First fully automated paint factory for bio-based UV coatings
The Italian wood coatings manufacturer IVM chemicals presented the results of the EU-supported “Life BioPaint” project. The company is now running the first fully automated paint factory for wood coatings with a high degree of bio-based carbon.
During an online presentation IVM showed the capabilities ofthe newly erected paint factory in Northern Italy. The pilot plant has aninitial capacity of 2000 tons per year, however, a possible expansion of theplant in the future is already accounted for.
As Marcello Vitale, Project Manager of the “Life BioPaint” project,explained that the plant addresses multiple areas of paint production to reduce environmentalimpact of coatings productions. Firstly, the plant uses bio-based raw materials andproduces paints and coatings with very high shares of bio-based carbon and even100 % bio-based coatings.
No VOC emissions
As second step the plant is build to use as little energyduring production as possible. Also, it is fully automated and closed-circuit toensure the complete avoidance of production rejects and as well asVOC emissions during production.
Energy consumption also plays an important role in coatings application. To keep the demand low, the plant onlyproduces 100 % UV-curable products.
Sustainable raw materials
In a secondpresentation Kiril Maister of Green Delta explained in detail how the environmentalimpacts of the plant were calculated. Aside from waste reduction (-80 %) andenergy consumption (-30 %) the raw material impact was a focus of his presentation.As he explained, the source of the bio-based raw materials plays a major role.For example, a common used bio-raw material is itaconic acid, which can be derivedfrom corn or rice biproducts. As Maister showed, rice-based itaconic acid has a muchlower environmental impact than corn-based itaconic acid.
