Water-borne coatings on the rise – but not without challenges
水性涂料正在崛起,但并非没有挑战
Beyond architectural applications, water-borne coatings are gaining ground in markets like furniture, metal packaging, and automotive. Marcel Meeuwisse from Allnex outlines where the strongest growth is expected, which technological advances are key – and how stricter biocide regulations pose both hurdles and opportunities for innovation. By Bettina Hoffmann
除了建筑应用之外，水性涂料在家具、金属包装和汽车等市场也取得了进展。接受贝蒂娜·霍夫曼著采访时,Allnex的Marcel Meeuwisse概述了最强劲的增长预期,哪些技术进步是关键,以及更严格的杀菌剂法规如何给创新带来障碍和机遇.
Water-borne coatings are expanding into new markets – driven by sustainability goals, regulatory pressure, and continuous innovation.
图: 在可持续发展目标、监管压力和不断创新的推动下,水性涂料正在拓展新的市场。
Which markets are mostly water-borne (besides architectural), and which ones will shift further towards water-borne coatings?
Marcel Meeuwisse: Water-borne coatings have gained significant traction in several markets due to their low VOCs, reduced environmental impact and generally safer profile. They have a dominant position in interior and exterior architectural coatings for both residential and commercial buildings. Technological developments and regulatory pressures have also led to a shift towards water-borne coatings in automotive refinish and industrial wood coatings. In the protective coatings market, they are increasingly being used for corrosion protection in infrastructure, although solvent-borne systems still hold a large share. While their growth is often associated with sustainability, certain performance attributes such as blocking resistance, natural aesthetics and low viscosity have driven their historical adoption in markets such as woodworking.
除了建筑市场外,还有哪些市场主要是水性涂料?哪些市场将进一步转向水性涂料？
Marcel Meeuwisse:水性涂料由于其低VOC、能降低环境影响以及总体上更安全的特点,在一些市场上获得巨大的吸引力.在住宅和商业建筑的内外建筑涂料中占有主导地位;技术发展和监管压力,也导致汽车修补漆和工业木器涂料方面向水性涂料的转变;在溶剂型系统仍然占有很大的份额的防护涂料市场,水性涂料也越来越多地被用于基础设施的防腐.虽然水性涂料的增长通常与可持续性有关,但其本身具备的抗堵塞性/自然美观性/低粘度性等,均推动了它们在木工等市场的长久效用。
Looking ahead, furniture, general industrial applications and metal packaging are markets expected to see strong growth in waterborne coatings, driven by consumer preference for sustainable solutions or regulatory pressure. In addition, the automotive OEM sector is exploring water-borne alternatives as performance continues to improve. Improvements are still needed to drive further growth in water-borne coatings. An important one, and a focus for Allnex, is to increase the solids content while maintaining the performance profile to reduce evaporation time, overall energy efficiency and increase productivity. This can also have an impact on the number of layers required in a coating system, reducing overall costs. Alongside traditional water-borne coatings, we are investing heavily in UV-curable water-borne technology, further enhancing the value proposition by reducing energy consumption/costs. Solvent-based coatings, on the other hand, could defend their market share by switching to more sustainable, recycled and safer solvents. It should be noted that the product carbon footprint of water-borne coatings is not necessarily lower than that of solvent-borne coatings.
从长远来看,随着消费者对可持续解决方案的偏好或监管压力的推动,水性涂料预计会在家具、一般工业应用和金属包装市场强劲增长.此外,随着水性涂料性能的不断提高,汽车OEM行业正在探索水性替代品.要推动水性涂料的进一步增长,性能的提高至关重要,这也是Allnex一直关注的焦点,在保持性能的同时,增加固体含量以减少蒸发时间,提高整体能源效率和提高生产力.减低所需涂层数,从而降低总体成本.
除了传统的水性涂料,大家也在大力投资UV固化水性技术,通过降低能耗/成本进一步提高性价比.另一方面,传统油性涂料也可以向着更可持续、可回收和更安全方向转变,以捍卫自己的市场份额.当然,需要注意的是,水性涂料的产品碳足迹并不一定低于溶剂型涂料。
Will there be problems or opportunities as a result of the stricter biocide regulations?
Meeuwisse: The evolving and stricter biocide regulations could have an impact on the further growth and adoption of water-borne coating systems. Biocides in water-borne coatings are essential to prevent microbial contamination and extend shelf life. Stricter regulations in the EU and North America – such as REACH and BPR – limit the types and concentrations of biocides that can be used. This increases formulation complexity and could lead to higher production/raw material costs or shorter shelf life if safer alternatives aren’t developed. As a result, innovation will be key to the continued expansion of water-borne coatings. Today, manufacturers are working on low-biocide or biocide-free preservative systems, but are reaching technological barriers. The impact of these regulations may slow market growth in the short term, but should ultimately lead to even more sustainable and safer water-borne coatings in the future. In addition to product innovation, this will open the door to further improvements in unit/plant hygiene and could ultimately lead to better practices in the chemical industry. Other technologies that are less susceptible to microbial contamination and have a lower energy consumption profile could use this to their advantage for further growth. The replacement of water-based coatings with 100 % solids UV-curable coatings in kitchen cabinets and flooring is one example.
更严格的杀菌剂法规是挑战,还是机遇？
meeuwise：不断发展和严格的杀菌剂法规可能会对水性涂料系统的进一步发展和应用产生影响.水性涂料中的杀菌剂对防止微生物污染和延长保质期至关重要.欧盟和北美出台的REACH和BPR等严格法规,对可以使用的杀菌剂的类型和浓度进行了限制,这增加了配方的复杂性,如果不开发更安全的替代品,可能会导致更高的生产/原材料成本或更短的保质期.因此，创新将是水性涂料持续扩张的关键.制造商正在致力于低杀菌剂或无杀菌剂的保存系统,但这方面技术障碍不小.
这些法规可能会在短期内减缓市场的增长,但最终会带来更可持续和更安全的水性涂料.除了产品创新,法规也将为进一步改善单元/工厂卫生打开大门,并最终有利于化工业的更好实践.法规影响下,那些不太容易受微生物污染和能耗较低的技术可以利用这一优势进一步发展.厨房橱柜和地板应用中,用100%固体UV固化涂料取代水性涂料就是个例子。
备注: 本文章原文来自欧洲涂料网站: https://www.european-coatings.com/news/markets-companies/water-borne-coatings-on-the-rise-but-not-without-challenges/ 最初发布时间:15.05.2025 图片来源: lovelyday12- stock.adobe.com翻译为广州九维提供. |
