Because of its performance, high throughput and sustainable profile, this technology is widely used in markets such as industrial wood, packaging, inks and plastic coatings. The replacement of less environmentally friendly technologies, such as solvent-based and acid-catalyzed systems that release volatile organic compounds into the atmosphere, has contributed to the growth rate and interest in this technology. In particular, this shift has affected industrial wood coatings such as furniture and flooring, a trend driven by brand owners and actively supported by allnex.

While radiation curing already offers a sustainable profile, allnex is continually  pushing the boundaries to further reduce its environmental footprint by investing in more efficient production processes, increasing the durability of its products and continuing to develop a portfolio of resins that contain safer chemicals and incorporate bio-based building blocks to ultimately reduce its overall carbon footprint.

One of these efforts led to the development of EBECRYL®4690, a bio-based energy curable aliphatic urethane acrylate. This one-of-a-kind, patented product contains 30% C14 (measured according to  ASTM D6866) and is tin, solvent and BPA-free. The product combines excellent weathering resistance, high reactivity, a strong abrasion and chemical resistance with a very low yellowing. It is therefore ideal  for both clear and pigmented coatings for exterior and interior applications, as well as for coatings for furniture, kitchen cabinets, floors and panels. The carbon footprint reduction of the material can be estimated as >500 g CO₂/kg.

When developing the product, allnex considered other key market elements such as performance, price positioning and raw material availability. We can proudly confirm that the performance and price positioning are very close to the fossil analogue, while the availability of the key bio-based raw material has been detached from fossil value chains plagued  by availability issues. Thus, we offer not only a sustainable product, but also a product that meets other market requirements: availability, performance and cost. At allnex, we believe that sustainability should not be a burden, rather a  source of great opportunities, which we once again have demonstrated with this development.

Learn more at https://allnex.com/en/technologies/ecowise-choice.

Axalta is a leader in the shift toward waterborne coatings in the refinish market, providing body shops with products that have sustainability benefits like lower volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions and enabling faster cycle times. In the United States, Axalta’s Spies Hecker® Permahyd® Hi-TEC system features a waterborne sealer and basecoat, which enable painters to work without having to flash between coats. In particular, the Spies Hecker® Permahyd® 2K Sealer 5650 can be applied in 5 minutes, reducing application time by up to 75 percent compared with competitive sealers. The waterborne basecoat formulation in the Spies Hecker® Permahyd® Hi-TEC system meets even the most stringent VOC regulations, provides exceptional coverage in less than two coats, and enables a lower film build resulting in less material being required to repair a vehicle.

Learn more about Axalta’s sustainability efforts here.

Combining the elements of safety, convenience, and sustainability, Behr designed its new Simple Pour lid and all-plastic gallon containers. The all-plastic container seals tighter than the hybrid container and helps ensure that leftover paint will be better preserved for future use.

The Simple Pour spout and cap easily twists open for a cleaner, more precise pour, reducing paint waste and cleanup. The new container and lid are available on all one-gallon containers, and both are made from 100% recycled plastic of post-consumer material including recycled car battery casings, bottle caps, yogurt cups, plastic-take out containers and more. After use, the BEHR container and spout are 100% recyclable. The BEHR Simple Pour Lid/spout is an honoree of the Fast Company 2020 Innovation by Design Awards in the home category.

Behr continues to focus on developing sustainable products that are safe for the home and environment. Most BEHR products contain less than 50 grams-per-liter of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and meet the most stringent regulations across the U.S. market. Additionally, most BEHR products are formulated to meet third-party Greenguard Gold certification — certified products are low-emitting and help contribute to cleaner indoor air. BEHR also uses low volatile organic compounds (VOC) waterborne colorants for point-of-sale tinting of its paints.

Scratch and rub resistance, matting effects and slip/coefficient of friction properties are all-important attributes when it comes to protecting and enhancing wood in consumer households. Ideally, bio-based additives should provide benefits comparable to conventional non-bio-based options to be most attractive. With this consideration in mind, Clariant supports its coatings customers in finding the most appropriate renewable additive for their particular needs. Within Clariant’s portfolio, the Ceridust Vita product line is 100% solid, easy-to-incorporate, and based on non-food competing raw materials with 98% Renewable Carbon Index and free of VOC.

