Final Report Summary - ONECOAT (Development of a polymer strengthening coating system for glass containers)
Executive Summary:
Europe is the first producer of glass containers worldwide. Container glass is the largest sector of the EU glass industries and accounts for some 70% of the total EU glass production. With its 160 manufacturing plants distributed all over Europe it is an important contributor to Europe’s real economy and provides direct employment to about 50,000 people, while creating a large number of job opportunities along the total supply chain. The European container glass industry provides a wide range of glass packaging products for food and beverages as well flacons for perfumery, cosmetics and pharmacy to a European and world-wide customer base.
Glass directly competes with other materials for packaging applications, especially plastics. It is cleaner, non-reactive, tasteless, chemically inert, fully recyclable and transparent but its surface is relatively brittle and prone to scratching which will result in premature breakage during the manipulation of the containers.
There is a great demand from the glass containers industry itself for advanced coatings that allow improvement of mechanical resistance and weight reduction. By the improvement of the coating technology for the glass containers industry the competitiveness would be increased and, as a result, the growth and sustainability of industries directly related to the glass containers market such as manufacturing, glass decorators or users of packaging materials (wineries, breweries, soft drink or cosmetics producers).
ONECOAT proposes a coating material for glass containers based on polysiloxane polymeric water emulsion that can be applied to the manufactured glass containers.
The ONECOAT consortium is integrated by three SMEs, Pulverit from Italy, Ultrakim from Turkey, Dürr Systems Karlstein (former Bersch & Fratscher) from Germany, two research centres, Fraunhofer-IFAM (Germany) and Tecnologías Avanzadas Inspiralia (Spain) and two end users, International Partners in Glass Research (IPGR, Switzerland) and Alcea France (France). The partners have worked since January 2013 at three levels: the modification of a polymeric material based on siloxane (silicone) chemistry, the formulation of the coating with different additives and the study of the application methods to glass containers as part of the manufacturing process.
Project Context and Objectives:
The EU-27 is the world’s largest glass market, both in terms of production and consumption. The European glass industry with its ca. 1,000 companies accounts for more than one quarter of the non-metallic mineral sector. The glass industry is highly concentrated and more than 80% of glass is produced by less than a dozen multinationals of each more than 1,000 employees. The other companies are small or medium-sized but mainly specialists.
With restructurings and mergers, alliances, co-operations and takeovers, many companies have increased their strength and invested first in Central and Eastern Europe but now mainly in Asia (China etc.). Production has only been slowly growing or even stagnating and decreasing before 2009. There have been many closures, almost in all EU countries.
Container glass is the largest sector of the EU glass industries and accounts for some 70% of the total EU glass production.There are three broad customer industry sectors: The beverage sector accounts for approximately 75% of the total tonnage of glass packaging containers. This includes still and sparkling wines, fortified wines, spirits, beer, soft drinks, fruit juices and mineral waters. The food sector accounts for about 20% of the tonnage (mostly jars). This covers a wide range of products, such as: wet and dry preserves, milk and milk products, jams and spreads, sauces and dressings, oil, vinegar, etc. Other part of the sector is the production of higher value containers for perfumery and the pharmaceutical industry, generally small bottles (flaconnage) account for the remaining 5% or so of container glass tonnage.
ONECOAT is presented by a group of European SMEs devoted to the preparation and supply of coatings for a wide range of industrial applications. Among others, we serve the glass industry and specifically the glass containers sector, a major European market. We have detected a series of problems that can be addressed by the development of the technology proposed in the project. By the improvement of the coating technology for the glass containers industry our competitiveness will be increased and, as a result, the growth and sustainability of industries directly related to the glass containers market such as manufacturing, glass decorators or users of packaging materials (wineries, breweries, soft drink or cosmetics producers).
Most of the glass containers produced nowadays is treated with an organic coating after formation to improve its resistance. There is a great demand from the glass containers industry itself for advanced coatings that allow improvement of mechanical resistance and weight reduction. ONECOAT proposes a coating material and application technology for glass containers based on polysiloxane polymeric water emulsion that provides overall strength and scratch resistance to the treated containers while ensuring good and varied decorative properties. By the improvement of the coating technology for the glass containers industry our competitiveness would be increased and, as a result, the growth and sustainability of industries directly related to the glass containers market such as manufacturing, glass decorators or users of packaging materials (wineries, breweries, soft drink or cosmetics producers).
