"Most of the time, formulations based on these new ingredients are not cost-effective"

The protection of everyday items and industrial or infrastructure products is one of the main tasks of coatings. We talked to experts in the coatings industry about trends in protective coatings and the role of new raw materials.
new raw materials are the main theme of protective coating

. However, their use is not an easy task. Irgard Winkels, from Sika Germany, said: "If a raw material needs to be exchanged due to legislative or sustainability issues, most of the time the entire formulation needs to be redesigned because the chemical properties of the new ingredients will vary. "It's difficult enough, but other obstacles make the process more difficult.
new paint raw materials continue to expand
. Sika
, head of coating standards at Irmgard Winkels, is head of coating standards at Sika German.
new raw materials often provide better or better performance than existing technologies. However, "in most cases, formulations based on these new ingredients are not cost-effective." Part of the reason is that the new ingredients themselves are more expensive, but other ingredients in the formula also play a role," Hong explains. Mr. Xu, from Cardolite, talks about other ingredients that are often cheap solvents, and if a new ingredient reduces solvents that compete for environmental reasons, you lose a cost-effective ingredient, often with a wider range of alternative fillers.
, as Winkels explains, a major obstacle is the testing of the performance of new formulations: "Because protective coatings can provide decades of performance, the testing process is time-consuming and time-consuming. In addition, external certification and approval are required, which can lead to months or even years. For Hongxu, the partnership between raw material suppliers and coating manufacturers is an important way to justify costs and time and successfully develop new materials.
sustainable of protective coatings
Hong Xu Kalolet
Hong is a technical services manager at Cardolite.
for both experts, sustainability issues are the driving force behind changing the protective coating. "The main trend we are seeing is to reduce the use of VOC coatings and replace hazardous materials classified as "highly concerned substances," " Xu said. Irmgard Winkels also mentions increasing the number of renewable raw materials to reduce the carbon footprint. She added: "Other aspects will be our focus, not only in terms of the life cycle of our products and their raw materials, but also in terms of biodegradability and recyclability." In
, some typical topics are still important, in addition to environmental issues. "Another trend that continues to affect protective coatings is the need to reduce asset downtime," Xu said. Suppliers are required to provide coatings with very fast curing and long service life. For example, she says, there is a reduced need for a wide range of substrate cleaning, as well as coatings and coatings that require only one layer or at least a reduction in the number of layers.
interview with Jan Gesthuizen
Note: This article is based on an interview with the European Coatings Journal 4/2020. A complete interview and a complete diary are available at the 360-degree European Coatings Center.
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