New UV-Curable Coatings for the Resilient Flooring Industry

In many industries, growing concerns on ecological issues have lead to the development of technologies having a lesser chemical impact on occupational health and environment. Although the chemical industry has acted upon these concerns by allocating a growing amount of resources to projects with an ecological background, the switch from existing to these new technologies is difficult and slow. Amongst the reasons why industries are somewhat reluctant to make this switch, surely a higher initial cost and a potential loss of performance can be regarded as the most important drawbacks. This paper will focus on UV-curable polyurethane dispersions used by the resilient flooring industry, their chemistry, performance and relative cost. During the last decade, solvents, hazardous crosslinkers, coalescents and free monomers have been questioned; the development of waterborne, ultra-violet curable coatings can offer a way out. The way these waterborne UV-systems can overcome cost and performance drawbacks will be addressed, as well as how this chemistry could develop in the future. The aim of this paper is to give an insight in the present and future developments of high performance, yet environmentally and economically viable resilient flooring coating systems. These developments may vary geographically; cultural differences will put emphasis on different functional and esthetical aspects of the end product, as perceived by the consumer. Although the chemical industry has been globalising to a high extent, it will have to find ways to meet local demands.