Outlook for Zero-VOC Resins

By Frank N. Jones

This paper was written as a keynote presentation for a symposium entitled “Zero-VOC Resins” at the International Coatings Exhibition (ICE) on October 18, 2000. It was originally published in the Proceedings and is reprinted here in revised form. Zero-VOC waterborne coatings are not discussed because they were described in a separate symposium at ICE.

Sooner or later, regulations requiring near-zero VOC coatings will probably take effect in a broad range of applications. Anticipating this development, the coatings industry is working hard to develop resins that can be used in such coatings–“zero-VOC resins.” The topic of zero-VOC liquid coatings is being widely discussed, as exemplified by a recent plenary lecture by Werner Blank.1