New Pigment Preparations

Significant advantages in coatings production. That was the promise that INXEL™ granular pigment preparations made at the European Coatings Show (ECS) 2007. These preparations, from the Inorganic Materials Business Unit of Evonik Industries, have been developed specifically for solvent-based coating systems. The promise has been more than fulfilled, with a further improvement in product quality. Visitors to this year's ECS saw at first hand the significantly expanded color range for this A series; it is now possible to mix all the colors in the RAL Classic Colour Collection. Evonik also presented the first grades of the newly developed INXEL™ pigment preparations for water based coating systems. This B series has the same advantages as the A series launched two years ago; it will be expanded by the addition of further colors in the course of 2009.

Until now, pigment powders have had to be very thoroughly dispersed for good development of colorimetric properties. Pigment preparations marketed under the INXEL™ brand name, on the other hand, are easily incorporated into paints, coatings, and printing inks. They do not require intensive dispersion, which greatly simplifies color development. The preparations are based on a novel process in which the pigment is incorporated into the binder matrix. The end product consists of granules that can be easily worked into solvents (including water), binders, or a mixture of the two by, for example, solubilization with a dissolver. Complex equipment such as a bead mill is therefore no longer necessary. The dispersion time is also much shorter than in the previous process. Additional advantages of the INXEL™ pigment preparations are dust-free handling and simple dosing. The preparations of the A series are very easily soluble in all commonly used organic solvents and are highly compatible with most binders. In addition, they themselves contain no solvents and therefore comply with environmental and health directives.

All the preparations are produced by the Switzerland-based joint venture INXEL Evonik Advanced Pigment Systems Sagl, headquartered in. The production plants are currently located on the premises of the subsidiary, INXEL-Degussa S.r.L. in Milan, Italy. Evonik has exclusive global distribution rights to the products.

Coloring

Evonik Industries has a broad product portfolio comprising colorant and pigment black technologies for the optimization of customers' ink, paint and coatings solutions.

Pigment blacks, for example PRINTEX^®, are produced in seven carbon black plants spread out over the world. Evonik supplies gas, furnace and lamp blacks. The latest development is NEROX™ - a new product group of oxidized pigment blacks for high performance industrial coatings and printing inks.
The COLORTREND^® color systems are frontrunners and include low-VOC, non-VOC and APE-free colorants technology for decorative paint and coatings applications. These systems also include full customizing services for color formulation and state of the art color merchandizing for point-of-sale tinting. Additional color concepts for industrial coatings are provided for customers' specific needs.

With SIPERNAT^® 820 A - a sodium aluminum silicate - Evonik offers a filler that increases whiteness and dry coverage, while improving resistance to weather exposure and greatly facilitating applications.