Impact of Phase Inversion and Process Parameters on Alkyd Emulsion Properties

In conventional alkyd coatings, the alkyd resin is dissolved in organic solvents, such as mineral spirits. However, due to growing health and environmental concerns, there is a rising interest in waterborne alkyd coatings. Alkyd emulsions, therefore, represent a viable alternative. Waterborne alkyd resins significantly reduce VOC emissions by using water as the dispersion medium, making them highly important for research in this area. The main objective of this study is to synthesize emulsified alkyd resins by replacing solvents with water, using nonionic and anionic surfactants, for the alkyd resins widely used in the paint industry for many years. Soybean oil/sunflower oil alkyd resins were emulsified with the anionic surfactant MAXEMUL 7201 and the nonionic MAXEMUL 7101. This paper investigates the effect of emulsification temperature, mixer model and rotation speed on the formation of alkyd emulsion The synthesized alkyd resins were evaluated based on acid value, viscosity, gloss, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and particle size analysis.