ONECOAT system includes a coating material based on polysiloxane chemistry and application technology for glass containers. The coating is a waterborne product capable of being applied by spraying during the glass containers manufacturing process and more specifically during the cold end phase after the glass containers leave the annealing lehr.
The purpose and use of ONECOAT include:
- Highly versatile coating technology useful for different industry segments involved in the supply chain of glass containers. ONECOAT material may be applied for protective purposes alone in order to improve containers strength or in combination with coloring pigments or labelling options that may expand the range of decorative effects on the finished glass products.
- Application by spraying from water emulsion and drying of the material with speeds of up to 800 bottles/min in modern production lines.
Project Objectives
Scientific Objectives
• Synthesis of an organically modified polysiloxane
• Study of the properties of the formulated polysiloxane
• Preparation of a stable water emulsion from the polysiloxane.
• Study of the influence of organic/inorganic pigments on mechanical and optical properties.
Technological Objectives.
• Analysis of the influence in the improvement of overall strength, internal burst pressure and resistance to scratching.
• Adaptation to the market’s economic requirements.
• Preparation of a compatible formula with pigments for colouring.
• Application by spraying and drying of water emulsion for adaptation to current glass containers production lines.
Project Results:
The project started with the the review of the scientific and technological knowledge of polysiloxane coatings. The range of commercially available products, review of the chemistry of polysiloxanes and the application methods was included within the framework of WP1. Three deliverables were released until month 4 of ONECOAT summarising the work performed under WP1, D1.1 (Report on commercial coatings for glass bottles and waterborne polysiloxane coatings), D1.2 (Study of chemical modification of polysiloxanes) and D1.3 (Coating application methods and curing techniques).
WP2 started with the development of the polysiloxane resin synthesis. During the first 9 months of the project several samples of polysiloxane were synthesized using two main approaches, commercial resins were characterized and initial dispersions in water of a selection of the samples were made. One deliverable was prepared, D2.1 (Polysiloxane synthesis and characterization. Comparison with commercial resins) within the first 9 months. The work initiated in the first reporting period was continued in the second period by the evaluation of different commercial polysiloxanes containing acrylate and epoxide moieties. The commercial polysiloxanes were emulsified in water and were applied over glass revealing a good film forming capacity. Water emulsions of the polysiloxanes developed in the project were prepared. Different methodologies were studied, varying several parameters, in order to stablish the most suitable emulsification method. Besides, different surfactants, at different concentrations were tested. Apart from that, parameters as polysiloxane concentration and pH have been considered. Several outputs and conclusions were obtained from this work that help us to develop a method that led stable water emulsions of the polysiloxanes synthesized in the project.
WP3 dealt with the formulation of the coating with different additives in water-based preparation. Additives for improvement of wetting and levelling of the coating were tested. The different additives (UV curing photoinitiators, wetting and flow additives, organic co-solvents and silicon based additives) were included in different test formulations and sprayed over different types of glass. As a result of these tests, a final formulation including the polysiloxanes developed in the project was selected. furthermore, pigments were tested as part of the formulation for glass coating. The pigments were dispersed in the ONECOAT coating formulation and sprayed over glass. Parameters as particle size, storage stability, optical behaviour and transparency were tested.
The results obtained in this task confirmed that that a pigmentation of ONECOAT formulations is possible. For specific applications the concentration of pigments and the processing parameters will need to be adapted.
In order to characterize the final properties of the coatings at lab scale it was decided to try to mimic in the lab the tests done at the glass factory. On this regards, several properties were considered as fundamental in order to have a proper characterization and several tests at lab scale were proposed:
- Scratch resistance: Nano-scratch measurements.
- Slip properties: Tribological tests and lab made tilt table.
- Adhesion/labelling: Surface energy measurements.
- Burst resistance: Nano-indentation and double ring bending test.
Finally, several panels/samples were produced for the different characterizations.
For the different tests different substrates have been selected:
- Round white bottles (0.33L) with hot end coating (HEC).
- White float glass for lab tests, size 10 x 15 cm.
- Brown glass rectangular bottles (1L) with HEC.
- Square white float glass, finished edging for strength tests, size 10 x 10 cm.
WP4 studied compatible application and drying processes. In a first step the influencing parameters for spray application hwere studied. Of capital importance for the quality of atomization, and consequently the application result, is the average droplet – size. The average droplet –size on the other hand is strongly dependent on variables like material pressure and input pressure in different sensitivities.
