Bio-Based Resins for Paints and Coatings Moving Beyond Basic Vegetable Oils

By Cynthia Challener

Bio-based resin technology has been a staple of the paint and coatings industry for many decades. The polyol and fatty acid components of conventional alkyds have been derived from naturally occurring oils since their first introduction. Until re­cently, however, coating resins prepared from oil-based raw materials were selected based on their performance, with no attention paid to the renewable content. But in recent years, demand for traditional alkyds has been declining because of their high volatile organic compound (VOC) content. There is growing interest in “greener” products and a greater awareness on the part of paint and coating manufacturers and their customers that the use of renewable raw materials can help meet sustain­ability goals. This, in turn, is driving renewed interest in the development of coating resins developed from a variety of bio-based materials, including derivatized natural oils, proteins, and other biodegradable polymers.

Presented below are highlights of both commercial products produced us­ing bio-based raw materials and academic research projects focused on utilizing renewable resources for the synthesis of high-performing resins for a variety of paint and coating applications.