Wood – a timeless material keeping up with the times
For centuries, wood was practically the only material available for furniture and household items of all kinds. Despite the alternatives that have since been added, such as glass, metal, plastic and ceramics, it still enjoys an unbroken level of popularity. This is due not only to the versatility and great mechanical properties of wood, but also to its irreplaceable, natural beauty. Especially in view of the stress and insecurity of our modern everyday life, wooden furniture gives us a feeling of comfort and warmth within our homes. It is clear that we want to protect this timeless material classic thoroughly from any damaging environmental influences by improving its chemical and mechanical resistance. And of course, the coating used in the process should be safe for ourselves and as gentle as possible on our environment.
Our polyurethane coating raw materials provide answers to the various requirements made by industry players and end consumers by offering high performance surfaces with high chemical and mechanical resistance. Furthermore, we offer waterborne wood coatings with lower VOC levels, as well as bio-based raw materials which allow a more responsible use of natural resources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In this way, we help our customers and value chain partners to reduce their carbon footprint and offer solutions that incorporate renewable building blocks. In this long and ongoing development process, our novel powder coatings are the most recent step.
Uralac® Ultra: The powder of possibilities
Powder coatings, typically applied by electrostatic spray, offer a long list of advantages over wet coatings that benefit industrial producers, end users and our environment. They are easier to apply, generate less waste and, after a single application, offer excellent performance in terms of flexibility, hardness, durability, resistance to heat and chemicals and anti-corrosion properties. Already a well-established technique for metal substrates, powder coatings can enable significant carbon emission reductions because they don’t need to be diluted with any volatile organic compounds (VOCs) containing solvents. A Covestro lifecycle assessment for various coating systems found that powder coating enabled a carbon footprint reduction of up to 75 percent compared with traditional solventborne polyester systems.
Unfortunately, this huge sustainability potential could hardly be exploited in the furniture industry for decades. The high curing temperatures (180-200°C) required for powder coating have traditionally limited its use on heat-sensitive substrates (HSS) such as wood and engineered wood. With Uralac® Ultra, we help manufacturers of wooden furniture to finally overcome this obstacle.
Our Uralac® Ultra solution cures at 130°C – our lowest-yet curing temperature – in just three minutes. This breakthrough was enabled by the resin’s unique technology. Uralac® Ultra binders enable a physically stable powder at room temperature, with a large drop in viscosity at the crystalline material’s melting temperature. This makes it possible to achieve an exceptional flow at a temperature suitable for HSS. Combined with the right selection of peroxides, this technology makes a well-flowing, fast-curing system a reality. As a result, Uralac® Ultra can coat a wide range of substrates – including MDF and solid wood.
By now, the solution has been successfully tried and tested by major furniture retailers on large production lines where safety, cost-efficiency, productivity, and reliability are essential. The powders can deliver smooth, matte, textured, and clear coatings in a wide range of applications. There is also a dedicated solution available for high-volume flatstock HSS. In summary, our Uralac® Ultra has proven that the benefits of powder coating are now available for a wider range of applications and markets, particularly furniture and construction.