In the second step, application trials using a handgun were carried out. The materials were applied on float glass and several parameters of the formulation and the application were varied: temperature of glass, nozzle diameter, pH, solid content of the material and type of substrate. The study of these parameters allowed us to define the best application conditions for the coating. In general, it can be said that the quality of film formation depends on different parameters. To study the influencing changeable determinants have been varied and the resulting surface quality has been evaluated visually. The possibilities of the integration of the process steps for the ONECOAT material were represented and required changes in the manufacturing line were stablished. Particular attention was paid to the cold-end-coating process and the drying of the applied organic coating materials. The cold-end-coating process is typically applied by an automated spray gun from the top of the bottles. This process should also be possible for the application of the new ONECOAT material.
The curing of the ONECOAT material shows differences to the common used drying process since additional UV-curing is necessary. During the study of the drying process a deeper investigation of UV-parameters was performed.
In WP5 the technology integration and validation took place. The technology developed in the project was transferred from the RTD performers to the SME partners. The final decision on which would be the best polysiloxane coating to be synthesized was done between Inspiralia and Ultrakim based on the availability and price of raw materials. Ultrakim performed several tests at small scale obtaining the desired polysiloxanes. Once the synthesis was mastered by Ultrakim the process was scaled-up. According to the Ultrakim know-how, the process could be easily scalable at industrial scale. Using the polysiloxane emulsion prepared by Ultrakim, prepared the final coating formulation. Several tests were necessary to obtain the final proper formulation at big scale. The starting point was the formulation developed by IFAM.
The coatings prepared were applied at industrial scale in a glass container factory. Verification tests were done over reduced quantities of treated products, online in current production equipment. During the trials the coatings prepared in the project as well as benchmark materials were applied to glass bottles right after the production process using current industrial equipment.
The different coated samples prepared during the industrial trials were studied following the methodologies traditionally used in the glass container industry: Optical appearance, scratch resistance, slip angle and adhesion/labelling.
Optical appearance.
All the samples were examined by experimented operators from the glass container factory. This visual inspection concluded that the optical appearance of the developed ONECOAT coatings is as good as the optical appearance of the benchmark materials.
Scratch resistance.
The scratch test was done by experienced operators manually rubbing two bottles between them. Using this methodology it was determined that the ONECOAT coating behaves, in terms of scratch resistance, as good as the state-of-the-art coatings.
Slip angle.
To perform this test a tilt table was used. Using this equipment is possible to estimate the friction between bottles. The higher is the slip angle, the higher is the friction between the bottles. In the case of the slip angle, the coatings developed in the project showed a bigger slip angle that the benchmark. This high friction is a point that needs to be improved in order to have a product which can be used in a final product.
Burst pressure.
The burst pressure test is a destructive test, performed to determine how much overload a bottle can endure before breaking. The burst pressure testing applies increasing levels of pressure to the bottle until the pressure at which the bottle breaks. The ONECOAT coatings led values very similar to the benchmark materials and it can be said that they would be competitive in these terms.
Labelling/adhesion.
The labelling test consists in removing a label from the bottle and prove if the label tears completely from the bottle or it remains adhered. The ONECOAT coatings showed excellent values for labeling/adhesion, better than expected for a polysiloxane coating, comparable with the results obtained for the benchmark coatings.
ONECOAT technical activities led to three main results:
1- Modification of polysiloxane resin binder
The modified polysiloxane resin binder comprises the polysiloxane composition including the description of the synthetic route starting from at least two siloxane monomers, the reaction conditions for the polymerization and the purification of the resulting product as well as the emulsification parameters (stirring rate, stirring speed, temperature, surfactant nature, surfactant concentration).
2- Formulation of the polysiloxane coating material
Several formulations were prepared including those using pigments. The coating formulations include the description of the components including or excluding pigments of the formulations, the description of the process for mixing the components and conditions for preparing a stable product for application on glass.
3- Application and Drying system
The application and drying system comprises all the parameters required for spray application including dilution to adjust solid contents, the material pressure, the used grid and the number of painting cycles.
The whole ONECOAT system has been evaluated attending to different relevant aspects for market applicability:
Evaluation of the recyclability of the coating.
