CLIPPING
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| PAINT&PINTURA |Dezembro2016
rheologyofapaint,workingproperties like levelingandspatterresis-
tance,accordingtoMarlonBraidott,technicalconsultantonadditives
atBASFforSouthAmerica.“Moreover,muchofthatevolutionstems
fromthegrowinguseofwaterbornecoatingsandfromsustainability
andenvironmentalconcerns.So,thechallengefacingmanufacturers
inoursegmentoverthenextfewyears istokeepupwithandfollow
these trends towards increasingly sustainableandenvironmentally
compliant productswithout compromiseonperformance and at
competitiveprices.”
Astheirnamesuggests,thickenersthickenthepaint,butinverydistinct
ways.Forexample,theproductsknownaslow-shearthickeners,which
actonviscosityata lowshearrate,willaddconsistencytothepaint,
which improves in-can stability, but havepoor transfer properties,
causingthatpainttodevelopapoor,high-spatterfinish,accordingto
Aromat’sFernandoRosa,whoaddsthat itcanevencompromisethe
paint’shidingpower.“High-shearthickeners,i.e.thickenerswhichact
athighshearrates,addmanybenefitstopaintapplicationprocesses,
improvingtransfer, levelingandspatterresistance.”
FernandoRosa also says that othermarket requirements include
anti-settling and anti-saggingproperties inbothwaterborne and
solvent-borne systems. “Theproperties of a thickener aredirectly
relatedtotheviscositytype it is intendedto imparttothepaint,and
theyarekeymarket requirements. Inaddition, thesegmentwhere
thickenersare inmostdemand isdecorativepaints, and that isalso
the segment thatmost seeksnew technologiesandnewproducts
featuringdistinguishedperformanceproperties.Asmuchasthiseco-
nomydoesnotallowforsignificantexpansionsinthevolumeofpaint
produced,thatsegmenthashadapositiveimpactonthedemandfor
newdevelopments.”
According toBASF’s Braidott, in addition to the decorativepaint
segment, which is the leading consumer of this typeof additive,
automotiveOEM and industrial coatings are also contributing to
growthinthethickenermarket,asthewaterbornetechnologyisalso
spreading inthesesegments.“Thickenersareused inpaintstomeet
varyingneedsandrequirements,fromcontrollingsettlingandstability
inthepainttoprovidingpropertiesrelatedtothekindofapplication,
suchasspray,roller,dipping,etc.,aseachwilldemandacertaintype
of thickener thatwill contribute togood transfer, levelingandfinal
appearanceoftheappliedfilm.”
PHOTOINITIATORS -ESSENTIALTOUVCOATINGS
In thepaint and coatings industry, photoinitiators areonlyused in
UV-curingsystems.However, theycanalsobeused inseveralother
industries,suchaspaper,metals,plastics,dentalresinsandwindshield
repair. According to Interbrasil co-owner anddirectorMarceloBar-
bosaLima,despitethosevariousapplications,thepaintandcoatings
industryconsumesmostofthevolumeofphotoinitiatorssoldinBrazil.
“Thephotoinitiatorplaystheroleofoptimizingthepaint’sdrying
timebyabsorbingUVwavesemittedbyapieceofequipment
designedforthatpurpose.Tothatend,theproducttransforms
the radiant energy (UV light) into chemical energy, thereby
polymerizing thecoatingfilmmuch faster. Someof themain
advantages tousingphotoinitiators include shorter coating
dryingtimes, lessenergyused inproduction,andhighphysical
andchemicalstrength.”
Highmolecular-weightphotoinitiatorsare inhighdemand for
applicationsinwhichodorand/ormigrationarenotacceptable,
accordingtoBRChemicaldirectorSérgioMedeiros.“Weprovide
a comprehensive rangeof polymericphotoinitiators for that
purpose. They arephotoinitiators and amines featuringhigh
molecularweights, approximately twice asmuch as youwill
findinstandardpolymericinitiators.Oneothertrendistowards
LEDUVcuring,inwhichenergyconsumptionisevenlowerthan
inUV-curingsystemsthatemployarcandmicrowave lamps. In
addition to consuming less energy and superiorUVemission
intensitycomparedtostandardsystems.LEDUV-curingsystem
featureverylowheatemission,whichallowsthetechnologyto
beusedonanykindofsubstrate.”
MedeirosalsosaysthatthebiggestdifficultywithLEDUVcuring
isfindingaphotoinitiatorwhosepeakabsorption iswithinthe
emission rangeof LED systems. “That isaverynarrow range
withonepeakemissionvalue,unlikeother systems thathave
multiple ones, whichmakes for an easier development of
UV-curing formulations. As a solution to that problem,we’ve
recently introducedanewmolecule in themarketplace for a
photoinitiatorwith abroad absorption rangewhichdelivers
greatperformance isLEDUV-curingsystemsforbothclearand
pigmentedcoatingformulations.”
EVENT - PAINT & PINTURA FORUM IN CRICIÚMA HAS
GREATTURNOUT
The28thPaint&PinturaCoatingsTechnologyandManagement
Forum in theSouthRegion,which tookplaceonNovember8
atAssociaçãoEmpresarialdeCriciúma(ACIC),inCriciúma,Santa
Catarina,received128registeredattendees.Theforumfeatured
aprogramoflecturesonavarietyofthemes,includingtechnical
andmanagement-relatedpresentations,while introducingthe
industry’s latestnewdevelopments toprofessionalsbased in
thatregion.
SinquisulpresidentEdilsonZanattaofficiallyopenedtheevent
andstressedtheSouthRegion’simportanceasamanufacturing
powerhouse,aswellastherelevanceoftheforuminthatitbrin-
gspaintmanufacturerstogetherwiththeirsuppliers,fostering
information-sharingand innovation inthe industry.
