A new coating material that emits virtually no volatile organic compounds (VOC) during application could replace conventional solvent-based paints and anti-corrosion coatings in a wide range of uses. Based on a durable polyester material, the new coating can be tailored to provide the specific properties required by different applications.

Developed by a research team at the Georgia Institute of Technology, the patented ultra-low VOC coating would meet new environmental regulations expected to severely limit VOC emission from paints and other coatings.

"The potential applications are enormous," said Dr. Robert E. Schwerzel Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). "These coatings could, in principle, replace many of the solvent-based paints, enamels and varnishes that are currently used to coat everything from stoves and refrigerators to aircraft."

In addition to the coating's environmental attractiveness, the novel process used to produce it also offers formulators a high degree of flexibility in selecting the resulting properties of the coating. The work was described at the recent meeting of the American Chemical Society.

"We have developed a system for applying coatings that can be tuned for a whole group of different properties," said Dr. Charles Eckert, professor in Georgia Tech's School of Chemical Engineering and director of the Specialty Separations Center. "We believe we will be able to adapt this to a variety of applications each with different needs and different constraints." Developed by a research team at the Georgia Institute of Technology, the patented ultra-low VOC coating would meet new environmental regulations expected to severely limit VOC emission from paints and other coatings.

"The potential applications are enormous," said Dr. Robert E. Schwerzel, a principal research scientist at the Georgia Tech Research Institu
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Contact: John Toon
john.toon@edi.gatech.edu
404-894-6986
Georgia Institute of Technology Research News
21-Jun-1999