HORGEN, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dow Coating Materials will present a technical paper on the use of “Designed Diffusion” technology to reduce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in hybrid acrylic/urethane furniture coating binders without sacrificing performance at the Furniture Coatings Conference in Berlin, Germany, on March 3 2010. In his presentation titled “The Use of Designed Diffusion Technology in Binders for Furniture Coatings with Unique Properties,” Guy Clamen, Technical Group Leader for Industrial Coatings in EMEA, will explain how this new technology can help furniture coatings formulators maintain high coatings performance while satisfying recent EU directives on VOC emissions.

“This paper at the Furniture Coating Conference in Berlin, based on award winning research, will show that our designed diffusion technology is an important step in that direction.”

“We took a designed diffusion technology approach for waterborne acrylic/urethane hybrid binders to help formulators achieve a unique combination of low film formation temperature and high hardness properties,” explained Clamen. “This technology offers the performance of polyurethane dispersions (PUDs) at high acrylic levels in acrylic/urethane hybrids. We will also share preliminary results that indicate how this technology can be extended to hydrophobic PUDs based on raw materials from renewable natural sources.”

The Furniture Coatings Conference, held in Berlin on 2-3 March 2010, is sponsored by the European Coatings Journal. It has attracted a strong lineup of renowned international experts to present their latest research findings as the coatings industry trends away from solvent-based materials to waterborne products. Health and safety regulations imposed by the European Union have led to vigorous research and development efforts targeting zero or low-VOC materials in the furniture and numerous other industries.

“We’re dedicated to helping the furniture industry transition to cleaner, waterborne coating technologies,” said Dr Andrew Trapani, European Technical Director, Dow Coating Materials. “This paper at the Furniture Coating Conference in Berlin, based on award winning research, will show that our designed diffusion technology is an important step in that direction.”

About Dow Coating Materials

Dow Coating Materials is the premier supplier of products and technologies to architectural and industrial coatings manufacturers worldwide. Combining the extensive resources of Dow and recently-acquired Rohm and Haas Company, the new business provides formulators a wide range of chemistries and support across many different product lines, including core binder technologies, additives and solvents. Additionally, Dow Coating Materials operates 13 dedicated R&D labs across all major geographies where Dow does business. For more information, visit us @ http://www.dow.com/coating

About Dow

Dow combines the power of science and technology with the “Human Element” to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the world’s most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow’s diversified industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses deliver a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2009, Dow had annual sales of $45 billion and employed approximately 52,000 people worldwide. The Company’s more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 214 sites in 37 countries across the globe. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

^®TM Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow

Source: web of DOW