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PAINT&PINTURA | Julho2017 | 9
The27companieswhicharesettingupfacilitiesattheGuaiúbaChe-
micalParkaregoingto investR$70to80million intotheproject.
Oneother interesting featureof thechemicalpark isthatseveral
servicesaregoingtobeprovidedfromwithinandsharedamong
thecompanieswithoperationsthere,suchascafeterias,security,
logistics, trucking and laboratories, amongothers. Sindquímica
director Alexandre PinheiroMota believes the service-sharing
systemhelpstheentiretyofthechemical supplychain inacollec-
tiveway, rather than just individually. “Everybodybenefits from
sharing theseservices. Inorder toget to thissharingsystem,we
visitedseveralundertakings inBrazilandEurope,anddetermined
thestrengthsweweregoing tohave implemented.We’regoing
toshare logistics,qualitymanagement,andthecafeterias,among
otherthings.Amajoradvantage isthatwe’regoingtohavepaint
manufacturers andvariousother businesses that arekey to the
paint production process, such as packagingmakers and raw
material distributors, amongother suppliers, andeveryone can
benefit from that,”saysSindquímicaboardmemberandFortFix
directorJoãoSérgioBorges.
Inthefullversionoftheirinterviewwithus,availableinPortuguese
only,Mota,SoaresandBorgesprovidedmoredetailedinformation
ontheoperationoftheGuaiúbaChemicalPark.
COALESCING AGENTS - INDISPENSABLE IN COATING FILM
FORMATION
Enhancedperformance, improvedwashability, lowodorand low
VOCemissions havebeen themainpursuits for new coalescing
agents launching inthemarketplace.
Playingakeyrole inthefilmformationprocess,coalescingagents
enhancethecoating’sperformance,thusprovidingsuperiorfinish,
withasmooth,evenfilmsurface,andensuringwater resistance,
wetabrasionresistanceanddustpick-upresistanceofthepaintjob,
accordingtoSilmarBarrios,paintandcoatingsdevelopmentma-
nageratOxiteno.Extensivelyusedbymanufacturersofdecorative
andindustrialcoatingstoformulatewater-basedpaints,varnishes
and adhesives, coalescing agents plasticize the polymer phase
during the paint formulation process, reducing glass transition
temperature (Tg) of thepolymer and, as a result, theminimum
film forming temperature (MFFT) aswell, whileoptimizingfilm
adhesion and ensuring that coatingfilms formedunder various
temperatureandhumidityconditionsareflushanduniform.”
The coalescing agent is responsible for causing the coatingfilm
formation tooccurat the requiredapplication temperature, the-
rebyensuringauniformfilm that evenlyprotects the substrate,
asaddsDow’scoatingstechnicalexpertMayaraCorrea.“Because
it isoneof thevolatilecompoundsandevaporatesata relatively
lowrate,thecoalescingagentcanvolatilizeevenafewdaysafter
application.For thatvery reason, low-odorcoalescingagentsare
keytodevelopingodorlesscoatingformulations.Afterapplication,
thecoalescingagentwillactonthedevelopmentofsuchproperties
asabrasion resistanceandwater repellence, aswell ascorrosion
resistancewherethecoatingisappliedonmetalsubstrates.”
Currently,thepaintandcoatings industryhasbeen insearch
ofperformancecoalescingagentsthatarecapableofpromo-
tingaproperlevelingofthepolymermatrixbyincreasingthe
polymerinsize,andtheyarealsoconsistentlyconcernedwith
usinglow-VOCmaterialsintheirproducts,”saysPolystellCEO
WildonLopes.“Someofthemostimportantpropertiesofany
coatingsare linkedwiththeirpolymermatrixtype. Ifyou’re
aimingforacoatingfilmfeaturingenhancedgloss,hardness,
resilienceandstrength,onewayofattaining it isbyworking
withdifferenttypesofmonomers.Onceyou’vesecuredthe
idealpolymermatrix,thenyouneedthepolymerto increase
insize inordertodeliverallofthedesireddesignproperties.
When it comes specifically toemulsifiedpolymermatrices,
thedevelopmentofthatpolymerchainincreasewillbeaided
byacoalescingagent,whichwillcausethepolymertoreach
a larger size, therebyproviding the intendedproperties for
eachkindof coatingapplication. Aneffectivedispersion in
thefilm formationprocessdependson theglass transition
temperatureof thepolymerand the temperatureatwhich
thefilmactuallyforms.”
MINERALADDITIVES -ADDINGFUNCTIONALITIES
Newdevelopments inmineral additivesstressphysical and
chemical properties, such as opacity, brightness, particle
size,highpurity,andabrasionresistance.Theseareproducts
thatwillcontinuetobeusedona largescale inthepaintand
coatings industry.
Asthedemandformineralfillersfeaturingenhancedperfor-
mancegrows,thecompaniessupplyingtheserawmaterials
havebeen investingmoreandmore so they can liveup to
thetask.“Themarketformineralfillershasbeenincreasingly
competitive, and the current short supply of titaniumhas
increased thedemand for products that deliver enhanced
performance. Tomeet that challenge, those suppliers are
bankingonfillermixturestodelivervariouspropertiesthrou-
ghoneproduct. Inaddition, the industryhasbeenrequiring
thatmineral fillers impartgreaterhidingpower to thecoa-
tingsformulatedwiththem,assist in improvingwashability,
enhancegloss inbothsemi-glossandhigh-gloss,satin-touch
coatings, increase color strength, and have small particle
sizes so that they canbeused toahigh level asextenders
whereapplied for thispurpose,” saysBandeiranteBrazmo
marketingcoordinatorSimoneBraga.
The industry ishardatwork inaconstantsearchformineral
additives thathave fourparticularproperties: highopacity,
highbrightness, ultrafine particles, andhighwet abrasion
resistance, as pointedout byKensleyAlves deOliveira, te-
chnical salesdirectoratLamil. “Thesepropertiesarekey to
addingflexibility to formulations and reducing costs in the
paintandcoatingsindustry.Mineraladditivesthatcanreplace