As part of the chemical industry’s larger initiative focused on health and environmental issues, the coatings industry has spent much of the past decade trying to identify ways to reduce VOCs. Historically, high-VOC coalescents were used in conjunction with high-Tg polymers to provide the type of performance benefits required by paint formulators and end users.
Over the years, a variety of approaches have been adopted in an effort to lower VOC levels. One approach involves the substitution of harder polymers with softer ones that require significantly lower levels of coalescents. Another method involves the substitution of high-VOC ingredients, such as coalescents, with low-VOC alternatives. In some instances, a combination of both approaches has been adapted. However, the effort to reduce VOCs by using softer polymers and/or low-VOC coalescents sometimes results in a sacrifice in performance.