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Material suppliers, formulators struggle to find ways to maintain consumer satisfaction and meet regulations Marc S. Reisch C&ENNortheast News Bureau
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lot of thought and technology go into that thin layer of paint covering homes, office buildings, storefronts, cars, and a host of other industrial artifacts that we depend on daily. Consumers, engineers, and environmental regulators have very high expectations of a paint film that is often only a few mils thick. Paint formulators have a lot to consider when they specify ingredients for the newest paints and coatings. Consumers expect paints that will dazzle and turn otherwise lifeless building interiors and exteriors into colorful, attractive environments. Engineers expect that paints will protect a bridge from corrosion or offer long-term weathering protection to a wooden house, but they also expect the products they specify to apply efficiendy and easily. And probably most demanding are the environmental regulators. They are concerned about the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) that liquid coatings release into the environment. VOCs are precursors of ground-level ozone, and thus they contribute to smog formation. HAPs are health threats. Federal regulators at the Environmental Protection Agency, aided by their state and local equivalents, have promulgated a host of restrictions on paint manufacturers intended to reduce VOCs and HAPs. These regulations restrict the VOC content in paints and encourage the removal of HAPs from paints. In turn, these restrictions force paint makers to reformulate liquid coatings. That effort drives up costs of paint formulations and has formulators and material suppliers scrambling to manufacture the paints that will still dazzle the consumer and perform for the engineer. In some cases, regulators' attempts to limit VOCs have led to court battles. In Southern California, the South Coast Air Quality Management District 22
OCTOBER 18,1999 C&EN
(SCAQMD), is under court order on the sets the value of waterborne coatings at one hand to speed the implementation $7 billion, or about 39% of the market. of more stringent regulations because Powder coatings come in at about $1 bilof a lawsuit pressed by environmental lion, or nearly 6% of the market, followed groups. On the other hand, the National by electrodeposition coatings at $500 milPaint & Coatings Association (NPCA) is lion or 3% of the market, and radiationcontesting new VOC regulations adopt- curable coatings at $300 million, or aled in May, fearing those stringent regu- most 2% of the market. lations will become a model for other John F. Martin, senior consultant with government authorities. Washington, Cambridge, Mass.-based Arthur D. Little D.C.-based NPCA insists the regula- Inc., agrees with Nerlfi that "the major tions slated to go into effect in Southern emphasis today is on waterborne, powCalifornia for the architectural and in- der, and high-solids coatings to try to dustrial maintenance categories in 2006 meet regulations without losing perforespecially are not technically feasible. mance characteristics." But Martin acAlthough ease of use once drove ma- knowledges a preference among paint terial suppliers and formulators to de- consumers for products based on price velop waterborne coatings in place of and performance. A low-VOC or no-VOC those based on other solvents, the driv- alternative is frequently available; however today is environmental regulations. er, consumers tend not to pay for those The trend is to move away from solvent- alternatives unless they have to. borne coatings with higher VOC content to high-solids/low-solvent, water- Consolidation borne, powder, or radiation-curable liqThe efforts to develop new materials uid and powder coatings. Because of and to formulate novel coatings in the advances in paint materials, formulators face of increasingly strict regulations that once insisted that heavy-duty indus- have not only increased competition in trial maintenance coatings were best ap- the paint market, but also have forced plied in solventborne systems now have consolidation among paint makers. waterborne and high-solids/low-solvent Whereas about 1,200 paint makers opersystems to offer. ated in the U.S. a decade ago, about 800 Consultant Steven Nerlfi of the North operate today, Nerlfi says. And consoliCaldwell, NJ.-based consulting firm Ku- dation is not limited to the U.S. market sumgar, Nerlfi & Growney, foresees a alone. In the world paint market, which Nerlfi values at $48 billion, internationday when solvents will be eliminat& al consolidations are also well under ed almost entirely from automotive coatings lines. Whereas many years ago there were few alternatives to liquid-applied solventbased coatings, today many commercial alternatives are available. Nerlfi estimates the value of all paints consumed in the U.S. at about $18 billion. Of that total, solventborne coatings still account for about half. He
