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Coating Formulation PL (ITENE, ES)
PL14
valmas
DESCRIPTION GALLERY
DESCRIPTION

In the PL14, coating and ink formulations will be carried out from NCFs and CNC obtained in the PL13, as well as from other bio-based material coming other pilot lines or commercial suppliers.
The formulated biobased coatings could be used to improve the coating barrier properties, to increase the mechanical strength, to improve the compostability or biodegradability of the coatings/inks or for decorative/graphical purposes.
Depending on the compounds to be used in the coating formulation, and as well on its final coating requirements, the mixing and milling needs, and conditions could vary. The input of this PL will be (batch volume) the following:

  • Low viscosity inks:
    • Mixing: 10 liters
    • Milling: 7 liters
  • High viscosity coatings:
    • Mixing: Mixing: 10 liters
    • Milling: 1 liter
pilot lines templates image
pilot lines templates image

In a first step, the resins are mixed with the solvent and the additives to produce the varnish. Depending on the kind of varnish to be produced, the requirements of temperature and power could vary. They are manufactured by breaking up the resin particles and dissolving them in a solvent in either a cavitation or a rotor / stator mixer, depending on its viscosity. Once the varnish has been formulated, additional solid compounds (particles or nanoparticles) can be added. These compounds normally add or improve the functionality of the coating (e. g. barrier properties, mechanical strength, colour, etc.). At this preparation stage, the added particles clump together, and they must be broken up and dispersed through the resin. In order to achieve that, firstly, the clumped particles must be pre-dispersed and then, according to the obtained viscosity, different systems can be used for grinding and milling. At the ITENE pilot plant, the following methods could be used:

  • Planetary ball mill
  • Wet horizontal bead mill

In this PL, the mixing and dispersion systems will be upgraded through the acquisition of new modules and accessories to improve their dispersion and mixing capabilities, to increase the reaction yields and the final product quantities.