Coatings and adhesives are widely used in many industries, including building construction, industrial and automotive, metal protection and footwear. A significant portion of these products are still solvent-based. (Architectural coatings are the only exception, where waterborne products account for more than 80%.) Roughly, solventborne coating and adhesive products contribute several million tons of solvents to air pollution. One of the solutions is to increase the use of waterborne products.
For example, aqueous acrylic emulsions have been used to make architectural paints since the early 1960s. Several million tons of aqueous emulsion-based paints are sold to end users and contractors annually. These paints are able to provide sufficient performance to protect and decorate buildings. With aqueous products, use of solvents in architectural coatings is significantly reduced.(1,2)