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Comment October 1990 PIGMENT AND RESIN TECHNOLOGY 3 Environmental concern boosts radiation cured polymers Industries involved wit h the use of coatings, inks and adhesive are especially susceptible to the environmental lobby against the use of solvents to deposit polymer layers. In consequence, radiation curing of polymers, which avoids using solvents, is growing rapidly and according to a new Frost & Sullivan report its long term future looks bright. Radiation curing, uses irradiation to produce the polymer in situ from liquid precursors. Apart from avoiding solvents its other advantages include its speed and savings on energy and floor space. The technique is based mainly on ultraviolet light (UV) as the radiation source. Electron beam (EB), which has some advantages, is also used but represents only about 6% by volume of the radiation cured polymer market because of the high capital investment needed. There are three main polymer types: acrylic, polyester and cationic, of which acrylics are the leaders for use in radiation curing. Their annual use is expected to slow down slightly up to 1994, compared with between 1984 and 1989. The report says: "the dominant position of acrylic systems stems from their very fast cure rate and versatility which allows for a broad spectrum of performance properties to be created." Polyester systems are significantly cheaper than acrylics as they are based on commodity unsaturated polyester resins and styrene but suffer because of a slow cure rate. Frost & Sullivan predict that their market, limited to wood coatings and based mainly in Italy, wil l grow very slowly up to 1994. Both polyester and acrylic systems are cured by a free radical mechanism. Polymer systems, based on aliphatic epoxy resins and cured by a cationic mechanism, are a recent introduction to the West European market. They have important advantages but are more expensive. Almost all the market for radcure products is in printing ink and industrial coating uses, withi n which the market share is only 2.5% and 1% respectively. The report predicts that by 1994 the shares will have increased to 4% and 1.5% respectively. In printing inks the applications for radcure products, in market volume order, are: overprint varnishes; offset inks, mainly for sheet- fed printing of paper packages and; screen inks for electronic and general commercial uses. The largest outlet for radiation technology curing is factory wood coatings and the market is divided into two areas according to the type of polymer used. Polyester coatings, cured by UV and providing thick high gloss finishes have a long established, large market particularly in Italy, where there is a fashion for 'wet look' finish furniture. But Frost & Sullivan say: "UV acrylic wood coatings, a more recent development, are smaller in volume but are growing rapidly for use as finishes for flush doors and office furniture made from flat softwood. Pigmented finishes, hardwood veneers and profiled surfaces pose problems for UV cured wood coatings, limiting the market potential." The coating of plastics, traditionally difficult because of sensitivity to light and solvents, is well suited to radiation curing and its use is growing rapidly. The main application is as a wear resistant layer for PVC floor coverings accounting for about half the market volume. Curing wit h EB is more effective than UV especially for pigmented areas. Coating applications for EB irradiation include wood finishing, paper and paperboard upgrading, plastic film converting, weather resistant coatings and magnetic media coatings. EB cured inks and varnishes are also used for the decoration of aseptic packages for drinks. Details: Frost & Sullivan Ltd, 4 Grosvenor Gardens, London SW1W 0DH. Tel: 071-730 3438. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Pigment & Resin Technology Emerald Publishing

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Pigment & Resin Technology , Volume 19 (10): 1 – Oct 1, 1990
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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN
0369-9420
DOI
10.1108/eb042769
Publisher site
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Abstract

October 1990 PIGMENT AND RESIN TECHNOLOGY 3 Environmental concern boosts radiation cured polymers Industries involved wit h the use of coatings, inks and adhesive are especially susceptible to the environmental lobby against the use of solvents to deposit polymer layers. In consequence, radiation curing of polymers, which avoids using solvents, is growing rapidly and according to a new Frost & Sullivan report its long term future looks bright. Radiation curing, uses irradiation to produce the polymer in situ from liquid precursors. Apart from avoiding solvents its other advantages include its speed and savings on energy and floor space. The technique is based mainly on ultraviolet light (UV) as the radiation source. Electron beam (EB), which has some advantages, is also used but represents only about 6% by volume of the radiation cured polymer market because of the high capital investment needed. There are three main polymer types: acrylic, polyester and cationic, of which acrylics are the leaders for use in radiation curing. Their annual use is expected to slow down slightly up to 1994, compared with between 1984 and 1989. The report says: "the dominant position of acrylic systems stems from their very fast cure rate and versatility which allows for a broad spectrum of performance properties to be created." Polyester systems are significantly cheaper than acrylics as they are based on commodity unsaturated polyester resins and styrene but suffer because of a slow cure rate. Frost & Sullivan predict that their market, limited to wood coatings and based mainly in Italy, wil l grow very slowly up to 1994. Both polyester and acrylic systems are cured by a free radical mechanism. Polymer systems, based on aliphatic epoxy resins and cured by a cationic mechanism, are a recent introduction to the West European market. They have important advantages but are more expensive. Almost all the market for radcure products is in printing ink and industrial coating uses, withi n which the market share is only 2.5% and 1% respectively. The report predicts that by 1994 the shares will have increased to 4% and 1.5% respectively. In printing inks the applications for radcure products, in market volume order, are: overprint varnishes; offset inks, mainly for sheet- fed printing of paper packages and; screen inks for electronic and general commercial uses. The largest outlet for radiation technology curing is factory wood coatings and the market is divided into two areas according to the type of polymer used. Polyester coatings, cured by UV and providing thick high gloss finishes have a long established, large market particularly in Italy, where there is a fashion for 'wet look' finish furniture. But Frost & Sullivan say: "UV acrylic wood coatings, a more recent development, are smaller in volume but are growing rapidly for use as finishes for flush doors and office furniture made from flat softwood. Pigmented finishes, hardwood veneers and profiled surfaces pose problems for UV cured wood coatings, limiting the market potential." The coating of plastics, traditionally difficult because of sensitivity to light and solvents, is well suited to radiation curing and its use is growing rapidly. The main application is as a wear resistant layer for PVC floor coverings accounting for about half the market volume. Curing wit h EB is more effective than UV especially for pigmented areas. Coating applications for EB irradiation include wood finishing, paper and paperboard upgrading, plastic film converting, weather resistant coatings and magnetic media coatings. EB cured inks and varnishes are also used for the decoration of aseptic packages for drinks. Details: Frost & Sullivan Ltd, 4 Grosvenor Gardens, London SW1W 0DH. Tel: 071-730 3438.

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Pigment & Resin Technology – Emerald Publishing

Published: Oct 1, 1990

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