The thermal stability of the coating has been evaluated in order to elucidate the fate of the material and if it could be recycled. At the conditions used in the melting glass furnace, the polysiloxane coating decomposes in presence of air leading SiO2 as residue which is integrated in the melted glass. Therefore, it than be concluded that the ONECOAT coating is compatible with the glass recycling process.
Influence of cold-end coating in the LCA of glass containers.
The impact of the new developed coatings in the complete LCA of glass containers has been evaluated. Based on LCA reports from the glass industry and from the silicone industry and considering the quantity of cold end used per bottle it has been assessed that the impact of the cold-end coating in the final LCA of a glass container is negligible.
Evaluation of new product to meet Food Contact Regulation.
ONECOAT product is a dispersion of a polysiloxane and a wax with some other additives, so all the components have been analyzed regarding the food contact issue and it could be concluded that all of them comply with different FDA regulations and European regulations which may help ONECOAT product to get the food approval.
Full Cost Analysis.
The full cost analysis has been performed with the inputs of the different SME companies involved in each step of the production process. Initially, the prices from one supplier of raw materials have been considered and the final price of the coating would be higher than the price of the coatings currently used. Alternatively a search for alternative raw material suppliers has been done finding suppliers that could offer the raw materials at cheaper price. Considering the price of the raw materials from alternative suppliers it has been found that the final cost of the ONECOAT materials would in the price range of the benchmark coatings currently used industrially.
Potential Impact:
According to the agreements reached by the ONECOAT consortium, the tree SMEs will keep full ownership of the results obtained.
- Ultrakim Kimya Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. (ULT) will seek to manufacture, license, sell, distribute polisiloxane emulsion associated to Result 1 Modification of polysiloxane resin binder”. ULT has license access to Results 2 and 3.
- Pulverit Spa, PUL, will seek to manufacture, license, sell, distribute polysiloxane coating formulations with additives and fillers as well as pigments for glass colouring applications associated to Result 2 “Formulation of the polysiloxane coating material”. PUL has license access to Results 1 “Modification of polyxiloxane resin binder” and 3 “Application and Drying system”.
- Bersch & Fratscher GmbH (BEF, now Dürr) will seek to manufacture, license, sell, distribute the application and drying equipment and processes associated to Result 3 “Application and Drying system”. BEF has license access to Results 1 and 2.
ONECOAT can find application in two main market sectors. Even though, global presence would be potentially possible, the consortium has prepared an initial market study. Only in Europe, they represent important markets:
- The European coatings market is at its mature stage of development with market revenue in the sector of protective coatings of $ 2.4 billion in 2012, 315.8 million liters of volume and average price per unit of $ 7.6 per liter (2012). The total market for paints and coatings in Western Europe was over 5.6 million tonnes in 2013 and is forecast to rise to more than 6.2 million tonnes by 2018.
ONECOAT is presented as a solution employing polysiloxane chemistry for the development of the resin binder. Polysiloxane combines the performance benefits of epoxy and polyurethane to offer coatings with high solids, low viscosity, improved color and gloss retention, and superior resistance to chemicals and abrasion.
- The EU-27 is the world’s largest glass market, both in terms of production and consumption. The European glass industry with its ca. 1,000 companies accounts for more than one quarter of the non-metallic mineral sector. Container glass is the largest sector of the EU glass industries and accounts for some 70% of the total EU glass production. The European container glass industry provides a wide range of glass packaging products for food and beverages as well flacons for perfumery, cosmetics and pharmacy to a European and world-wide customer base.
The production shows a positive trend, total production volume has increased by 1.2% in the European Union (EU27) in this first half year of 2014 with 120KTons produced more than in the first half of 2013. The positive trend is confirmed in some big markets: France (0.3%), Germany (2.4%), Spain (2.5%) and United Kingdom (2.8%). Poland data are the most positive (10%), while Portugal (-1.5%) and Italy (-5%) have partially lost the positive pace of the previous months. A positive growth is also recorded in the North and Central regions (3.9%) and in the South and East region (4.3%).
Other secondary markets are represented by the flat glass sector which is the second largest sector of the European glass industries and represents about 25% of the total EU glass production. The main markets for flat glass are the building (windows and facades) and automotive industries (windscreens, side and rear-side glazing, backlights and sunroofs). Flat glass is also used in solar-energy applications (photovoltaic and solar thermal panels) as well as in urban and domestic furniture, appliances, mirrors and greenhouses. Tableware and domestic glass as well as ceramic production sectors may also be prospected further for application of ONECOAT.
