Challenging Preservation Options: Towards Biocide-free Waterborne Coatings via Innovative Binders and Additives

By Jessica Levin, Wenqin Wang, Stan Brownell, Tara Conley, Erica Frankel, John Rabasco, Deb Graves, Adrian Ward

Increasing regulatory restrictions mean that there are limited preservation options currently available to the paint and coatings industry for both in-can and dry-film preservation. Experimental binders and thickeners that are more robust to microbial spoilage offer a potential solution and pass challenge testing even when formulated into waterborne paints. Water-based products are susceptible to microbial contamination.

Contamination can be introduced during a variety of stages in the product life cycle, including manufacturing and packaging of the products; “in can” during periods of storage, transportation, transfer, and usage; or on the dry film after application.

Microbial susceptibility can cause product degradation, reduce product performance, or even induce hygiene and human health issues, which could result in a wide range of possible consequences, including product recall, customer complaints, reduced perception of product quality, production stoppage, etc. For these reasons, manufacturers add biocides to their waterborne products.