Paint without microplastics

Paint cannot be produced without adding plastic. Through weathering and wear, microplastics from paint enter our living environment. Moreover, the use of microplastics will, in time, be banned, explaining the need to find a sustainable, environment-friendly alternative.

Is there a fitting biopolymer that we can utilise as an alternative to existing microplastics in paint?

The main goal is to develop sustainable biodegradable plastics (PHAs) as binders for microplastic-free paint and coatings.

This project focusses specifically on finding biodegradable plastics with a medium-long chain that and has the right properties to function as a binder. Therefore, it is necessary that side-chains are added to the base-structure through fermentation with micro-organisms.

This project is part of a pilot-study. That is why the attention is focused on the development and testing of innovative techniques and products. Various techniques like injection molding, fermentation, 3D printing and products such as packaging and medical use-cases will be considered and tested.

Hanze University of Applied Sciences aims at producing biodegradable plastics with the right properties through fermentation. These properties are realized through experimentation with, among other things, nutrition for micro-organisms.

The results from this project can be applied to the broader development of biodegradable plastics, thereby enforcing and expanding the PHA-value-chain.

The use of biodegradable plastics in paint is still in its infancy, while the industry is very large and developed. That is why this project offers a substantial contribution to the development of plastic-free paint and coatings. This reduces the amount of micro-plastics in our environment and lessens the spread of microplastics in nature, our food and our water.

This project collaborates with Wydo NBD, part of royal Wijhe Verf. Wydo has all the knowledge necessary to decide on the factors that make up good paint for differing use-cases. Through this collaboration a product can be developed that satisfies the needs and wants of paint-users.