Recently, the European Union issued an official authorization regulation, classifying titanium dioxide as a suspected carcinogen in Group 2 by inhalation based on EU Regulation (EC) No. 1272/2008 on the classification, labeling, and packaging (CLP) of substances and mixtures. The new regulations will come into effect in September 2021, which has caused a great response in the titanium dioxide, coatings, and plastics industries both domestically and internationally. However, based on current market demand, there is no product on the market that can replace titanium dioxide.

In addition to titanium dioxide, the European Union designated TGIC as a highly toxic substance as early as 1998 and clearly stipulated that the dangerous goods mark (skull) must be affixed to powder coating packaging bags using TGIC, and must be tracked and recorded. Subsequently, in 2010, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China included TGIC powder coating in the list of eliminated products. In the "Guiding Catalogue for Industrial Structure Adjustment (2019 Edition)", the production equipment of powder coatings containing tri glycidyl isocyanurate (TGIC) has been included in the restricted category.

According to the Paint Procurement Network, according to the internationally recognized toxicity classification standard for the acute oral toxicity half lethal dose (LD50) of chemical drugs in mice, TGIC should be classified as moderate toxicity. However, this is only macroscopic toxicity, and the key lies in microscopic toxicity. The Ames mutagenesis test (teratogenicity) results show that TGIC has mutagenic effects. TGIC has moderate acute toxicity when taken orally, causing severe eye irritation and allergic skin reactions upon direct contact with the eyes and skin. The important thing is that TGIC inhalation causes molecular genetic damage to the test mice. This raises the question of whether TGIC will affect male fertility, leading to reproductive mutations or other adverse pregnancy outcomes (stillbirths or abnormalities). Therefore, a safety requirement has been proposed that the concentration in the workplace should not exceed 0.025 mg/m3.

Due to environmental issues, some local departments have forced companies to close TGIC manufacturing factories, and some factories have been restricted in production, causing a tight supply of TGIC in China and a serious shortage of market supply.

Given the current toxicity and cost issues of TGIC, many additive companies are now involved in the research and production of HAA. According to the relevant person in charge of Mount Huangshan Boen Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Boen Technology"), Boen Technology has developed a new environment-friendly pure polyester powder coating curing agent (HAA system) through cooperation with Nanjing University of Science and Technology, a famous domestic university, and has now achieved industrial production. HAA has passed the SGS international quality inspection and ISO9001 certification, and Boen Technology has maintained a cooperative relationship with Mount Huangshan Huajia, a well-known domestic paint enterprise, for eight years, and its products have been well received by the other party.

Many powder coatings choose to use HAA instead of TGIC, which will generate methanol by-products during the HAA production process. Due to the high purity of methanol, it can be directly used in other chemical enterprises. Throughout the entire HAA production process, there is basically no environmental pollution, so HAA is still very popular among powder coating companies in the entire powder coating industry.

According to the relevant person in charge of Boon Technology, in addition to environmental performance, another advantage of HAA compared to TGIC is cost. According to current market prices, HAA is around 18000 yuan/ton, while TGIC is around 38000 yuan/ton. In terms of resin ratio and usage, resin: TGIC=93:7, resin: HAA=95:5. In contrast, for powder coating companies, HAA has more obvious advantages and is more environmentally friendly than TGIC.

However, in the past two years, many powder coating companies have not been very satisfied with the surface effect of HAA in the market. Regarding this issue, the relevant person in charge of Boon Technology stated that the current situation can be improved through formula adjustments, and everyone can use it with confidence. Specific technical information can be consulted by phone.

From a global market perspective, more and more countries are restricting its use due to pressure from environmental and health concerns. The polyester/HAA (hydroxyalkylamide) system powder coating, which replaces TGIC curing agent, has gone through a tortuous development path for more than a decade. Under the pressure of the global mainstream trend of health, environmental protection, and energy conservation in today's society, it has gradually matured and its market share has been increasing year by year. It already holds about 40% of the market share in the weather resistant powder market, nearly half of it. In Europe, the market share of HAA has exceeded 50%, while in China, due to the lagging progress of environmental protection requirements, the polyester/TGIC powder coating system still has an advantage. Therefore, in the future development process, the development space of HAA is still very large.

(Note: Reprinted from Paint Procurement Network)