High-Solids Reactive Oligomers Derived from Soybean Oil
Synthesis, Characterization and Their Application Potential
In the United States, over 300 billion beer, beverage and food cans are coated with half a million metric tons of Bisphenol-A (BPA)-containing epoxy resins each year, and the global market is more than twice that large. Although there are currently no U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or other U.S. regulatory restrictions on the use of BPA-based resins in most food containers, BPA-related health hazards have been recognized by regulators, policymakers and consumers. BPA is banned from use in applications such as infant feeding plastic bottles, and California recently listed BPA as a hazardous chemical.
Major brand owners such as Coca Cola, Heinz, Con Agra and Nestle have been actively working with coating suppliers to develop cost-effective and functional replacements for BPA-based epoxy resins in can coatings that have direct contact with food. The challenges are numerous for the alternative product, as the can coatings must achieve criteria such as: maintain adhesion under sterilization conditions; exhibit no chipping, flaking or peeling during handling and storage; not alter food taste; pass FDA guidelines on direct food contact use; be economically viable; and work across the well-established, various high-speed manufacturing processes.