For instance, during the past year, ers paint applied by original equipment DuPont bought Hoechst's Herberts manufacturers to all sorts of factory-propaint unit for $1.9 billion. The addition duced items, but most important, it inof Herberts' $1.5 billion in sales boosted cludes automotive coatings. And pasDuPonfs global coatings sales to more senger car and light-truck production than $3.8 billion, making it the world's soared in 1998. Demand was particularthird largest coatings company and the ly strong for pickup trucks and sportlargest supplier of automotive coatings. utility vehicles, both of which take more PPG Industries also maintained an acpaint than do cars. The product coatings tive acquisition schedule through the category had a 10% increase in shippurchase of I d ' s Germany-based spements in 1998 to 468 million gal. cialty coatings unit, which supplies Meanwhile, a strong U.S. economy truck, railcar, military, and industrial also helped the much larger architecturcoatings. It also bought Akzo Nobel's al coatings market. Formulators PRC DeSoto International aerospace shipped 4% more paint last year than in coatings unit based in Glendale, Calif., 1997, reaching 673 million gal. Only the for $512 million. And it bought a modspecial-purpose coatings category— est-sized Felizzano, Italy-based powder including aerosols, bridge paints, traffic coatings maker, Bellaria SpA. paints, and swimming pool coatings— registered a decline in shipments. The Other significant paint business Census Bureau figures reported that sales include Valspar's March purchase Paint is applied to outside track surface. formulators shipped only 175 million gal of Dexter's packaging coatings and French industrial coatings subsidiaries, nomical." But average paint producer of special-purpose coatings in 1998, with combined sales of $212 million. prices today are not much different than down 4% from the year before. Praxair bought Concord, N.H.-based they were in 1994. He adds, 'There is Interestingly enough, the average proTAFA Group with $34 million in sales some question whether we are properly ducer price for a gallon of paint in all catefrom Eutectic+Castolin. TAFA is a sup- compensated for the full value we bring." gories declined last year to $11.68 from plier of thermal spray coatings and $11.79 in 1997. Fierce competition among equipment; it will become part of Prax- Strong production in the U.S. paint makers and moderate raw material air Surface Technologies, a unit with U.S. paint makers and material suppli- price increases largely account for the $438 million in sales of coatings that are ers had a strong year in 1998. According modest price slippage of less than 1%. hurled from plasma-arc spray guns and to Census Bureau statistics, the value of However, within specific categories, the then melt and set on a substrate. Such shipments rocketed to almost $15.4 bil- story was somewhat different. The incoatings may be used to apply specialty lion, up from nearly $13.9 billion in 1997. crease in the value of product coatings metal finishes to engine parts or corro- That 11% increase in shipment values far shipped in 1998 did not keep pace with the sion-resistant metal coatings to the in- exceeded the general rate of inflation, increase in the volume of shipments, with side of industrial boilers. now at about 3%, and was far higher than the result that the average price per galBASF acquired the coil coatings busi- the rate of increase in prices for prepared lon came in at $12.93,58 cents lower than in 1997. The value of architectural coatness of Oslo, Norway-based Norsk Hy- paints and paint materials. dro. And as part of one of the larger Volume accounted for the large ings slipped a penny from 1997, to $9.52. Special-purpose coatings again chemical industry combinations of the growth in the value of shipments. Foryear, Rohm and Haas acquired Morton's mulators shipped 1.25 billion gal to cus- bucked the trend. Although shipments paint and powder coatings businesses. tomers in 1997, but last year they declined, the value of shipments rose, so Despite the reformulation efforts paint shipped 1.32 billion—a nearly 5% in- the average cost of a gallon of specialmakers have put into their business, and crease. Product coatings put most of the purpose coatings rose 70 cents in 1998 to $16.63. Efforts to remove solvents and the efforts they have made to strengthen bounce into these numbers. and consolidate, PPG Executive Vice The product coatings category cov- HAPs from or to reformulate this mixed category of specialized, President Kears Pollock mostly small-volume