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Renewable polymers
IRL has recently developed capability in making renewable polymers for use in paint and other industrial products. The polymers have been developed from natural materials and offer an environmentally friendly alternative to the petrochemical-based acrylic resins that traditionally make up around 40 per cent of a pot of paint.
Binders have a key role in forming a paint film by holding together inorganic pigments and water to produce a uniform, durable coating that can expand and contract with temperature and is UV-resistant.
Work on renewable polymers began at IRL in response to the What’s your problem New Zealand? competition, when a local company, Resene Paints Limited, won $1 million worth of research from IRL to develop a renewable binder for their paints.
IRL is internationally recognised for its expertise in synthetic organic chemistry, particularly of carbohydrates. This expertise has been coupled with experience in polymer and process chemisty at IRL and industrial knowledge at Resene, and advanced the goal of developing a greener product.
A collaboration with polymer experts at the University of Auckland has been established as part of the project, and funding from the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology and Resene will see the research continue for a further four years.