Clariant’s Genapol® wetting agent provides all-round performance boost in emulsion paints

Muttenz, September 27, 2010 - The paint industry is on the constant look-out for sustainable solutions that improve performance and increase customer choice. Such a solution is available with Genapol® ED3060, a wetting agent for emulsion paints from Clariant that has outstanding wetting and low foaming properties at very low addition levels. It improves the compatibility of binders with numerous organic pigments that are difficult to disperse in the paint, making it easier to formulate a wide range of paint colours.

The low foaming properties of this novel product mean that formulators need to add less defoaming agents to the paint. Its high compatibility with pigments makes it easier to produce such paint colours as violets and pinks that are made with hydrophobic polycyclic pigments.

In addition to its exceptional wetting power, excellent low foaming properties and broad pigment compatibility, Genapol ED 3060 has other important advantages: first, it prevents flocculation of organic paint pigments – a problem particularly noticeable with blue, green and purple pigments, as well as carbon black - and so helps to minimize rub-out problems; as a result, it enables higher tinting strength than other products.

Furthermore, by containing very low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and being completely free of alkylphenolethoxylater (APEO), Genapol ED 3060 is in keeping with actual market trends in the paint industry.

Genapol ED 3060 can be used in architectural emulsion paints for indoor use (which typically use styrene acrylic or vinyl acetate binders) and for outdoor applications (silicone-based types, for example). Addition rates are normally around 0.3 percent. “A little goes a long way,” says Hendrik Ahrens, Paints &Coatings development chemist of Clariant. “Genapol ED 3060 lets paint makers get the most out of their products with low environmental impact. In terms of performance, it has no rival.”

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