Grantee Research Project Results
Environmentally Safe, No VOC Automotive Coating
EPA Contract Number: 68D70049Title: Environmentally Safe, No VOC Automotive Coating
Investigators: Kovar, Robert F.
Small Business: Foster-Miller Inc.
EPA Contact: Richards, April
Phase: II
Project Period: September 1, 1997 through September 1, 1999
Project Amount: $224,995
RFA: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) - Phase II (1997) Recipients Lists
Research Category: SBIR - Air Pollution , Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) , Air Quality and Air Toxics
Description:
The EPA recognizes that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) must be eliminated from automotive coating formulations to improve worker safety and reduce environmental pollution. The phase I project resulted in the production of a polymer-based coating material that was clear, colorless, low enough in viscosity to be spray-coated, 100% reactive, and contained no VOCs. Catalyzed oligomers applied via hand coating to primed steel test panels solidified during a 24-hour RT cure cycle and were postcured at 100oC for 24 hours to form hard, tough, tenacious coatings. Independent tests indicated that coatings on primed steel test panels postcured at 100oC passed the pencil hardness, dry tape adhesion, wet tape adhesion, water-resistance, solvent-resistance, and percent gloss tests. These results clearly indicated the feasibility of a new and environmentally safe, automotive coating that contains no VOCs.Phase II efforts will refine the no VOC coating formulation and process and scale up to larger production quantities. Larger, more complex coated test panels and prototype automotive structures will be produced for extensive testing at Foster-Miller, Sherwin-Williams, and General Motors. The committed Phase II involvement of major chemical suppliers and automobile paint manufacturers will encourage rapid commercialization of this highly needed technology. This new coating also could be used as a topcoat for aircraft, ships, building structures, electronics equipment, indoor furniture, and industrial equipment.
Supplemental Keywords:
small business, SBIR, air emissions, pollution prevention, engineering, chemistry., Sustainable Industry/Business, RFA, Air, Scientific Discipline, Toxics, Technology for Sustainable Environment, Chemical Engineering, Engineering, Chemistry, Sustainable Environment, Environmental Chemistry, Engineering, Chemistry, & Physics, Chemistry and Materials Science, VOCs, cleaner production/pollution prevention, air toxics, Environmental Engineering, coatings, pollution prevention, environmentally benign coating, emission controls, air emissions, automotive coating, no VOC automotive coating, no VOC automotive coating, cleaner production, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)Progress 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.