CEH Report

Table of Contents

Abstract

Alkyd surface coatings continue to be one of the largest types of coating used in the world, despite the increasing use of other film formers. The success of alkyd resin systems is a result of their relatively low cost, versatility and long familiarity with users. They can be tailored to meet a variety of end-use requirements through the choice and ratio of reactants and/or modifiers. Alkyds are used extensively in architectural coatings, product finishes and special-purpose coatings. Polyesters, also referred to as oil-free alkyds, are made in the same equipment as alkyds and use many of the same raw materials. Polyesters are used almost exclusively in industrial baking finishes.

Despite the continuing decline in the marketplace in North America, Western Europe and Japan, alkyds remain one of the leading types of coatings used in the industrial marketplace.

The following pie charts show world consumption of alkyd/polyester surface coatings.

World Consumption of Alkyd/Polyester Surface Coatings—2006

In North America, Western Europe and Japan, consumption of alkyds has diminished over the last thirty years. In the architectural or decorative coatings market, solventborne alkyds have been replaced with waterborne emulsions due to lower odor, lower solvent content, easy cleanup and fast drying properties. However, these emulsions do not display the same level of performance in leveling, adhesion, gloss and certain resistance properties. These drawbacks have stalled the conversion from most solventborne gloss trim and light maintenance coatings, so solventborne alkyds still remain a sizable factor in the coatings industry. However, restrictions on the use of paints are becoming tighter in certain parts of the United States and in Europe, and will forbid the use of conventional low solids (i.e., high solvent containing) solventborne coatings. In the next five years, the types of resins used in these regions in certain applications will change significantly.

Producers continue to develop new and improved systems for high-solids and waterborne formulations to meet increasingly stringent air pollution regulations. The industry seems pessimistic on the use of higher-solids alkyds, but is optimistic that waterborne alkyds can be developed with properties comparable to solventborne systems. Generally, though, these environmentally friendly systems are considerably more expensive than the conventional systems, and have some technical drawbacks. Polyesters are offered in high-solids, waterborne and powder coatings.