In recent flooring applications, for example, Clariant’s Ceridust 8090 Vita and 8091 Vita are enabling coatings’ manufacturers to achieve in-demand performance and aesthetic properties from bio-based solutions. The two additives have different particle sizes that lend a different ‘touch’ to the wood. The coarser Ceridust 8090 Vita creates a protected and smooth surface with the pleasant feel of untreated wood. At the same time, it increases coefficient of friction (COF) – great for anti-slip properties – in combination with outstanding scratch resistance performance in water-based formulations. The finer grind Ceridust 8091 Vita combines smoothness with very high scratch resistance and offers matting effects similar to standard waxes. It also increases COF and, with its package of benefits, is enabling manufacturers to formulate more sustainable coatings with top quality.

Both Ceridust 8090 Vita and Ceridust 8091 Vita are proven suitable for UV and waterborne systems and show improvements in scratch resistance, even outperforming standard micronized waxes without reducing the COF. This is valuable for floor coatings where for safety reasons it’s important to avoid a low COF, or where a manufacturer would like to use materials based on renewables to imitate wooded structures, or to make the floor more resistant against wear.

These innovative developments, which have been awarded the Clariant EcoTain® label for their outstanding sustainability and world-class performance, show that it is possible for coatings manufacturers to meet their targets when formulating more sustainable coatings. Clariant is constantly evolving its portfolio of additive solutions to provide customers with key sustainability benefits to move them forward.

Climate Protection

Dow aims to reduce emissions by five million metric tons by 2030 — a 15% reduction versus our 2020 baseline. This target is the next step in our broader commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. To support this goal, Dow’s Coatings & Performance Monomers business, is targeting a 30% reduction in emissions by reducing our footprint, increasing use of renewable power and expanding the portfolio of lower carbon binders and additives.

Circular Economy

To advance a circular economy, Dow will enable the collection of one million metric tons of plastics to be re-used or recycled through direct actions and partnerships, and by 2035, all products sold into packaging applications will be reusable or recyclable.

RHOBARR™, Dow’s portfolio of waterborne barrier coatings for paper-based substrates, enables brand owners, converters and mills to develop new paper packaging formats to meet sustainability commitments and consumers’ expectations for recyclable and repulpable packaging.  An exciting upcoming product launch is RHOBARR™ 325 Barrier Dispersion, which provides excellent barrier to hot and cold liquids, strong heat sealability, and excellent repulpability. In paper cups, RHOBARR 320™ Barrier Dispersion provides sustainability benefits through the use of barriers that are up to 70% thinner and have 50% lower carbon emissions than incumbent coatings.  When repulped, up to 99% of the paper fibers can be recycled.

Safer Materials

For our architectural and industrial coatings customers, we offer more than 150 binders and additives that are APEO-free and that enable low to ultra-low VOC paints and coatings. All of our new product innovations are APEO-free and our aim is to have our entire portfolio be APEO-free by 2030. Our products are enabling our customers to remove materials of concern from end-products. Here are two illustrative examples:

• To get oil, grease and water barrier, fluorochemical additives (e.g., PFAS) have been commonly used in food packaging containers. The use of RHOBARR™ 214 Acrylic Emulsion in paper packaging eliminates the need for PFAS additives.
• We spend more than 90% of our time indoors. Indoor air can be 2-3 times more polluted than outdoors and a known indoor air pollutant is formaldehyde, an irritant and a probable human carcinogen. Indoor paints that feature FORMASHIELD™ binders, capture formaldehyde, thus helping improve indoor air quality.

Sustainability at Dow is broad in scope, innovative in character and designed to create a positive impact on society and the environment. Let’s formulate together for a more sustainable future!

• Cellulose esters for rheology modification, defect control, and color consistency
• Solvents for achieving the desired application and performance characteristics
• Coalescents with a wide range of attributes to meet desired performance and regulatory needs
• Resin intermediates, providing unique structural options for designing coating resins to meet the required performance properties
• Resins, specifically Tetrashield™ protective resin system, which make coatings more durable through groundbreaking weathering, chemical resistance, and hardness.

