Prospector Knowledge Center Logo Prospector Knowledge Center Print Logo

Prospector Knowledge Center

Welcome to the blog for UL Prospector, the most comprehensive raw material search engine for product developers.

UL Logo UL Print Logo
  • Home
  • Articles
    • Food, Beverage & Nutrition
    • Plastics
      • Design
      • Materials
      • Processing
    • Paint & Coatings
    • Personal Care & Cosmetics
    • Lubricants
    • Household and Industrial Cleaners
    • General Innovation
  • News & Events
    • Food, Beverage & Nutrition
    • Paint & Coatings
    • Personal Care & Cosmetics / Cleaners
    • Plastics
    • Community Polls
    • Prospector Announcements
    • Supplier News
  • Webinars
    • Webinars by Company
    • Food, Beverage & Nutrition
    • Household and Industrial Cleaners
    • Paints & Coatings
    • Personal Care
    • Plastics
      • Design
      • Language Specific
      • Machinery
      • Materials
      • Processing
      • Purging
    • Prospector
    • Full Webinar List
  • Videos
    • Food
      • IFT 2016
    • Paint & Coatings
      • ECS 2017
      • Sam Morell
    • Personal Care
      • in-cos Latin America 2017
      • NYSCC 2017
      • in-cos 2017
      • BASF Care Creations
      • Dow Corning®
      • NYSCC Supplier’s Day 2016
    • Plastics
      • Chinaplas 2016

The Challenges of Formulating Universal Colorants

Posted on November 10, 2017 by Jochum Beetsma — 3 comments

Share this article:      

Introduction

A universal colorant is a concentrated dispersion of colour pigment that is used to tint a base paint. A line of well-designed universal colorants can be used for both water-based paints and solvent-based alkyd paints, most often for architectural applications. Modern universal colorants are solvent-free, water-based materials. The adjustment of colour of the architectural paints can be done either in the production plant (In-Plant tinting) or in the shops where customers buy their paints (Point-of-Sale tinting).

Dispensing colorants from a dispenser in base paint. Learn about the challenges of formulating universal colorants in the Prospector Knowledge Center.
Dispensing colorants from a dispenser in base paint. Courtesy of Fast & Fluid Management B.V.

Searching for universal colorant materials?

Prospector® has listings for thousands of products from global suppliers. Review technical data, order samples and more.

Get access now

The challenges of formulating universal colorants

It is already complicated to develop a robust line of water-based colorants that is only used to tint water-based paints. A wide range of different colour pigments must be stabilised by using as few as possible additives. Dispersants are polymeric additives used to provide stability against flocculation. Anchoring, strong adsorption of the dispersant molecules at the surface of the pigment particles, is a key hurdle to take for all types of colorants.

For universal colorants, there are additional problems to overcome.

First, the composition of the water-based colorants must be such that the stabilisation of the pigment particles is assured when the colorants are added to both water-based (WB) and solvent-based (SB) paints.

Universal colorant can be used to tint both water-based and solvent-based paints.
Universal colorant can be used to tint both water-based and solvent-based paints.

Most often steric stabilisation is used to provide repulsive forces between the solid particles. The dispersant molecules must contain water-soluble tails of sufficient length to assure steric stabilisation in systems that have an aqueous continuous phase, like the colorants themselves and the water-based base paints to which the colorants are added. Also, tails are needed that dissolve in the nonpolar continuous phase of solvent-based architectural alkyd paints, often based on de-aromated white spirit D40 or D60 as solvent.

Secondly, the water of the colorants must be homogeneously distributed in the solvent-based paint when the colorants are mixed with such a base paint. Upon mixing of paint and colorant, the water must be emulsified and stabilised within the solvent-based system.

Additives for universal colorants

Steric stabilisation in both aqueous and nonpolar media can be arranged by using different sorts of soluble tails, that are both part of the dispersant molecules.

Polarity shock when water-based colorant is added to solvent-based base paint.
Polarity shock when water-based colorant is added to solvent-based base paint.

In the colorant itself, the pigment particles repel each other because of steric stabilisation provided by water-soluble tails, possibly combined with electrostatic repulsion. This stabilisation mechanism stays intact when the colorant is added to a water-based paint. The hydrophobic tails are not soluble in the aqueous continuous phase. The hydrophobic tails are coiled when the pigment particles and dispersant are surrounded by water. When the universal colorant is added to nonpolar solvent-based base paint, the hydrophobic tails dissolve and stretch. Because of this, the tails provide steric stabilisation in the nonpolar continuous phase consisting of alkyd resin dissolved in organic solvent.

The water-soluble tails are not soluble in the nonpolar continuous phase of the solvent-based paint. Therefore, the water-soluble tails coil when the particles become surrounded by the nonpolar continuous phase of the solvent-based base paint.

It will come as no surprise that it requires skills to develop dispersants that comply with these criteria. Disperbyk®-2060, for inorganic pigments, and Disperbyk®-2061, for organic pigments, are polymeric dispersants designed to make universal colorants for architectural paints.

Preferably, the water of the universal colorants is emulsified to small droplets when the colorants are added to a solvent-based base paint. Several additives, often referred to as compatibilisers, can be used either in the colorants or in the base paints to accomplish this.1

General composition of a universal colorant. Learn about formulating universal colorants in the Prospector Knowledge Center.
General composition of a universal colorant.

