Environmentally and Human-Friendly Paint Dryers

Paint Driers are products formed by organic acids containing 7-18 carbon atoms with metals. The role of driers in the drying process is to accelerate reactions. Paint Driers; when applied to resins, paints and varnishes, are metallic structures that accelerate their drying. Cobalt and manganese, which are active paint driers, provide surface drying. Oxidizing cobalt provides top surface drying. Manganese is both a surface (oxidation) and bottom (polymerization) drier. When used with active driers, Pb (Lead), Ca (Calcium), Zr (Zirconium), Zn (Zinc), St (Strontium) and Ba (Barium) are auxiliary metal driers that enhance drying and film properties. Paint driers are used in mixture form according to the desired properties. Lead: An important auxiliary drier in applications where drying of the bottom surface and intermediate layers of the paint film is required at all temperature ranges. It is used as a primary auxiliary drier on polyurethane surfaces. It reduces drying losses. It is used as a grinding aid in paints and as a dispersing agent for pigments in varnishes. Lead is a metal found widely in nature and easy to process, which is why it is used extensively in industry. For this reason, it is a toxic heavy metal that poses a threat to human health in industrialized societies. Lead is commonly used in metal products, cables and piping, and in the paint sector. In our country, in recent years, with legal regulations, technical measures have begun to be taken against lead, whose harmful effects are known. In interior paints, lead is no longer used due to its toxic effects. In exterior paints, zirconium and zinc are preferred instead of lead. Due to the toxic effects of lead on human health, we use zirconium instead of lead in the paint sector and in our mixture products.

Zirconium, a secondary drier, provides bottom drying. It is an effective auxiliary drier used in the paint medium together with cobalt and other auxiliary driers to enhance the performance of paints and varnishes.

Zirconium is suitable for use in light-colored paints and oven systems because it shows better color, less yellowing and good stability. Calcium is the most commonly used auxiliary drier and wetting agent. It promotes the activity of active driers. When used with or without lead, it aids drying in low temperature and humid environments. It is used as a good wetting agent and also reduces drying losses. Mix combination driers are mixture driers. A pre-mixed drier combination offers advantages over single metal driers. Technically, the mixtures are pre-stabilized and therefore eliminate gelling problems arising from the structure of different driers. Production controls guarantee metal ratios. Thus, it eliminates any performance problems related to fluctuations in metal concentrations or ratios. A single mix drier can replace several metal driers. Zinc, because it leaves the surface open, ensures the formation of a harder film layer in paints. It is an auxiliary drier. It is also an excellent pigment dispersant. When used in combination with cobalt, it gives a hard film. It reduces drying loss. In lead-free mix combinations, we use zirconium instead of lead. Akdry MIX-2 is among our environmentally friendly products. Because we value the environment and human health, we continue our work on lead-free mixture products.   Zerrin Pandır Head of Driers Department Akpa Kimya Ambalaj San. Ve Tic A.Ş.