Luca Amadeo, Chiara Mantovani – SAFIC ALCAN ITALIA
Bruce Lin, Eric Cai – WANHUA CHEMICAL
Under the guidance of China’s ‘double-carbon policy’ and other international initiatives, increase in consumption and gradual improvement of environmental protection requirements have led all walks of life to engage in the transformation of development into ‘sustainable development’. The process of converting industrial coatings into water-based products is also constantly developing. However, the performance and efficiency of such coatings often remain limited. This is also due to higher product and energy costs, which still influence the use of water-based coatings today.
As a leading product in the paint industry, two-component water-based polyurethane (hydroxyacrylic dispersion and hydrophilic isocyanate hardener) is widely used in machinery, rail transportation, wind turbines and other various fields. Through the reaction between hydroxyl and isocyanate of the two different components, a very compact paint film is formed, which has excellent properties such as resistance to atmospheric agents, aesthetics, flexibility and hardness. Due to the poor compatibility of conventional hydroxyacrylic dispersions with hydrophilic hardeners, it is not always easy to achieve high performance, high efficiency and good cost-effectiveness. As a responsible manufacturer of water-based PU technologies, Wanhua Chemical Surface Materials Business Unit (SMBU) is deeply active in the development and synthesis of constantly updated dispersions and hardeners, to solve industry pain points.
UNIVERSAL FAST-DRYING HYDROXYLATED ACRYLIC DISPERSIONS
Antkote 2033 was designed to improve the emulsification of isocyanate hardeners and the wetting of pigments through a special design of the chain segments, which results in a transparent and full paint film, greater reaction efficiency and less formation of foam. In combination with water-based hardeners, it presents excellent aesthetics and brilliance, with a gloss of 81/92 at 20°/60° on white paint. At the same time, it has a high drying speed, which makes it handleable already after 30 minutes at 60° C, without compromising painting efficiency and without hardness or blocking problems. Furthermore, Antkote 2033 has excellent outdoor resistance: after 1.000 hours of UVB the ∆E remains less than 0.2 and the gloss has a reduction of less than 20%. The product thus satisfies most existing atmospheric scenarios.
Antkote 2035 represents a new generation of environmentally friendly hydroxylated acrylic products, being free from naphtha solvent and monomeric styrene. In addition to this, it has exceptional resistance outdoor. The product has a sophisticated aesthetic and allows the application of high thicknesses without blistering: it has a gloss of 85/91 at 20°/60° on white paint and BFFT up to 80 microns. As regards resistance to atmospheric agents, it has a ∆E < 1.5 and a gloss reduction of up to 10% after 1.500 hours of UVB.
HYDROPHILIC ISOCYANATE HARDENER IDEAL FOR MANUAL ADDITION
Aquolin 270 PLUS is a water-dispersible isocyanic hardener based on HDI with sulphonic modification. It has excellent dispersibility in water, making it ideal for manual addition, ensuring high brilliance and fullness. In combination with hydroxylated acrylic dispersions, the gloss exceeds 80% at 20°. Furthermore, it has exceptional resistance to atmospheric agents, with ∆E <3 and gloss loss <30% after 2.000 hours of UVB.
Wanhua Chemical is active in the research and development, production and sales of a full range of polyurethane products such as isocyanates and polyols, petrochemicals such as acrylic acid and acrylates, functional materials such as water-based resins and specialty chemicals. In 2023, revenues reached 175.3 billion and there were over 27.000 employees. Branches are located in 27 countries, with 10 production sites and 14 laboratories.
Wanhua Chemical Surface Materials BU (SMBU) is based on upstream integration in the polyurethane and acrylic production chain, with continuously expanding plants respecting the environment and sustainability. The main research and development platforms include the following all-water-based solutions: polyurethanes (PUD and PUA), polyacrylics, UV resins, epoxy resins, rheological additives, silicones and super absorbent resins (SAP).
Safic Alcan Italia is the official Wanhua distributor in Italy for MDI, TDI, prepolymers, polyols, isocyanates derivatives, hydrophilic isocyanates and water-based resins for industrial coating.
Safic Alcan is a French distributor of specialty chemicals based in Paris. The company develops and supplies a wide range of polymers, materials and additives for rubber, coatings, adhesives, thermoplastics, polyurethanes, lubricants, detergents, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals industries. With a network of 37 locations strategically located across Europe, the Middle East, North America, South America, Asia and South Africa, the company represents cutting-edge manufacturers around the world. Its highly specialized sales engineers enable Safic Alcan to provide dedicated technical expertise and high-performance solutions, thus creating long-term partnerships with the majority of specifiers and customers. The company employs over 800 people worldwide and generated revenues of 910 million Euros in 2023.