List of Websites:
http://www.pulverit.it/onecoat/
Europe is the first producer of glass containers worldwide. Container glass is the largest sector of the EU glass industries and accounts for some 70% of the total EU glass production. With its 160 manufacturing plants distributed all over Europe it is an important contributor to Europe’s real economy and provides direct employment to about 50,000 people, while creating a large number of job opportunities along the total supply chain. The European container glass industry provides a wide range of glass packaging products for food and beverages as well flacons for perfumery, cosmetics and pharmacy to a European and world-wide customer base.
Glass directly competes with other materials for packaging applications, especially plastics. It is cleaner, non-reactive, tasteless, chemically inert, fully recyclable and transparent but its surface is relatively brittle and prone to scratching which will result in premature breakage during the manipulation of the containers.
There is a great demand from the glass containers industry itself for advanced coatings that allow improvement of mechanical resistance and weight reduction. By the improvement of the coating technology for the glass containers industry the competitiveness would be increased and, as a result, the growth and sustainability of industries directly related to the glass containers market such as manufacturing, glass decorators or users of packaging materials (wineries, breweries, soft drink or cosmetics producers).
ONECOAT proposes a coating material for glass containers based on polysiloxane polymeric water emulsion that can be applied to the manufactured glass containers.
The ONECOAT consortium is integrated by three SMEs, Pulverit from Italy, Ultrakim from Turkey, Dürr Systems Karlstein (former Bersch & Fratscher) from Germany, two research centres, Fraunhofer-IFAM (Germany) and Tecnologías Avanzadas Inspiralia (Spain) and two end users, International Partners in Glass Research (IPGR, Switzerland) and Alcea France (France). The partners have worked since January 2013 at three levels: the modification of a polymeric material based on siloxane (silicone) chemistry, the formulation of the coating with different additives and the study of the application methods to glass containers as part of the manufacturing process.
Project Context and Objectives:
The EU-27 is the world’s largest glass market, both in terms of production and consumption. The European glass industry with its ca. 1,000 companies accounts for more than one quarter of the non-metallic mineral sector. The glass industry is highly concentrated and more than 80% of glass is produced by less than a dozen multinationals of each more than 1,000 employees. The other companies are small or medium-sized but mainly specialists.
With restructurings and mergers, alliances, co-operations and takeovers, many companies have increased their strength and invested first in Central and Eastern Europe but now mainly in Asia (China etc.). Production has only been slowly growing or even stagnating and decreasing before 2009. There have been many closures, almost in all EU countries.
Container glass is the largest sector of the EU glass industries and accounts for some 70% of the total EU glass production.There are three broad customer industry sectors: The beverage sector accounts for approximately 75% of the total tonnage of glass packaging containers. This includes still and sparkling wines, fortified wines, spirits, beer, soft drinks, fruit juices and mineral waters. The food sector accounts for about 20% of the tonnage (mostly jars). This covers a wide range of products, such as: wet and dry preserves, milk and milk products, jams and spreads, sauces and dressings, oil, vinegar, etc. Other part of the sector is the production of higher value containers for perfumery and the pharmaceutical industry, generally small bottles (flaconnage) account for the remaining 5% or so of container glass tonnage.
ONECOAT is presented by a group of European SMEs devoted to the preparation and supply of coatings for a wide range of industrial applications. Among others, we serve the glass industry and specifically the glass containers sector, a major European market. We have detected a series of problems that can be addressed by the development of the technology proposed in the project. By the improvement of the coating technology for the glass containers industry our competitiveness will be increased and, as a result, the growth and sustainability of industries directly related to the glass containers market such as manufacturing, glass decorators or users of packaging materials (wineries, breweries, soft drink or cosmetics producers).
Most of the glass containers produced nowadays is treated with an organic coating after formation to improve its resistance. There is a great demand from the glass containers industry itself for advanced coatings that allow improvement of mechanical resistance and weight reduction. ONECOAT proposes a coating material and application technology for glass containers based on polysiloxane polymeric water emulsion that provides overall strength and scratch resistance to the treated containers while ensuring good and varied decorative properties. By the improvement of the coating technology for the glass containers industry our competitiveness would be increased and, as a result, the growth and sustainability of industries directly related to the glass containers market such as manufacturing, glass decorators or users of packaging materials (wineries, breweries, soft drink or cosmetics producers).
