UV Curing

01 Nov UV Curing

In today’s manufacturing environment UV-curable coatings are king in regard to performance and productivity. However, the industry is facing new hurdles bringing innovations to the market. While UV-curable coatings started off with many challenges, they have been embraced by manufacturers of wood products, and the printing and packaging industry.

Today we face a new regulatory environment as a result of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act (CSA), which went into effect in June of 2016. The new law amends the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) with many changes that include risk-based assessments, public transparency and cost structure for funding activities under the new law. With the new law in place how does this affect the development and use of UV-curable coatings, inks, etc.?

First let’s talk about developing a new chemical for use in a UV-curable coating. Without going into details, a company allocates time, resources and funding to develop a new chemical to be used as a resin to formulate a UV-curable material. Potential improvements vary depending on what the application and requirements are. One trend in development is the need for low VOCs and a sustainable or “green” attribute. Once the development is complete, information is put together and submitted to the EPA for review. It is unlikely the submission goes without some questions and answers, but in the end the EPA will provide you an assessment with a few options to move forward. The best option is the approval to commercialize without restrictions. However, it is likely you might only be able to commercialize with restrictions. A significant new use rule (SNUR) would be assigned to the chemical with details about the SNUR spelled out by the EPA. For the players in the value chain to make this new material successful they will need to understand the SNUR and any requirements associated with it. Many, if not all, raw material suppliers have encountered this situation by now. The challenge now becomes how to convey the value of a new product while also convincing the market that the value is greater than the SNUR assigned by the EPA. Figure 1 is a picture of the current situation.