The use of biopolymers in coating materials

The finite nature of fossil fuels and climate change are the one of main driving forces for the development of new raw materials for the coatings industry. The number of studies aimed at the replacement of polymers derived from petrochemical raw materials with polymers based on renewable resources is constantly growing. Preliminary investigations on the use of waterborne polyurethane dispersions synthesized with biobased prepolymer polyols and aliphatic diisocyanate in building paints for interior application are discussed. Based on the test results, two waterborne resins compatible with biobased dispersions were selected: alkyd/aliphatic polyurethane copolymer paint and urethanised alkyd resin paint. Suitable paint additives were also chosen. Paint formulations with different biopolymer to commercial resin ratios have been developed and their basic properties evaluated.