Waterborne technology continues to be the prime focus of emerging coatings markets while the attributes required for designation of a “green” coating continue to adapt. With more options available to achieve high-performance products, green has come to identify with resins that are low VOC, low odor and alkylphenol ethoxylate (APE) free. However, as the coatings market continues to expand, it is becoming more difficult to differentiate from competitors that offer similar product lines.
Based on this, more companies are adding and/or expanding their portfolios with biobased waterborne alternatives that offer the formulator/end user another benefit without sacrificing performance. Products that contain biobased functionality perform equivalently to their petroleum-based counterparts, but are composed entirely, or in significant part, of biological products, renewable agricultural materials (including plant, animal and marine materials), or forestry materials. These materials still offer low VOC, low odor and are APE free, with an added bonus of being partially derived from a renewable raw material source.