ONECOAT system includes a coating material based on polysiloxane chemistry and application technology for glass containers. The coating is a waterborne product capable of being applied by spraying during the glass containers manufacturing process and more specifically during the cold end phase after the glass containers leave the annealing lehr.
The purpose and use of ONECOAT include:
- Highly versatile coating technology useful for different industry segments involved in the supply chain of glass containers. ONECOAT material may be applied for protective purposes alone in order to improve containers strength or in combination with coloring pigments or labelling options that may expand the range of decorative effects on the finished glass products.
- Application by spraying from water emulsion and drying of the material with speeds of up to 800 bottles/min in modern production lines.
Project Objectives
Scientific Objectives
• Synthesis of an organically modified polysiloxane
• Study of the properties of the formulated polysiloxane
• Preparation of a stable water emulsion from the polysiloxane.
• Study of the influence of organic/inorganic pigments on mechanical and optical properties.
Technological Objectives.
• Analysis of the influence in the improvement of overall strength, internal burst pressure and resistance to scratching.
• Adaptation to the market’s economic requirements.
• Preparation of a compatible formula with pigments for colouring.
• Application by spraying and drying of water emulsion for adaptation to current glass containers production lines.
Project Results:
The project started with the the review of the scientific and technological knowledge of polysiloxane coatings. The range of commercially available products, review of the chemistry of polysiloxanes and the application methods was included within the framework of WP1. Three deliverables were released until month 4 of ONECOAT summarising the work performed under WP1, D1.1 (Report on commercial coatings for glass bottles and waterborne polysiloxane coatings), D1.2 (Study of chemical modification of polysiloxanes) and D1.3 (Coating application methods and curing techniques).
WP2 started with the development of the polysiloxane resin synthesis. During the first 9 months of the project several samples of polysiloxane were synthesized using two main approaches, commercial resins were characterized and initial dispersions in water of a selection of the samples were made. One deliverable was prepared, D2.1 (Polysiloxane synthesis and characterization. Comparison with commercial resins) within the first 9 months. The work initiated in the first reporting period was continued in the second period by the evaluation of different commercial polysiloxanes containing acrylate and epoxide moieties. The commercial polysiloxanes were emulsified in water and were applied over glass revealing a good film forming capacity. Water emulsions of the polysiloxanes developed in the project were prepared. Different methodologies were studied, varying several parameters, in order to stablish the most suitable emulsification method. Besides, different surfactants, at different concentrations were tested. Apart from that, parameters as polysiloxane concentration and pH have been considered. Several outputs and conclusions were obtained from this work that help us to develop a method that led stable water emulsions of the polysiloxanes synthesized in the project.
WP3 dealt with the formulation of the coating with different additives in water-based preparation. Additives for improvement of wetting and levelling of the coating were tested. The different additives (UV curing photoinitiators, wetting and flow additives, organic co-solvents and silicon based additives) were included in different test formulations and sprayed over different types of glass. As a result of these tests, a final formulation including the polysiloxanes developed in the project was selected. furthermore, pigments were tested as part of the formulation for glass coating. The pigments were dispersed in the ONECOAT coating formulation and sprayed over glass. Parameters as particle size, storage stability, optical behaviour and transparency were tested.
The results obtained in this task confirmed that that a pigmentation of ONECOAT formulations is possible. For specific applications the concentration of pigments and the processing parameters will need to be adapted.
In order to characterize the final properties of the coatings at lab scale it was decided to try to mimic in the lab the tests done at the glass factory. On this regards, several properties were considered as fundamental in order to have a proper characterization and several tests at lab scale were proposed:
- Scratch resistance: Nano-scratch measurements.
- Slip properties: Tribological tests and lab made tilt table.
- Adhesion/labelling: Surface energy measurements.
- Burst resistance: Nano-indentation and double ring bending test.
Finally, several panels/samples were produced for the different characterizations.
For the different tests different substrates have been selected:
- Round white bottles (0.33L) with hot end coating (HEC).
- White float glass for lab tests, size 10 x 15 cm.
- Brown glass rectangular bottles (1L) with HEC.
- Square white float glass, finished edging for strength tests, size 10 x 10 cm.
WP4 studied compatible application and drying processes. In a first step the influencing parameters for spray application hwere studied. Of capital importance for the quality of atomization, and consequently the application result, is the average droplet – size. The average droplet –size on the other hand is strongly dependent on variables like material pressure and input pressure in different sensitivities.