coatpoints out that "downings havefinallybegun to stream users' familiarity VOC rules for many paint categories are have an effect on pricing with paint leads people to increasingly stringent in Southern California within this category. take for granted the level of technology that goes Last year was a fairly SCAQMD National Grams of VOCs per L 2008 2006 into paint. Current 2002 2001 rule limit strong one for paint man"We've done a lot to ufacturers, but the indus— — 50 Flat, exterior & interior 100 250 250 help customers be more try's average annual Floor 50 400 400 — — 100 efficient and produce growth was more modest. Industrial maintenance 420 450 — 250 100 — more durable goods," For the period 1994 to Nonflat, exterior & interior 50 380 250 — 150 — Pollock says. Paint mak1998, overall paint shipQuick-dry enamels 50 450 400 — — 250 ers such as PPG have ments rose just 2% per Stain, clear & transparent 350 250 550 — — — "worked to make paints year from a little more a South Coast Air Quality Management District, b Volatile organic compounds. environmentally friendly, than 1.2 billion gal to a tad Source: California Air Resources Board, SCAQMD user friendly, and ecoover 1.3 billion gal. The 3
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OCTOBER 18,1999 C&EN
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product report average annual increase in the value of shipments over that period was also 2%, rising from just under $14.2 billion to nearly $15.4 billion. The average price of a gallon of paint based on the Census Bureau's data is the same $11.68 in 1998 that it was in 1994. The Department of Labor's prepared paint price index, however, is not in sync with the Census Bureau's data. The index shows a nearly 2% increase in the price of prepared paint from 1997 to 1998 and a 3% average annual increase in prices both for the 1994-98 stretch and for the 10-year period ended in 1998. Discrepancies in the accounting for nontraditional high-solids, powder, and radiation-curable coatings likely account for the variance in the records of the two agencies, insiders say. For the first eight months of 1999, the Labor Department shows paint prices rising only marginally. Paint material prices rose at an average annual rate of just 2% from 1994 to 1998, and they rose at a similarly slow pace for the decade, according to the Labor Department. For the first eight
Prices of prepared paints, paint materials edge up Price index, 1982 = 100 160 __ 1 1 . *
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Architectural, product coating shipments were strong in 1998 Architectural coatings Shipments, millions of gal 700
1994
1995
1996
$ per gal 10 1
Shipments, $ billions 7
1997 1998
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1994
1995
1996
1997 1998
1995
1996
1997
1995
1996
1997 1998
Product coatings8 Shipments, millions of gal
$ per gal 14f
Shipments, $ billions 7
•• 1994
1995
1996
1997 1998
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1994
1998
Special-purpose coatings Shipments, millions of gal 2501
200 150 100
50
1994
1995
1996
Shipments, $ billions 3.5 F
1997 1998
1994
1995
1996
1997 1998
$ per gal 20
1994
a Original equipment manufacturers. Source: Census Bureau
The price increase will not come without some benefit, Zwicker says. European customers will gain from the introduction of a new multipurpose titanium dioxide pigment, Tiona 568. It replaces a lower performing product, he says, and offers more formulating latitude and better optical properties. Useful in waterbased and solvent-based coatings, includ26
OCTOBER 18,1999 C&EN
ing industrial and decorative paints, the pigment is now produced in Millennium's Le Havre, France, facility, purchased not too long ago from Rhone-Poulenc. Modest paint price increases, incremental growth of shipments, and industry consolidation over the decade in part account for long-term declines in paint industry employment. Labor Depart-
ment records show employment declined from 63,200 workers in 1988 to 52,300 in 1998. Both production and nonproduction worker levels dropped over that time period. However, employment in both categories rose slightly in 1998 from 1997 levels, in contrast to the previous nine years. The industry added 100 production
Slight uptick in 1998 employment ends long downward trend Thousands 801 Total
J
Nonproduction workers
approval to set aside itsfirstimplementation plan. SCAQMD is also in another court dispute with local paint makers and NPCA The paint makers contend that a revision to VOC rules put into place in May places unrealistic demands on paint makers to reduce VOCs. NPCA Senior Counsel Jim Sell explains: "The district was concerned over a pending lawsuit brought by environmentalists over its commitment to ozone reduction. Its decision to adopt the limits was a rush to judgment."
