Overview and Development Trends of Water-based Coatings

　　The rapid economic development has brought superior material conditions to humanity, but it has also created a series of environmental problems that hinder the sustainable development of human society. In recent years, with the continuous improvement of environmental awareness, how to create a more efficient and sustainable development model has become a top priority for economic and social development. Environmental protection issues are at the forefront. Therefore, countries around the world have begun to formulate and implement various regulations and standards targeting industries that cause environmental pollution and damage.

　　In China, the "Clean Production Promotion Law" and the "Circular Economy Promotion Law" were officially implemented on January 1, 2003, and January 1, 2009, respectively. The core content of the "Clean Production Promotion Law" is to improve resource utilization, reduce and avoid the generation of pollutants, protect and improve the environment, safeguard human health, and promote sustainable economic and social development. On February 1, 2015, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology formulated 14 standards related to coatings and pigments, and began levying consumption tax on solvent-based coatings producing and emitting VOCs (>420g/L) to reduce VOC emissions. To accelerate the development of water-based paints, * formulated the "HG/T4761-2014 Water-based Polyurethane Coatings Chemical Industry Standard," "HG/T4759-2014 Water-based Epoxy Coatings Chemical Industry Standard," and "HG/T4758-2014 Water-based Acrylic Coatings Chemical Industry Standard" in 2014, which came into effect on June 1, 2015. This has greatly promoted the development of water-based coatings.

　　In December 2016, the China Environmental Protection Industry Association compiled "18 Typical Cases of Advanced VOCs Pollution Control." Regarding coatings, only typical technical cases of water-based wood coatings were explained, indicating that * attaches great importance to the development and application of water-based wood coatings. On December 16, 2016, the "* National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology" announced the "2016 Edition of the Encouraged Substitutes for Toxic and Harmful Raw Material Products Catalog," which includes a large number of water-based coatings products that replace solvent-based coatings.

　　In recent years, in public opinion, environmental protection departments and downstream enterprises have greatly strengthened supervision on coatings, which has also greatly promoted the development of water-based coatings. Nevertheless, what is the actual development and usage status of water-based coatings in our country?

　　Current Overview of the Development of Water-based Coatings

　　Water-based coatings use water to replace the diluents in solvent-based coatings, so they do not harm the ecological environment. As diluents completely evaporate during the curing process of the coating film, they have no significance to the coating film and can be considered a waste of resources. Therefore, water-based coatings are a resource-saving type of coating.

　　In addition, water-based coatings can be sprayed on wet substrate surfaces or in humid environments. They do not require solvents to clean the coating tools used and can be rinsed directly with water, so there is no solvent consumption during construction. For electrophoretic coatings, they can coat complex components and parts (such as inner cavities, edges, and welds) that are difficult to cover. These points are important reasons for the development of water-based coatings under today's environmental protection pressure.