4 June 2024 Seminars

The session will address the challenges facing chemical and coating manufacturers: increasing energy efficiency and use of renewable energy; reducing reliance on fossil-based feedstocks for materials; and improving recyclability of products and packaging.

Duncan will explore the critical carbon reduction areas for the coatings industry with reference to the BCF’s Net Zero Roadmap alongside AkzoNobel’s own Net Zero journey. He will pull out examples of the journey up to now but primarily focus on the challenges that lie ahead.

Developing high-performance formulations with minimal VOC emissions remains a challenge for formulators across a variety of paints and coatings applications. Alkanolamines, which are well-known for their exceptional ability to wet, grind, and stabilize a wide range of pigments, can help formulators achieve an optimal blend of other wetting and dispersing agents, while reducing the VOC profile of a formulation. With their innate affinity for pigment surfaces and the ability to substitute conventional counter ions of surfactants and dispersing agents, alkanolamine additives play an essential role in influencing, and improving various critical aspects of paint and dry-film performance, such as initial particle size distribution, storage stability, hiding power, corrosion protection, and colour strength. This comprehensive investigation uncovers new ways to leverage the true potential of the unique characteristics of alkanolamines when interacting with TiO₂, organic pigments, or anti-corrosion pigments, making them an indispensable formulating tool for developing and manufacturing the next generation of high-performance paints and coatings.

As the environmental impact of everyday items is understood to a greater degree, the need for a greener, more ‘eco’ decorative products becomes a key selling point to the end consumer. At the risk of confusing the consumer with the mass amount of green claims that a company’s marketing may use regarding the ‘green’ credentials of their decorative products might look impressive but there is a need to clarity if the green claim is relevant or if it might be too ambiguous and could cause misunderstanding to the consumer. If you produce or aim to produce an ‘eco’ paint then the Do’s and Don’ts of decorative paint is a must see.

Challenges around sustainability, energy-efficiency, robustness, etc. hinder the practical use of superhydrophobic surfaces and liquid-repellent coatings in general. Here we will present new insights from interfacial nanoengineering alongside their promise to address the challenges in healthcare and the net zero aspirations in infrastructure resilience, built environment and transport sectors. For example, performance of emergent coatings potentially replacing poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – which cause major harm to ecological and human health – will be presented. Additionally, the ability of these coatings to enable mechanical energy harvesting will also presented as a solution for powering sensors in healthcare applications.

Laser overturns the paradigm of a hot oven. Unlike traditional heat sources and IR lamps, lasers deliver nearly all their energy to the product, while expending negligible energy heating the oven atmosphere and walls. Like a microwave oven, the directed energy and volumetric nature of laser curing and drying is able to process industrial coatings with astounding speed. We demonstrate powder coat curing in under 2 minutes. We’ll show that lasers provide similar advantages drying paint or curing porcelain enamel. The combination of high productivity and thermal efficiency uniquely suits the sustainability needs of the industrial coatings industry.

2024 is to be a year of reckoning for Defra’s collection and packaging reforms. Despite being 5 years into the process, the scale of work to introduce EPR has never been greater and there are constant updates coming out of government on the timing and impacts of EPR on businesses across the supply chain. George’s presentation will cover the basics of EPR and discuss the state of play as we move closer to its implementation across the UK.

DEHSCOFIX® WT107 is a polymeric anionic dispersant from Innospec, it is specifically designed for efficiently dispersing pigments in aqueous systems. It works well with inorganic and organic pigments and allows high solid loading in the dispersions. It prevents flooding and agglomeration of pigment particles during storage. It has broad water hardness tolerance and is a low viscosity liquid that facilitates its incorporation in the high loading pigment systems. Its neutral amber colour enables its use in white/neutral colour applications. Thanks to the nature of the polymeric backbone, it imparts hydrophobicity in cured films.

A discussion on the benefits of bio-based solvents and the commensurate risks with regards to spill clean and disposal.

By utilizing composite pigments containing optimally spaced TiO₂, a formulator can improve overall TiO₂ efficiency in waterborne coatings. This will result in a significant increase in the opacity and whiteness, allowing the use of thinner films. The substantial improvement in opacity allows for thinner films (lower coat weight) to be applied while maintaining target coating opacity. This paper will show how the TiO₂ efficiency is improved using composite pigments and the potential impact they have on spreading rate/ film thickness and therefore improved coating cost and sustainability.

The chemical industry is at the forefront of sustainable development. With increasing societal and regulative pressures to adopt and achieve sustainability, businesses needs to be well informed and equipped on their sustainability journey. This session will look at the challenges businesses face in the current sustainability landscape and the potential collaboration has in helping to achieving sustainability.