In the second step, application trials using a handgun were carried out. The materials were applied on float glass and several parameters of the formulation and the application were varied: temperature of glass, nozzle diameter, pH, solid content of the material and type of substrate. The study of these parameters allowed us to define the best application conditions for the coating. In general, it can be said that the quality of film formation depends on different parameters. To study the influencing changeable determinants have been varied and the resulting surface quality has been evaluated visually. The possibilities of the integration of the process steps for the ONECOAT material were represented and required changes in the manufacturing line were stablished. Particular attention was paid to the cold-end-coating process and the drying of the applied organic coating materials. The cold-end-coating process is typically applied by an automated spray gun from the top of the bottles. This process should also be possible for the application of the new ONECOAT material.
The curing of the ONECOAT material shows differences to the common used drying process since additional UV-curing is necessary. During the study of the drying process a deeper investigation of UV-parameters was performed.
In WP5 the technology integration and validation took place. The technology developed in the project was transferred from the RTD performers to the SME partners. The final decision on which would be the best polysiloxane coating to be synthesized was done between Inspiralia and Ultrakim based on the availability and price of raw materials. Ultrakim performed several tests at small scale obtaining the desired polysiloxanes. Once the synthesis was mastered by Ultrakim the process was scaled-up. According to the Ultrakim know-how, the process could be easily scalable at industrial scale. Using the polysiloxane emulsion prepared by Ultrakim, prepared the final coating formulation. Several tests were necessary to obtain the final proper formulation at big scale. The starting point was the formulation developed by IFAM.
The coatings prepared were applied at industrial scale in a glass container factory. Verification tests were done over reduced quantities of treated products, online in current production equipment. During the trials the coatings prepared in the project as well as benchmark materials were applied to glass bottles right after the production process using current industrial equipment.
The different coated samples prepared during the industrial trials were studied following the methodologies traditionally used in the glass container industry: Optical appearance, scratch resistance, slip angle and adhesion/labelling.
Optical appearance.
All the samples were examined by experimented operators from the glass container factory. This visual inspection concluded that the optical appearance of the developed ONECOAT coatings is as good as the optical appearance of the benchmark materials.
Scratch resistance.
The scratch test was done by experienced operators manually rubbing two bottles between them. Using this methodology it was determined that the ONECOAT coating behaves, in terms of scratch resistance, as good as the state-of-the-art coatings.
Slip angle.
To perform this test a tilt table was used. Using this equipment is possible to estimate the friction between bottles. The higher is the slip angle, the higher is the friction between the bottles. In the case of the slip angle, the coatings developed in the project showed a bigger slip angle that the benchmark. This high friction is a point that needs to be improved in order to have a product which can be used in a final product.
Burst pressure.
The burst pressure test is a destructive test, performed to determine how much overload a bottle can endure before breaking. The burst pressure testing applies increasing levels of pressure to the bottle until the pressure at which the bottle breaks. The ONECOAT coatings led values very similar to the benchmark materials and it can be said that they would be competitive in these terms.
Labelling/adhesion.
The labelling test consists in removing a label from the bottle and prove if the label tears completely from the bottle or it remains adhered. The ONECOAT coatings showed excellent values for labeling/adhesion, better than expected for a polysiloxane coating, comparable with the results obtained for the benchmark coatings.
ONECOAT technical activities led to three main results:
1- Modification of polysiloxane resin binder
The modified polysiloxane resin binder comprises the polysiloxane composition including the description of the synthetic route starting from at least two siloxane monomers, the reaction conditions for the polymerization and the purification of the resulting product as well as the emulsification parameters (stirring rate, stirring speed, temperature, surfactant nature, surfactant concentration).
2- Formulation of the polysiloxane coating material
Several formulations were prepared including those using pigments. The coating formulations include the description of the components including or excluding pigments of the formulations, the description of the process for mixing the components and conditions for preparing a stable product for application on glass.
3- Application and Drying system
The application and drying system comprises all the parameters required for spray application including dilution to adjust solid contents, the material pressure, the used grid and the number of painting cycles.
The whole ONECOAT system has been evaluated attending to different relevant aspects for market applicability:
Evaluation of the recyclability of the coating.
The thermal stability of the coating has been evaluated in order to elucidate the fate of the material and if it could be recycled. At the conditions used in the melting glass furnace, the polysiloxane coating decomposes in presence of air leading SiO2 as residue which is integrated in the melted glass. Therefore, it than be concluded that the ONECOAT coating is compatible with the glass recycling process.
