Beckers has announced the development of the first commercial paint formulations for ultraviolet (UV) and electron-beam (EB) curing in the coil coating market. The company says that these technologies could significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions and enhance efficiency in the industry.
Beckers has been involved in adapting the use of UV and EB curing technology in the coil coating industry and developing the necessary paint formulations since 2005. The company has a UV/EB coil coating development lab at its site in Montbrison, France. The team there has demonstrated, according to the company, that UV/EB curing has the potential to reduce the CO2 footprint of coil coating, as it requires much less paint and energy in the curing process.
“UV/EB curing allows us to use up to 100 percent solid solvent-free formulations that provide up to twice the surface coverage per kilogram of paint,” said Gavin Bown, Beckers CTO. “Compared with conventional gas-fired curing, the UV/EB cold curing process also uses much less energy, facilitates the transition from natural gas to renewable electricity, avoids the use of expensive gas, and does not require water for cooling.”
Beckers is currently working with customers who are fully replacing their conventional coil coating lines with UV/EB curing or retrofitting existing lines. The company says that the long-term collaboration with one of its customers led to this development: the first full-scale application of advanced UV/EB curing technology in the coil coating industry.