The use of organic coatings on coil coated steel is widespread among the construction, automotive industries and for use in domestic appliances. Almost all commercially available protective organic coatings are derived from fossil fuel origins. Increased environmental awareness has driven the requirement for alternatives to fossil fuel-based paint chemistries. The main aim of this work is to derive a suitable coating formulation using renewable or recycled feedstocks that match or exceed current industrial coating performance. Two polyester resins were synthesised with 46% and 30% renewable content and their respective mechanical properties and resistance to accelerated weathering were compared against a standard industrial formulation. The incorporation of 30% renewable content into a polyester resin is optimal to achieve greater flexibility, improved salt spray and QUV resistance when compared to the industry standard coating formulation.

• Univar Solutions is happy to present the latest development from Dow Coatings Materials, Acrysol RM735BF. This biocide-free associative thickener provides excellent mid-shear viscosity in architectural coatings. It can be used as the sole rheology modifier in many formulations and has the advantage of being both biocide-free and free of any hazard labels. This presentation will demonstrate the performance of Acrysol RM735BF HEUR KU Builder in a number of paint formulations, and will highlight the benefits of this sustainable, biocide-free and solvent-free additive.

Lubrizol have developed Solsperse™ Hyperdispersants for many years, providing innovative solutions for pigmented systems in a wide variety of coatings applications. There is an ever-increasing demand for more environmentally friendly systems containing low levels of volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), with the coatings industry shifting towards aqueous systems. We have developed a range of products with high polarity for use in waterbased coating applications, and today we focus on two of these products: Solsperse™ W100 provides improved dosage efficiency over market standards, low mill times and improved secondary characteristics such as corrosion resistance. Additionally, we have developed Solsperse™ W150, a 100% active flowable and biocide free dispersant that supports our customers labelling, sustainability and logistical needs.

In the current climate of international unrest companies need increased vigilance within the supply chain they service, to reduce potential risks to their reputation and/or prosecutions from the misuse of a chemical they supply.

There are a number of substances subject to strategic export controls (trade controls) on an international level but also nationally, such as EU and UK, which require differing degrees of paperwork and processes in place to ensure compliance. It is therefore vital that companies keep up to date with the changes to prevent delays, enforcement action or ‘bad press.’

In this presentation Doug will outline how CBA’s Code of Conduct on trade controls for chemicals was designed to help companies understand their obligations and the requirements of the legislation. Not only will Doug explain the code, its rationale and provide the detail to guide participants through their obligations and requirements of the legislation. It will also update delegates regarding the regulatory changes following the end of the transition period and the UK exiting the EU

• Chemical Weapons
• Drug Precursors
• Explosive precursors
• Dual Use
• GB Regulatory Update

Polyisocyanates are widely used as building blocks together with polyols to form polyurethanes (PU). These materials are used in a variety of applications due to their excellent durability, and mechanical properties.

However, traditional PU systems are solvent-borne and there is an increasing interest to reduce the amount of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) in these systems to improve their sustainability.

This presentation will look at two possible solutions to this challenge: solvent free systems based on polyurea technology and water-borne PU systems, and will show how diisocyanate crosslinkers from Vencorex can be used to help formulate such systems for floor coatings.

Elaine’s presentation covers some of the issues and challenges faced in recent years by the UK Chemical industry.  With all the uncertainty in UK chemical regulation, Elaine will look at what may potentially be coming in the future and how business can plan for this.

In their presentation, Lake Coatings will introduce Valysis®, an innovative approach focused on collaborative partnerships to develop bespoke formulations, using validated systems. The Lake Innovation Services team will showcase the creation of tailored blends of solvent-based epoxy resins and curatives, targeting specific properties like adhesion, durability, and chemical resistance. Leveraging extensive experience and cutting-edge laboratory resources, Lake Coatings offers coatings manufacturers a distinct advantage in achieving commercial success. This innovative approach, grounded in deep epoxy technology expertise, promises to deliver custom solutions that meet the diverse needs of various industries.

The transformation to a more sustainable world is also challenging for the paint and coatings industry. Therefore, sustainable raw materials are becoming increasingly important.

Improvements can be made in many ways. One possible approach is to increase the proportion of renewable raw materials. Alkyd resins in particular are by definition already based on larger proportions of bio based and renewable raw materials.

We would like to show how Camelina oil can help to increase sustainable shares in alkyd resins even more without sacrificing excellent performance characteristics especially in wood care products. In particular, we will provide an overview how Camelina combines various advantages for a more sustainable future.