Influence of cold-end coating in the LCA of glass containers.
The impact of the new developed coatings in the complete LCA of glass containers has been evaluated. Based on LCA reports from the glass industry and from the silicone industry and considering the quantity of cold end used per bottle it has been assessed that the impact of the cold-end coating in the final LCA of a glass container is negligible.
Evaluation of new product to meet Food Contact Regulation.
ONECOAT product is a dispersion of a polysiloxane and a wax with some other additives, so all the components have been analyzed regarding the food contact issue and it could be concluded that all of them comply with different FDA regulations and European regulations which may help ONECOAT product to get the food approval.
Full Cost Analysis.
The full cost analysis has been performed with the inputs of the different SME companies involved in each step of the production process. Initially, the prices from one supplier of raw materials have been considered and the final price of the coating would be higher than the price of the coatings currently used. Alternatively a search for alternative raw material suppliers has been done finding suppliers that could offer the raw materials at cheaper price. Considering the price of the raw materials from alternative suppliers it has been found that the final cost of the ONECOAT materials would in the price range of the benchmark coatings currently used industrially.
Potential Impact:
According to the agreements reached by the ONECOAT consortium, the tree SMEs will keep full ownership of the results obtained.
- Ultrakim Kimya Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. (ULT) will seek to manufacture, license, sell, distribute polisiloxane emulsion associated to Result 1 Modification of polysiloxane resin binder”. ULT has license access to Results 2 and 3.
- Pulverit Spa, PUL, will seek to manufacture, license, sell, distribute polysiloxane coating formulations with additives and fillers as well as pigments for glass colouring applications associated to Result 2 “Formulation of the polysiloxane coating material”. PUL has license access to Results 1 “Modification of polyxiloxane resin binder” and 3 “Application and Drying system”.
- Bersch & Fratscher GmbH (BEF, now Dürr) will seek to manufacture, license, sell, distribute the application and drying equipment and processes associated to Result 3 “Application and Drying system”. BEF has license access to Results 1 and 2.
ONECOAT can find application in two main market sectors. Even though, global presence would be potentially possible, the consortium has prepared an initial market study. Only in Europe, they represent important markets:
- The European coatings market is at its mature stage of development with market revenue in the sector of protective coatings of $ 2.4 billion in 2012, 315.8 million liters of volume and average price per unit of $ 7.6 per liter (2012). The total market for paints and coatings in Western Europe was over 5.6 million tonnes in 2013 and is forecast to rise to more than 6.2 million tonnes by 2018.
ONECOAT is presented as a solution employing polysiloxane chemistry for the development of the resin binder. Polysiloxane combines the performance benefits of epoxy and polyurethane to offer coatings with high solids, low viscosity, improved color and gloss retention, and superior resistance to chemicals and abrasion.
- The EU-27 is the world’s largest glass market, both in terms of production and consumption. The European glass industry with its ca. 1,000 companies accounts for more than one quarter of the non-metallic mineral sector. Container glass is the largest sector of the EU glass industries and accounts for some 70% of the total EU glass production. The European container glass industry provides a wide range of glass packaging products for food and beverages as well flacons for perfumery, cosmetics and pharmacy to a European and world-wide customer base.
The production shows a positive trend, total production volume has increased by 1.2% in the European Union (EU27) in this first half year of 2014 with 120KTons produced more than in the first half of 2013. The positive trend is confirmed in some big markets: France (0.3%), Germany (2.4%), Spain (2.5%) and United Kingdom (2.8%). Poland data are the most positive (10%), while Portugal (-1.5%) and Italy (-5%) have partially lost the positive pace of the previous months. A positive growth is also recorded in the North and Central regions (3.9%) and in the South and East region (4.3%).
Other secondary markets are represented by the flat glass sector which is the second largest sector of the European glass industries and represents about 25% of the total EU glass production. The main markets for flat glass are the building (windows and facades) and automotive industries (windscreens, side and rear-side glazing, backlights and sunroofs). Flat glass is also used in solar-energy applications (photovoltaic and solar thermal panels) as well as in urban and domestic furniture, appliances, mirrors and greenhouses. Tableware and domestic glass as well as ceramic production sectors may also be prospected further for application of ONECOAT.
List of Websites:
http://www.pulverit.it/onecoat/