Grantee Research Project Results
Cradle-to-Grave Environmentally Compliant, No-VOC Furniture Coating
EPA Contract Number: 68D98134Title: Cradle-to-Grave Environmentally Compliant, No-VOC Furniture Coating
Investigators: Kovar, Robert F.
Small Business: Foster-Miller Inc.
EPA Contact: Richards, April
Phase: I
Project Period: September 1, 1998 through March 1, 1999
Project Amount: $69,957
RFA: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) - Phase I (1998) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: SBIR - Pollution Prevention , Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
Description:
The cost to worker safety, the environment and industry of applying millions of gallons of solvent-based furniture coatings per year is staggering and potentially irreversible. Removal of furniture coatings via chemical stripping also introduces toxic, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that deplete the ozone layer. Under this SBIR project, Foster-Miller will develop an environmentally-compliant, durable protective coating for furniture that is 100% reactive and contains no VOCs. The coating will be designed with a "lock and key" selective degradation mechanism that allows it to be removed-upon- demand without the need for organic solvents. The No-VOC coating will be spray- applied and provide reliable protection during its long service lifetime. When removal is desired for restoration purposes, a non-hazardous, aqueous enzyme solution will be applied that rapidly removes only the coating, leaving the underlying wood untouched. Following removal, the coating will biodegrade into harmless products that can be reintroduced into the environment. This coating and its lock and key removal system provide a cost effective, "cradle-to-grave" environmental alternative to current furniture coatings that require the use of VOCs during both application and removal. The Foster- Miller team contains a furniture coating manufacturer as well as experts in No-VOC coatings, biodegradable polymers, and enzyme chemistry.Supplemental Keywords:
small business, SBIR, pollution prevention, air emissions, engineering, chemistry, EPA., Sustainable Industry/Business, RFA, Air, Scientific Discipline, Economic, Social, & Behavioral Science Research Program, Toxics, Technology for Sustainable Environment, Chemical Engineering, Engineering, Chemistry, Engineering, Chemistry, & Physics, tropospheric ozone, indoor air, Market mechanisms, VOCs, cleaner production/pollution prevention, air toxics, New/Innovative technologies, health effects, volatile air toxics, indoor air quality, ozone layer, pollution prevention, coatings, biodegradability, stratospheric ozone, human exposure, environmentally conscious manufacturing, cost effective, industrial air pollution, indoor VOC compounds, coating formulations, alternative materials, ozone depleting chemicals, ozone, ozone depletion, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), alternative coatingsProgress and Final Reports:
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.