Sell adds that the charges "ignored the fact that many currently available coatings simply cannot be made under the new limits." Robert Nelson, NPCA director of environmental affairs, adds that the limits are "unrealistic." He is concerned that if the new limits are allowed to go into effect in 2002 and 2006, other California districts and ultimately other states could adopt the more stringent SCAQMD rules. Caught between two undesirable options, a SCAQMD spokesman explains
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NMP VALUE GRADE Gettina value out of vour cleaning solvent.
workers and 600 nonproduction workers last year. Of the total industry employment of 52,300 last year, 27,600 were production workers and 24,700 nonproduction workers. Such a slim rise in employment is likely to prove 1998 the exception to the trend as paint makers continue efforts to keep costs under control in a competitive market.
Regulatory quagmire The life of a Southern California air emissions regulator cannot be an easy one. The agency responsible for enforcing Clean Air Act requirements in the region, SCAQMD, describes itself as "the smog-control agency for all or portions of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties, Calif., where 15 million people breathe the dirtiest air in the U.S." It is somewhat ironic then that this agency, which recognizes its mandate to reduce air pollution, is now in court fighting environmental activists with objectives that are much the same as its own. A group of environmental activists led by the Coalition for Clean Air insists SCAQMD modified a 1994 implementation plan to limit sources of VOCs in favor of a second plan drawn up in 1997 to the advantage of paint makers and users of graphic arts products, adhesives, and other materials that could release VOCs. The environmental group contends that the modifications hurt efforts to clean up the air. As a result, a federal judge has told SCAQMD it must implement the more stringent VOC limits it had put aside because it did not get EPA
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that the agency decided in 1997 that it didn't need to reduce emissions as much as it once thought in order to meet federal standards, and this is how it got into the first court case with the Coalition for Clean Air. SCAQMD had a number of reasons for modifying its original plan, he says. Among them werefindingsthat emissions for certain sources were lower than originally assumed, technology to meet the goals was not available, and costs for implementing certain measures were excessive compared with the pollution to be saved. In addition, the state legislature had enacted legislation effectively barring the implementation of certain measures in the 1994 plan. But the judge has ruled in the dispute with the coalition that SCAQMD must put its 1994 measures back in place. The agency is waiting for further clarification from the judge and will then publish new rules. Those rules have not been determined yet, but they would be in addition to those NPCA and SCAQMD are nowfightingover. As for the set of rules SCAQMD published in May, NPCA's Nelson admits the dispute is "going to be an uphill battle." The battle, he points out, is over field-applied coatings, so no-VOC alternatives—such as powder or radiationcurable coatings that need to be applied in factory settings—are not options. The May rules are also more stringent than national model rules promulgated by the industry and EPA. For instance, industrial maintenance paints may emit only 450 g VOCs per L under the national rule. SCAQMD now requires that such paints emit no more than 420 g per L; however, by 2002 the threshold drops to 250 g per L and then to 100 g per L by 2006. In other words, formulators must reduce the VOC content of industrial maintenance paints by 76% between 1999 and 2006. Other categories call for similarly draconian cuts. Even if paint formulators can meet the rules, paint performance is likely to suffer, Nelson points out. If paint then has to be applied more frequently at greater cost, how likely is it that the new regulations will foster cleaner air? One bright light, Nelson says, is an industry effort in concert with EPA to look at the latest scientific research on the effects of VOCs in the atmosphere and to compare that research with regulatory policy. It just might make more sense, he says, to examine the reactivity of VOC sources and use an index of at-
mospheric reactivity as an alternative method for regulatory compliance.
