Nouryon is launching a new solution for the building and construction market that boosts the effectiveness of energy-saving ‘cool roof’ coatings by improving their ability to reflect light and enhancing their self-cleaning properties. The new concept combines Nouryon’s Expancel expandable thermoplastic microspheres, which reflect light, and its Levasil colloidal silica, which improves the performance of the coatings.
Use of reflective cool roof coatings is on the rise in warmer climates, where they help to reduce the need for air conditioning and in turn reduce energy consumption. When produced with Nouryon’s Expancel microspheres, cool roof coatings can bring down the external surface temperature of a building by as much as 15 degrees Celsius.
“In addition to temperature reduction, it’s also important that the coating adheres well to the roof surface and expands and contracts with it as temperature levels change,” says Patrick Wilhelm, Vice President of Colloidal Silica at Nouryon. “Combining Expancel with Levasil colloidal silica improves the adherence and mechanical properties of the coating without sacrificing elasticity and flexibility, and thanks to its self-cleaning properties it also extends the life of the coating,” he said.
“We have already made this offering available in Asia, Europe and Mexico and have achieved great results, receiving nothing but positive feedback from our customers,” Wilhelm added.
Nouryon will now offer this technology to customers in the US, teaming up with distributor CoadTech – Cool Additives Technology. CoadTech has experience with both product lines and has a long-standing relationship with Nouryon as a distributor for Expancel.
“Creating this technology for the coatings market reflects Nouryon’s strategy of increasing our focus on products that drive profitable growth, while delivering solutions that address the challenges facing our society today,” said Johan Landfors, President of Technology Solutions at Nouryon. “We are pleased to be part of a solution that offers significant sustainability benefits to end-users.”