Revista Paint & Pintura - Edição 250

CLIPPING 8 | PAINT&PINTURA | Dezembro 2019 “The key requirements are for them to improve pigment stability after the grinding process and to fully develop the pigment’s color and shade, all while being competitively priced. Wetting agents, for their part, in addition to re- ducing surface tension and thereby fos- tering improved pigment and substrate wetting, are also required to be compa- tible with various types of systems and, most importantly, to display low foam formation in order to avoid application issues,” says Marlon Braidott, BASF’s technical consultant on additives for South America. According to Alberto Diaz, technical manager of industrial applications at Clariant Latin America, pigment additi- ves are a rather promising market, par- ticularly in terms of their potential for innovation. “So, because innovation and sustainability are core values at Clariant, which continuously invests into the development of new solutions to meet current and future requirements of formulators, as well as end customers, on issues that are fundamental to the industry, such as higher tinting strength, a sustainable approach and lower costs. It’sworthpointingout thatmultifunctio- nality, or the ability to be applied with various kinds of pigments, is a key factor influencing performance inwetting and dispersing agents,” says Diaz. Increasingly in demand are products featuring not only efficiency and streng- th, but also flexibility and, in particular, compatibility with multiple systems, because this allows all pigment concen- trate (or colorant) lines to be optimized, leading to improvements both at the production plant and in the adminis- tration of concentrate inventories to reduce losses, rework and disposals by enabling the production of larger batches with a higher rate of turnover, according to Antonio Lopez, Lubrizol’s technical marketing manager at the Performance Coatings Group for South America. “The main purpose of a dis- persing product is to make the best of the pigment’s tinting strength, clarity and/or opacity, as well as its rheological behavior, without compromising the paint product’s desired stability and other properties.” CARBON BLACKS - THE POWER OF PIGMENTATION With unique properties, carbon blacks stand out for their high pigmentation power in the color black with a bluish undertone, while delivering specific functionalities that make them highly efficient in the production of black, gray and ever other color paints and coatings. The main role carbon blacks serve in coating applications is pigmentation. They are used to produce black and gray paints and coatings, and also co- ver a variety of other colors, in small quantities, to achieve certain shades. In addition, certain types of carbon blacks feature properties that add specific functionalities on coated surfaces, such as high protection fromweathering and ultraviolet radiation, and high or low electric conductivity, among others, according Léa Sgai, marketing and tech- nical servicemanager at Cabot for South America. “Our company, with its vast, comprehensive product range, is all set to meet all of those requirements with products that impart high performance to our customers’ formulations at low costs,” says Sgai. In Léa’s view, the Brazilian market for carbon blacks is following, albeit slowly, the world trends affecting this industry. “Unfortunately, it’s not happening as fact as we would have it. It’s clear that the raw materials used here are lower- -added-value ingredients than those used abroad, except for certain specific formulae required to be produced here by the head office. In many cases, we notice the local costs are not as compe- titive, either, and the equipment, too, is not as efficient compared to what we have at the head office. So I still see a few gaps to be bridged. However, in terms of technology, our technical staff are really skilled, creative and have not only access to those new trends and the initiative to follow them, but also the ability to set new trends in Brazil.” POLYURETHANE RESINS - SUPPLIERS FOLLOW GLOBAL TRENDS Suppliers to the Brazilian market in polyurethane resins are in an ongoing evolutionary process, leading to new developments that stand out for their quality, technology, innovation and lower environmental impact. Thanks to their versatility and streng- th, polyurethane systems have gained more and more ground in the Brazilian market. The reasons for their expansion are increasingly related to performance requirements for polyurethane coatin- gs. “The broad chemical variety of these materials ends upmaking for a plentiful source of alternative solutions to meet market requirements. Polyurethane is usually more expenses relative to other resin systems used in paints and coatings, but where there’s a technical requirement of a higher order to be met, you need to use it. While it’s been a while since polyurethane has been used in automotive and furniture coa- tings, polyurethane systems continue to expand into applications that used to be served by resins producedwith older technologies,” Antonio Carlos Veronezi Filho, Coating Chemist at Coim, says. The growing demand for products featuring high strength, durability and high performance has boosted sales of this type of resin, according to Everton Marion, Evonik Coatings Additives bu- siness manager. “Polyurethane resins are a key ingredient where there amore challenging requirement tobemet, such as weathering resistance, especially in industrial, maritime, automotive and furniture coatings. It’s also worth poin- ting out that resins impart outstanding light and weathering resistance to coatings, where aliphatic isocyanate is