Eastman is laser focused on innovating for a sustainable future, and the company’s molecular recycling now offers more sustainable solutions for the myriad of markets it serves — including coatings — without compromising performance at all levels of substitution.

Sustainable innovation is more important than ever, as the world is facing a culmination of environmental crises that require complex solutions. From climate change to plastic waste to depletion of natural resources, these challenges impact both current and future generations.

Circularity is a path to address these challenges, which is why Eastman is dedicated to advancing a circular economy. This model will help drive that needed change and improve the quality of life for global communities through collaboration and innovative recycling technologies that produce sustainable products.

Eastman’s molecular recycling technologies provide a truly circular solution for waste materials that were previously destined to end up in landfills, incinerators, or the environment. By breaking down plastic waste into its molecular building blocks and rebuilding it into new materials, Eastman can reprocess complex materials that cannot be recycled by traditional methods today. By 2030, the company expects to recycle up to 500 million pounds (≈ 225 million kg) of waste plastic annually.

Eastman is actively working to find new ways to reduce its own environmental impact by advocating for the creation of a more robust recycling infrastructure and helping its partners preserve natural resources through molecular recycling.

To address the climate crisis, Eastman set a goal to be carbon neutral by 2050. The company’s molecular recycling technologies accelerate circularity and are an element of its strategy to mitigate climate change, as those technologies have a 20%–50% lower carbon footprint than processes using fossil-based resources.

Eastman is translating this technology to coatings and is now able to introduce its line of Renew products into this important market.

Eastman cannot create change alone; it is seeking collaborations with the coatings value chain and are pulling for industry peers to be successful in using advanced recycling to turn plastic waste into new materials. Together, both parties can deliver a more sustainable solution that will enable companies to achieve sustainability targets and reduce scope 3 emissions without compromising performance.

Learn more about Eastman’s chemical coatings solutions at https://www.eastman.com/Markets/Coatings/Pages/Introduction.aspx.

With roof coatings, waterproofing solutions, pavement products and more for commercial and residential construction needs, APOC^® is a trusted industry name and one of the newest members of the ICP family. Cool roofs drastically reduce surface temperatures, meaning roof membrane life is extended, building occupant comfort is improved and cooling costs are reduced.

Dark roof surfaces can become 90° F hotter than the most reflective white surfaces. This increases stress to the entire roofing system, results in higher heat transfer into the building and contributes to an urban heat island effect whereby heat is absorbed and reemitted back into the surrounding air, causing local temperatures to rise faster and remain hotter even after sundown (in other words, a city will absorb and re-emit more heat from the sun than a rural area). The cumulative effect is increased energy demand, air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, heat-related illnesses and more.

APOC engineers Cool Roof Restoration Systems that deliver high solar reflectivity and thermal emittance to reduce roof surface temperatures. In turn, building internal temperatures and air conditioning needs are diminished. These solutions are recognized by the Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC) as the highest rated roof coatings in the industry, with many meeting Energy Star requirements for certified roof products that reflect more of the sun’s rays.

Decades of innovation have resulted in a broad portfolio of solutions that restore and protect both smooth and gravel-surfaced built-up roofing (BUR), mineral granule cap sheet, EPDM rubber membrane, select white single-ply systems and most metal roofs. For APOC, coating development is about giving contractors more cool roof options that provide sustainable benefits and lower energy costs in conditioned spaces.

ICP’s acquisition of Gardner-Gibson’s APOC, Gardner^®, Black Jack^® and Dyco^® brands deepens a lineup of industrial coatings, adhesives and sealants that protect against unwanted or uncontrolled air and moisture in a variety of climates. ICP is committed to helping commercial building contractors and remodelers achieve the best outcomes and solve problems using more energy-efficient, environmentally responsible products.

Restoration can increase the service life of a roof up to 15 years and may be repeated for as long as the structure of the roof remains sound. A white reflective coating can deliver the added advantages of reduced heat buildup, longer roof life and less environmental impact. Durable, highly reflective coating systems that provide additional reinforcement on susceptible parts of the roof like vertical seams, fasteners, curves, penetrations and around the perimeter offer many cooling benefits to building owners.

Learn more at www.icpgroup.com.