New technologies and VOCs A number of years ago, European paint makers focused on waterborne, powder, and radiation-curable coatings as alternatives to solventborne formulations. Their approach to limiting VOCs was different from U.S. paint makers and users, points out Franco Busato, managing partner of Belgium-based Irfab Chemical Consultants.
U.S. paint makers made the decision early on to develop high-solids/lowsolvent coatings. As a result, users of newly manufactured equipment could continue to use their existing paint lines to meet pollution control requirements. "U.S. paint makers and users looked for quick solutions to meet state regulations," Busato says. Although highsolids paints contain 25% solvents versus 50% or more for conventional solventborne coatings, "I still consider 25% solvents too high," he says. Powder NEW FROM
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coatings contain virtually no VOCs, and neither do radiation-curable coatings. Waterborne coatings generally contain 8 to 10% VOCs, Busato says. Powder coatings are generally sprayed on metal articles with a gun that electrostatically charges the particles so they will transfer efficiently. Busato says transfer efficiencies of 95% are possible because overspray can be recaptured and reused. The powder-coated item must cure in an oven where the heat allows the powder to flow and form
a durable paint film. New versions of the powders flow at lower temperatures than were possible just a few years ago, and some may then be exposed to a radiation source to complete the cure. Busato estimates the size of the world powder coatings market at about 700,000 metric tons in 1999, of which Europe accounts for 300,000 metric tons. He admits that powder and radiation-curable coatings are not an answer to field-applied paint problems and that, globally, the penetration of powder into the industrial
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OCTOBER 18,1999 C&EN
paints sector is just 6%, with the deepest penetration in Europe at 9%. Italy leads the pack in Europe at 15%. In North America, powder coatings account for only about 5% of industrial paint use. The topfivepowder coating producers are DuPont, through its Herberts acquisition; Akzo Nobel; Morton Powder, now a unit of Rohm and Haas; Ferro; and Jotun of Norway. Together, these five firms account for about 50% of the world's output of powder coatings, Busato says. Powder coatings still have not reached their full potential. Busato expects powder penetration into the industrial paints market to reach 10% by 2008, along with substantial growth in world markets. He also predicts annual growth rates over that period will be 8 to 9% in North America, 5 to 6% in Europe, and 6 to 7% in Asia. But to achieve those rates, powder coatings will have to meet some technical challenges. According to Larry Crawley, automotive original equipment finishes technology director for DuPont Performance Coatings, Troy, Mich., the difficulty is in applying a powder coating evenly so that it has a smooth appearance. Through Herberts, DuPont is participating in two commercial projects to apply powder clear top coats to BMW autos produced in Europe. DuPont intends to draw on the experience with BMW in its participation in the Low Emissions Paint Consortium of U.S. auto producers, where testing of powder coatings is under way at Ford's Wixom, Mich., plant. BASF has taken powder coatings a step further with the introduction of a powder slurry clear top coating introduced at a Mercedes plant in Ratstatt, Germany. The water-reducible powder is easily dispersed in water and applied in a conventional spray booth with conventional equipment, says BASF's Joseph Gdowski, global director of auto original equipment coatings. The technology allows efficient control over film thickness. With two years of experience using the technology, Gdowski says, BASF now plans to market it to others. BASF's Powder Slurry Clear can be applied over both metal and fiberglass composite polyester components of a car. The bake temperature is about 300 °F, and costs are not much different from a conventionally applied clear liquid coating, Gdowski says. The powder slurry system could be integrated into a car paint shop that includes waterborne primer and primer-sealer coats, a waterborne color base coat, and then the powder slurry coat. Such a technology could reduce the
