The ‘Rebirth’ of Alkyds – Improved Performance Energizes Market

By Cynthia Challener

Alkyd coatings found widespread use in architectural. agricultural equlpment, and light industrial ap­plications until increasing regulatory restrictions on voes led to a dra­matic decline in demand for these traditionally solventborne resins. Water-reducibi!e alkyds, the·first at­tempt by lndustry to develop lower ­VOC. aqueous alternatives, met with only limited success, and it appeared that the market for alkyds would re­main significantly diminished. Recent advances in hybrid and 100% alkyd latex technologies, however, have enabled the production of low- to zero-voc alkyd resins that have per­formance characteristics similar to those obtained with solvent-based products. As consumer interest
in “greener” products made from renewable resources continues to grow, the outlook for these new al­kyds seems much brighter.