Binders & Additives

The purpose of the GHS is to promote a common, consistent criteria for classifying chemicals according to their health, physical and environmental hazards, and to encourage the use of compatible hazard labels, material safety data sheets for worker, and other hazard communication information based on the resulting classifications.

This session will outline the purpose, scope and application of the GHS.  The building block approach of GHS will be discussed; detailing what blocks Canada or the United States may choose to adopt in their classification criteria.  The format and content requirement of a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) to meet GHS will be discussed as well as the impact of GHS.

How does the GHS differ from workplace, consumer or transportation regulations?  This session will outline the key harmonized label elements and demonstrate what a GHS label may look like and how it will compare to workplace, consumer or transportation labels.

What has transpired to date and when can we anticipate the implementation of the GHS in Canada and the United States?

In the application of waterborne saturates it is necessary to understand the influence of polymer structure, catalyst, and additives. These variables can be optimized through the use of designed experiments that quantify the effect of process variables such as time, temperature, pH and shelf life on the final product properties.  An oscillating die rheometer is employed to measure the degree of cure through measurement of the complex viscosity of the polymer mixture and then correlated to tensile and elongation properties of the product. Initial studies indicate that the storage temperature and pH greatly influence the final cure state. 

Thermosetting binders are ubiquitous in composite building and construction materials such as; air filters, polyester mats, insulation and engineered wood products.  Thermosets impart highly valued mechanical properties to previously non communicative fibrous and particulate materials.  After cure, these materials are durable and suitable building and construction materials.  The determination of cure completion is an important feature in the chemical bonding – thermoset process.  Phenol formaldehyde based resins yellow when cured.  This discoloration serves as a cure diagnostic and is used to qualitatively assess cure.  Aquaset™ acrylic thermosets do not markedly discolor when cured.  To the contrary, this thermoset technology brightens substrates.  Therefore, cure is not inherently visible.  Monitoring cure of Aquaset thermosets require a fresh approach.  This paper describes several cure diagnostics for Aquaset acrylic thermosets.  The preferred methods are simple, safe, low cost, field friendly cure diagnostics.  These methods can be used to visually determine extent of cure.  Coupled with spectroscopic techniques several of the analytical methods described can quantitatively measure extent of cure for Aquaset acrylic thermosetting resins.