"footprint" of a paint shop—reduce emissions and the total energy required to operate and dry the paint coats, he says. Josef Rademacher, appliances product manager for BASF, says BASF is now building a plant to make powders in Morganton, N.C., with a capacity of about 612,000 metric tons per year, scheduled to start up in October 2000. The company offers powder surfacer/primers based on epoxy/polyester hybrids that provide good stone-chip resistance for auto paints. In the auto underhood area, it is offering manufacturers epoxy and polyurethane powders. Under development at Elf Atochem is a new fluoropolymer water-reducible coating. This technology will allow the formulation of Kynar fluoropolymer coatings with less than 110 g VOCs per L, according to Robert Iezzi, R&D group manager of coatings adhesives and films. The new air-dry water-based Kynar coatings technology would open a new market to these weather-resistant high-performance coatings, he says. The solventborne versions have typically been applied to factory-coated metal coils that are then manufactured into architectural panels. Among the new applications are bridges, towers, and above-the-waterline marine decks. Powders are now available to coat plastic substrates that are more temperature sensitive, according to David Ankrett, powder coatings business director at Ferro. The company's Impress line of powders can be sprayed into a polyester-fiberglass mold. As heat applied to the mold cures the polyesterfiberglass composite, it also melts and bonds the powder coating to the plastic. The technique has been successfully used to produce jet skis, Ankrett says. Typical powder bake temperatures are 325 to 350 °F, industry sources say. To save energy, and particularly to allow powders to coat more heat-sensitive wood and plastic substrates, powder makers have put a lot of work into developing powders that can melt in the range of 180 to 200 °F and either cure at that temperature or cure on exposure to a radiation source for a highly durable finish. Irfab's Busato says many of these lowtemperature cure powders must be refrigerated under low-humidity conditions to prevent clumping of the powders. Morton Powder produces coatings for "engineered" wood substrates such as particle board and medium-density fiberboard. The company's Lamineer line of coatings includes both low-heat-cure and
Senior technologist Lois Watson tests high-solids acrylic samples.
some hybrid heat- and radiation-curable coatings. According to marketing manager Thomas P. Frauman, Morton has been developing low-temperature heat-cure powders for aboutfiveyears. Morton's new UltraV is a powder coating that melts as low as 175 ° F and then is cured by exposure to ultraviolet radia-
tion. One current use is to apply the powder to an assembled motor with all its wires and bushings in place, Frauman says. "Our low-temperature powders are package stable. With few exceptions, they do not require any extraordinary care." Suppliers to powder coating makers are ensuring their products function in powder and other low- or no-VOC coatings. According to Terry Potter—Bayer Coatings & Colorants division technical director for adhesives, monomers, and industrial applications—his company is working on bifunctional cross-linkers to control gloss in polyurethane powder coatings. The company also offers e-caprolactam-free cross-linkers that eliminate the oven-fouling problems in curing of powder coatings. Ciba Specialty's Mark McCusker, business director for trade sales and industrial additives, says the company's Tinuvin 111FD, a blend of two sterically hindered amine light stabilizers, not only offers improved light stability and gloss retention for powder coatings but also has a "positive effect on charging of powders for goodfilmbuild." The company's
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OCTOBER 18,1999 C&EN
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Silent
Fbcmpr Few consumers know us. Few industries don't. And that's not surprising. Because, as the source of a remarkable array of specialty chemicals worldwide, Rohm and Haas helps our customers produce better products. So their customers lead more comfortable lives. It's a role that makes us a silent partner in a vast number of high quality end products. We touch lives daily in many ways. Rohm and Haas' leadership in acrylic technology results in superior paints, industrial coatings, adhesives and caulks, paper coatings, and buiicKng products. Our polymers help detergents clean better, make diapers more absorbent, plastics more durable. And our formulation chemicals play major roles in water treatment, oil production, mining and ceramics. Our electronic chemicals help computers run faster and microchips work better. Our ion exchange resins make water softer and cleaner. Our biocides extend the life of cosmetics, household cleaners, and marine paints. Our plastics additives make vinyl siding, pipe, f i l m , and bottles stronger. And our agricultural chemicals quite literally help feed the world. To learn more about Rohm and Haas, see our web site at www.rohmhaas.com CIRCLE 3 7 O N READER S E R V I C E C A R D