Hydrocoat is one of Pettit’s most popular lines of ablative antifouling bottom paints and features water-based technology, a low-VOC formulation, and thin-film technology. Hydrocoat is available in two formulations, Hydrocoat and Hydrocoat Eco, which offer antifouling protection that is effective against hard and soft growth.

Hydrocoat’s environmental benefits extend well-beyond the coating itself. Marine engines operate under extreme conditions and expel up to 10 times the pollution, consume up to 10 times the fuel, and experience a more rigorous maintenance schedule when compared to non-marine engines. Hydrocoat’s self-polishing, ablative paint film reduces drag and drastically improves a vessel’s operating efficiency when compared to traditional hard antifouling coatings. These improved efficiencies not only reduce emissions and improve fuel economy, but also reduce maintenance time and the amount of chemicals used to perform this maintenance.

Hydrocoat Eco features a metal-free biocide package and includes ECONEA® and Pyrithione Zinc. This biocide package is effective against a broad spectrum of fouling organisms including barnacles, hydroids, mussels, oysters, tube worms, algae, and slime. Hydrocoat Eco offers cleaner colors and can be applied to a wider variety of substrates, including aluminum.

Pettit’s Hydrocoat line has pioneered water-based, copper-free antifouling coatings in the recreational boating industry. The Hydrocoat line of water-based antifouling coatings and experienced strong acceptance and adoption throughout the industry.

In addition to product performance, the plastic packaging contains up to 50% post-consumer resin and requires less energy to produce, reduces carbon emissions and uses fewer components than standard pails. Its triple-seal cover eliminates the need for a gasket, so the entire container can be recycled without the need to separate components.

*MRT is a subsidiary of RPM International Inc., a provider of specialty coatings, sealants, building materials and related services. In addition to Pettit, RPM has a diverse product portfolio with hundreds of market-leading brands that protect, beautify and enhance the built environment – from homes and workplaces, to infrastructure and precious landmarks. Through its Building a Better World initiative, RPM is committed to operating with safe, ethical and sustainable business practices that maximize long-term value for the greater good of its stakeholders. 

Tex-Cote’s original COOLWALL® patent was issued in 2004, bringing the first-ever COOLWALL® coatings system to market. Through solar-reflective “cool walls,” the system reduces the absorption of sunlight by the building envelope and allows for darker and deeper tone colors to reflect heat buildup, much like white and light colors.

Infrared reflective technology is not unique to cool roofs or cool walls. It is used by the military as the key innovation to reduce heat absorption on planes, tanks, and other military vehicles. Tex-Cote’s proprietary COOLWALL® product also incorporates Kynar® into the formulation to provide long-lasting coating durability and minimize the reduction in long-term reflectance values from biological growth and dirt pickup.

This coating system is especially helpful in combatting the urban heat island effect in U.S. cities, which have higher temperatures than outlying areas. Research by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory demonstrates the effectiveness of “cool walls” in reducing energy consumption and increasing cost savings. They conducted a study that modeled several different types and ages of homes, retail stores, and office buildings across California and the country and found that sunlight-reflecting walls can often save as much, or some cases more energy than sunlight-reflecting roofs.

This research examined structures throughout the county and concluded that in warm U.S. cities from Miami, Florida, to Albuquerque, New Mexico, “cool walls” could cut annual heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) energy costs by as much as 11% for stand-alone retail stores, 8.3% for single-family homes and 4.6% for medium-sized office buildings. The study also found that Single-family homes across all California climates, a potential energy cost savings of 4% to 27%.

The benefits of reflective wall coatings are now being recognized and endorsed by a number of building codes and environmentally focused rating systems. In addition to The U.S. Green Building Council’s new LEED pilot credit SSPC154, Ashre 90.1-2019, Cal Green, International Energy Conservation Code, International Green Construction Code, and Green Globes all have references, guidance, or protocols related to the use of reflective, or cool walls.

Since 2004 the COOLWALL® coatings system has been both laboratory and time tested across the country for both its energy savings and long-term impact in reducing the urban heat island effect.

Learn more about the COOLWALL® coatings system by visiting our website www.texcote.com.  

TEX-COTE® and COOLWALL® are registered trademarks of Tex-Cote LLC. Kynar® is a registered trademark of Arkema, Inc.