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| PAINT&PINTURA |Agosto2017
Pigments—ED standing for easily dispersible— featur-
ingmodifications to thepigment’s specific surface that
enableupto100-percenteliminationofthegrindingpro-
cess,withonlythepre-dispersionprocessrequired,which
translates to as much as 80-percent savings in energy
consumption.Ourcompanyhasalsopioneeredtheuseof
rawmaterialsfromrenewablesources intheproduction
of traditional, quinacridone-basedmagentapigments,”
says Geraldo Ventola, Clariant Coatings & Printing Inks
salesandmarketingmanager for LatinAmerica.
Mastering the technologycomprisingorganicpigments
allows suppliers tobe faster at identifying trends in this
importantsegmentofthechemical industry,accordingto
ValneLucasVieira,directoratClariquimica.“Thisconfirms
ourconvictionthatwehavetherightproducts—organic
pigmentsbasedonahigh-performance technologyand
committed tomeetingmarket requirements, especially
astheyrelatetotheenvironment,which isakeyconcern,
and that enables us to provide organic pigments that
are sustainable in that they do not compromise future
generations.”
Oneother issueaddressedbyorganicpigmentsuppliers
istheirsearchforqualityproductsthatarecompetitively
pricedatthesametime.“Thatoftenmakes itchallenging
for pigment producers tomeet customer requirements
in amarket environmentwhere reproducibility is a key
factor inmaking a choice. It’s part of the distributor’s
role to understand those requirements and ensure,
through innovation in applications and processes, that
such requirements are met,” says Colormix technical
salesmanagerCarlosSimal.
DEFOAMERS - A MORE EFFECTIVE ANTI-BUBBLING
ACTION
While awide variety of defoamers are available on the
marketplace, themain technological innovations today
relate tomore sustainableproducts.
Notonlyaretheyfullyefficientateliminatingthebubbles
and foamoriginating in either the formulationor appli-
cationofpaints, defoamersarealso following the trend
towardsenvironmentallyfriendlyproducts.“Forthemost
part,we’re talkingabout a rather conservativeproduct
and public. However, the need for innovation and the
advent of new technologieshave led to significant new
developments in defoamers. First came vegetable oil-
based technologies, and then thewater-based technol-
ogy.Accordingly, sustainable, environment-friendlyand
low-VOCadditivesrepresentasubstantialpartofourproduct
offerings,”saysAlcolina’sAiltonRibeiro,salesmanager, Indus-
trialMaterialsbusiness.
Adriano Petrone, director at Wana Química’s Northeast
branch, tellsusthatdefoamerswere initiallymineraloil-based
products,but themarketdemand for improvedperformance
has led to thedevelopment of defoamers basedon silicone,
mineraloilswithadditives, fattyacids,etc“Theseproducts im-
provethecoatingfinishbypreventingcratering,quicklybreak-
inganymicro-ormacro-foams, considerablyenhancinggloss
insemi-glosscoatings,and improving levelingperformance.”
Since the foundation for a defoamer formula iswell known,
innovating its composition isamajor challenge, according to
AndréFogaçadeAlmeidaNeto,technicalmanagerof industrial
applications at Clariant’s Industrial & Consumer Specialties
businessunit.“Inthemarketfordefoamers,thechiefdevelop-
mentsfromClariantarefocusedonparticlesizeand its impact
on improvements in the paint production process.We have
recently launchedPrevolPC,apaintdefoamerthat isproduce
usinganew, proprietary technologydevelopedbyClariant.”
It is thus clear that there is an ongoing search for highly ef-
ficient products that will foster savings in total formulation
costs.TotheextentthattheBrazil’smacroeconomicsituation
improves,defoamersthataremoresustainablewhiledeliver-
ing improvedperformancearegoingtogainappeal,according
toMarlonBraidott, technical consultantonadditivesatBASF
forSouthAmerica. “Thedefoamermarketdoeshavegrowth
potential, especially on account of the migration from the
solvent-based to thewater-based technology, whichmakes
suchadditives indispensabletoproducingaqualitypaint.How-
ever,due todelicateeconomicsituation inwhich thecountry
finds itself, thegrowthwe’reexperiencing thisyeardoesnot
quite live up to that potential. Once the economy bounces
back, there isnodoubt thatourbusinesswill deliveron it.”
MONOMERS - TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS WITH
SUSTAINABLEAPPEAL
Monomers have become a fundamental material directly
influencing the performance and competitiveness of paints
whileminimizing their environmental impact.
Havingdeveloped intorawmaterialsthatarekey intheformu-
lationofpaintsandcoatings,monomershaveawide latitude
of applications. Among the benefits of using monomers,
consistentwiththevarioustypesavailable,are improvements
in adhesion, chemical strength, and viscosity, and they are
highlywell suited for coatings requiring lower VOC (volatile
organiccompounds)emission levels,whether inwater-based