H Quietly Improving the Quality qfjfffii,
Responsible Care A Public Commitment
fc-Rohm and Haas Company
business Irgacor and Darocur lines of photoinitiators are incorporated into powder coatings, allowing them to cure on exposure to radiation. They are based on oc-hydroxy ketone, a-amino ketone, and benzophenone technology, says Keith D. Cooper, Ciba's business director for photographic- and radiation-curing additives. Cooper says that although "UV-curing powders are emerging, they still have a way to go. But they are a good answer wherever there is a worry that substrates could deform under intense heat" Another supplier of UV photoinitiators is Exton, Pa.-based Sartomer, owned by France's TotalFina. Business director Paul Elias says UV-curing powder coatings have gone commercial in the oddest places—for instance, they are used to coat motor windings. He says he thought the technology would have been picked up faster in heat-sensitive wood or plastics applications. He calls UV-curing technology "an enabling technology. It allows you to do things you couldn't do before." Whereas drying a liquid-coated object in an oven might take several hours, radiation-curable coatings set in seven-tenths of a second. 'You can handle your product immediately," Elias says. Cytec Industries, a supplier of amino resins for conventional liquid coatings, also offers UV light absorbers for coatings. The company's triazine-based Cyasorb 1164 is now in use in conventional powder coatings to offer protection against paintfilmbreakdown for coated items exposed to strong light, says Michael T. McDonnell, Cytec general manager for specialty resins. According to Lubrizol's Dan Latas, manager of powder coating additives, the company offers surface modifiers for powder coatings. The company's Lanco TF 1830 allows the powder coating maker to offer a textured rough film instead of the high-gloss film normally associated with powder. Union Carbide is a full-line supplier of materials to paint and coatings formulators. But it has seen the writing on the wall. According to Neal A. Wyhs, director for solvents and intermediates, "VOC and HAP regulations continue to exert the most significant effect on solvent usage in paints and coatings. Union Carbide is committed to helping customers meet regulatory goals without sacrificing performance." Carbide also offers a 100% solids coating system that is an alternative to powder and radiation-curable coatings in industrial paint applications. According to
business director Duane F. Baumert, the The company licenses the systems to Unicarb system uses recycled carbon di- paint formulators and applicators. Given the variety of paint systems and oxide to replace solvents and water in coatings formulations. Benefits, he says, applications options, no one scheme ap"include improved coating quality, up to pears likely to substitute for high-solvent 85% reduction in VOC emissions com- liquid coatings. But options are available pared with conventional coatings, and a in many instances to satisfy regulators, 350% increase in parts coated per gallon." engineers, and consumers.^
'Caring' industry: Reality or facade? uring the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) European Chemical Industry's annual conference in Montreux, Switzerland, Oct. 3-4, top executives,financialadvisers, and business consultants tackled the thorny topic of the so-called triple bottom line—the financial, environmental, and social performance of the global economy. Discussions indicated a schism between large companies and smaller ones. Speakers from such larger companies as Dow Chemical and BP Amoco said industry had no choice but to learn how to work within the pressures ap-
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plied by environmental and societal demands, juggling those demands with thefinancialdemands of shareholders. Executives from smaller companies, on the other hand, privately voiced the counterpart to the often-heard argument that environmentalism is a luxury of a high standard of living. These executives recognized only their financial obligations to shareholders, dismissing other commitments as a luxury indulged in by the giants. Setting the stage, Bryan K. Sanderson, chairman of the SCI European Committee and chief executive officer of BP
Goodbye Phone ÏEGI e a s t m a n . c o m
OCTOBER 18,1999 C&EN
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