The surface of a material is the key interface at which chemical reactions, degradation and wearing processes occur. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is a powerful tool for examining the composition and chemistry of the surface, with the inherent surface specificity limiting the information gathered to the outermost 5-10 nm, thereby elucidating the chemical properties of surfaces and coatings, gathering information on degradation processes and developing materials for novel applications. I will outline some interesting examples of the application of XPS in industrially-relevant systems and demonstrate the importance of access to both world-class equipment and expert analysts facilitated by the University of Warwick.

Graphene is a unique form of carbon that has extraordinary barrier properties as well as excellent thermal conductivity, strength, flex and other attributes that contribute to significantly improved coatings. This session will share what graphene is, the different types of graphene that are commercially available, and how using extremely small amounts of graphene in a matrix can drive step change improvements in coating systems.

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Coating formulations are facing the strongest demands on sustainability measures of the past decades. With the industries increased focus to address environmental and health concerns, we used our comprehensive knowledge on chemicals to develop newest solutions to fill those requirements offering innovations to formulate the future.

In this presentation we will underline challenges and solutions with dedicated additive highlights as enablers to balance performance as well as environmental demands.

Many antimicrobial surfaces and coatings are capable of passing standardised test methods and so are being labelled as antimicrobial but are ineffective at point of use. Current common standardised test methods (e.g. ISO22196) specify environmental conditions unlikely to be found in an end-use scenario, particularly relative humidity that is kept artificially high (>90 %). This allows the inoculum to remain wet on the surface and allows moisture-dependent surfaces to remain active for the duration of the testing period. As standardised testing methods become more in-line with realistic conditions, knowledge of the impacts of different environmental conditions on moisture-dependent surfaces will become vital for informing on antimicrobial surface and coating directed placement. Additionally, the mechanisms surrounding the bacterial and fungal deposition in an evaporating droplet has implications for antimicrobial surface efficacy via conditioning films and the coffee ring effect.

With Easy-Wet™ introduces new non-ionic, carbon based surface wetting agents, presenting perfect finishes through labelling- and silicone free chemistry. The wetting agents exhibit a good balance of low static and dynamic surface tension and helps to minimize defects in coating such as picture framing, cratering, pin holing, etc. Additionally Easy-Wet™ wetting agents are low in VOC and superior in reduced foam stabilization. Easy-Wet™ 300 is further inherently biodegradable based on OECD 302B protocols.

Quartzene® aerogels are an aerogel-like, porous, amorphous silica material produced from a completely water-borne process that differs from other ways of manufacturing aerogels. The aerogel with its porous structure contributes to excellent thermal insulation, improved fire behavior and lightweight to several applications within the building and construction, process industry and transport segment. Quartzene® can be used as a thermal insulative filler to decrease the thermal conductivity of a paint or a coating, for increasing the reflectivity for a cool roof paint and for stabilization of fire retardant and intumescent paints for example.

A proprietary process with low-to-zero CO2 emissions has been developed, and scaled up, by Seprify AG to produce pure cellulose microparticles. At a specific size these microparticles have unique capabilities to scatter light thereby allowing it to be very efficient white pigments. As such, cellulose white pigments (CWP) can be an excellent sustainable, renewable, and nontoxic alternative to metal oxides, including but not limited to, titanium dioxide. Moreover, CWPs have the ability to reflect UV and IR wavelengths leading to their potential use as renewable materials for radiative cooling. In addition to being efficient opacifiers, CWPs can be excellent emulsifiers and rheology modifiers. They have found applications in paints, coatings, food, pharma and cosmetics.

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Paint and Coatings Sales Trends

This short talk will cover sales trends in our industry looking at the UK markets for decorative paints, woodcare, industrial coatings and printing inks. We will look at how these markets have changed since pre-covid up to spring 2024. Our talk will also consider some of the key macro-economic drivers of demand, including where available any forecasts for 2024 and into 2025.

• Current regulatory model and the predicted impacts to UK chemical using sectors.
• Pros and cons of alternative regulatory models.
• Divergence from the EU and looking to the future.

The most in-demand pigment used in paints and coatings is TiO2; any improvements to its substantial environmental footprint are to be welcomed. PRA has developed technology for the recovery of TiO2 from mixed waste paint, providing a product with properties comparable to virgin product. Our industrial research project, in collaboration with Crown Paints, with support from Innovate UK, has taken this technology from the bench to pilot-scale processing. A circular economy approach to TiO2 manufacture, addressing the substantial environmental burden of waste paint and presenting an opportunity to recover valuable materials will provide significant benefits for sustainability and cost reduction.

Jonathan will give an insightful overview of his research on the development of new pi-conjugated materials and their applications for modifying the properties of surfaces/materials for both optoelectronic and photocatalytic applications. As a new lecturer at Lancaster University he will discuss the facilities, characterisation techniques and types of molecules that are available from his group and the wider University.

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