If a surface has to be protected against corrosion, in 80 percent of all cases this takes place through coating it with paints or varnishes. When doing so, the proportion of bio-based, environmentally-friendly solutions is extremely small. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP, in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA, are looking to close this gap and are developing a cost-effective coating based on renewable raw materials. The focus of the research is on potato starch.
“Until now, traditional industrial fields of application of starch have been the paper/corrugated cardboard and adhesives industries,” says Christina Gabriel, a scientist at the Fraunhofer IAP in Potsdam-Golm. “In the field of paints and varnishes on the other hand, starch was usually only used as a additive. With starch as the main component of a water-based dispersion, we now have very promising adhesion results.” States Gabriel: “Our investigations show that starch esters have the potential to be future alternatives to petroleum-based film formers in the coatings industry.” More. Related: Making products more biodegradable with starch
