy in application. One example he gave is that using a two-component (2K) polyaspartic coating, which cures at ambient temperature, to replace a powder coating requiring an oven bake at 325 °F can result in a 75% reduction in energy usage at the manufacturing facility. Jeffries also discussed how the use of waterborne coatings can reduce both emissions and a company’s carbon footprint. For example, 2K waterborne polyurethanes that perform well enough can offer an alternative to solventborne 2K polyurethanes that rely on exempt solvents (e.g., Oxsol 100) to reach VOC targets. Application Technology Several very interesting presentations at the CoatingsTech Conference focused on new technologies for the coating application process. Brian Rearick and Ron Kralic of PPG gave a joint presentation titled “Precision Application Technology: Potential Benefits and Current Challenges,” describing a new coating application process that enables customization in two-tone automotive painting. Along with the trends of individualization and customization, two-tone color schemes for autos are becoming more popular. However, the traditional electrostatic spray process to paint a car in two colors is complex and labor and material intensive; it involves applying the first color (basecoat and clearcoat), curing, and then masking the car to enable application of the second color (basecoat and clearcoat) and another stage of curing. In the new process, the first color basecoat is applied, followed by precision application of the second color basecoat, and finally the clearcoat. Then the entire system cured. During this process, the second color coating is applied with precision jets onto the surface, resulting in very high transfer efficiency (>98%) and high edge resolution. The high resolution creates crisp lines, enabling printing of designs […]

2023 CoatingsTech Conference Highlights

[…] Additives, Pigments, and Colorants; Waterborne Technologies ; Analytical Measurements and Curing Studies; and Computation, Machine Learning and Equipment. Supplementing the technical sessions, the second day of the conference featured a […]