The final products

Despite all the difficulties that must be overcome, high-quality universal colorants are available. Monicolor™ C is a line of solvent-free universal colorants designed to be compatible with both water-based and solvent-based architectural paints.

The future

The development of fool-proof universal colorants has not yet ended. The quality of adsorption of dispersants at the surface of pigment particles must be improved, especially anchoring on the surface of organic pigments. Secondly, not all universal colorants can cope with the shock in polarity when the water-based colorants are added to solvent-based base paints. Finally, the emulsification of water, when colorant is added to solvent-based paints, is often not good enough.

Further reading:

  • Settle Down: Factors that Influence Pigment Settling and Stability
  • Mix It Up: High Speed Mixers for Paints, Inks & Coatings
  • A Home for Architectural Coatings Resources
  • Architectural Coatings: Paint Formulations and their Properties

Reference
1. White paper: Past and Future of Universal Colorants in Coatings, Frank Kleinsteinberg (Evonik), October 2017 [PDF]

The views, opinions and technical analyses presented here are those of the author, and are not necessarily those of UL, ULProspector.com or Knowledge.ULProspector.com. While the editors of this site make every effort to verify the accuracy of its content, we assume no responsibility for errors made by the author, editorial staff or any other contributor. All content is subject to copyright and may not be reproduced without prior authorization from Prospector.

Share this article:      

Filed Under: Paint & Coatings, Featured Tagged With: formulation challenge

Jochum Beetsma

About Jochum Beetsma

With 25 years of experience in the coatings and ink industries, Drs. Jochum Beetsma brings expertise in physical chemistry, product development, innovation implementation and problem solving to his role as a paint and coatings industry expert at Prospector.  A credentialed physical chemist and PDMA-certified New Product Development Professional, Jochum Beetsma authors in-depth technical articles for Knowledge.ULProspector.com.

Concurrently, Jochum is an independent consultant with Meritus Groep, where he has advised companies from around the world in the coatings, ink and related industries since 2004. Prior to joining Meritus Groep, he spent 13 years at DSM Coating Resins. While at DSM, he was the project manager of New Product Development projects, focusing on emulsions, as well as solvent-based, high-solids and powder coatings.

He also served as the chairman of the Project Management Platform within DSM, for which he coached project teams and prepared and facilitated complex project sessions. Previous to his time at DSM, Jochum was a coating chemist, project leader and binder coordinator for the Industrial Coatings Division of Sigma Coatings (now a part of PPG).

He has held numerous other titles within educational institutions and professional organizations. Some of his most useful experiences were gained as a facilitator and participant in brainstorm sessions during initiation of the Challenge Database, while applying the TRIZ method, and as an expert representative from industry in the Innovative Research Program (IOP).

Jochum is widely published in various international scientific magazines and has delivered lectures worldwide. He is a current lecturer and member of the Expert Team for SpecialChem. He is also a coatings technology lecturer for, amongst others, Polymer Technology Netherlands and Reed Business Education.

He currently resides in Zwolle, The Netherlands.

Contact Jochum via email ([email protected]) to learn more about his consulting services.

3 Responses to “The Challenges of Formulating Universal Colorants”

  1. Dr. Yves Merck says:
    November 15, 2017 at 3:50 am

    Hello Jochum,
    Good to hear from you! With your experience are dispersants used industrially in powder coatings? And are they efficient as there is no water and no solvent? I tried some products from Byk but I have not seen any efficiency for example in light blue powder formulations.
    Thank you for your answer.

    Yves

    Direct Reply
    • J Beetsma says:
      November 15, 2017 at 1:56 pm

      Dear Yves, Good to hear from you as well. The 2 stabilisation principles used in liquid paints (electrostatic and steric repulsion) are difficult to use in powder coatings (and plastics). It is possible to adsorb interface additives at the surface of the solid particles to prevent direct contact between the surfaces of the particles. This will give lower viscosity and better flow. However, it is difficult to get real particle-particle repulsion in systems that do not contain carrier molecules (like water and solvent). Greetings, Jochum.

      Direct Reply
  2. Ad Hofland says:
    November 15, 2017 at 6:05 am

    I wonder what continuous phase is used in these concentrates. If it is water, where does the water stay in a solvent borne paint? If it is solvent, where does it stay in a water borne paint? The only solution to me would seem a watermiscible solvent like Dowanol PM? Please elaborate.

    Direct Reply

Leave a Reply or Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About Prospector
  • Company Information
  • Contact Us
  • Chinese Knowledge Center
  • Company News
  • Call for Knowledge Center Contributors
Industry Search Engines
  • Adhesives & Sealants
  • Food, Beverage & Nutrition
  • Graphic Arts & Inks
  • Household, Industrial & Institutional Cleaners
  • Lubricant & Metalworking Fluids
  • Paint & Coatings
  • Personal Care & Cosmetics
  • Solid Materials
Prospector

7930 Santa Fe, 3rd Floor
Overland Park, KS 66204 USA

Phone: 913-307-9010
Fax: 913-307-9011

Copyright © 2021 Prospector Knowledge Center | Online Policies | Site Map
Find Ingredients Faster on ULProspector.com