Highly toxic! This type of raw material is restricted! Some factories have been requested to close!

Recently, the European Union has issued an officially authorized regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on classification, labeling, and packaging (CLP) of substances and mixtures, which classifies titanium dioxide as a Class 2 suspected carcinogen by inhalation. The new regulations will take effect in September 2021, and this news has caused a great response in the titanium dioxide, coating, and plastic industries both domestically and internationally. However, based on current market demand, there is no product in 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 dangerous goods (skull) should be marked on powder coating packaging bags using TGIC, and it should also be tracked and recorded. Subsequently, in 2010, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology included TGIC powder coatings in the list of phased out products. In the "Guiding Catalogue for Industrial Structure Adjustment (2019 Edition)", the production equipment of powder coatings containing triglyceride isocyanurate (TGIC) is classified as restricted.
According to the coating procurement website, using the internationally recognized toxicity classification standard of LD50 for acute toxicity 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. Oral administration of TGIC produces moderate acute toxicity, leading to severe eye irritation and allergic skin reactions upon direct contact with the eyes and skin. Importantly, inhalation of TGIC 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 consequences (stillbirth or fetuses). Therefore, a safety requirement was proposed that the concentration in the workplace should not exceed 0.025 mg/m3.
Due to environmental protection issues, some local departments have forced companies to close TGIC manufacturing factories, and some factories have been restricted in production, causing a shortage of TGIC supply in China and a serious shortage of market supply.

Given the current toxicity and cost issues of TGIC, many additive companies are beginning to engage 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 produce methanol by-products in the HAA production process. Due to the high purity of methanol, it can be directly used in other chemical enterprises. During the entire HAA production process, there is basically no environmental pollution, so currently, HAA is still very popular among powder coating enterprises in the entire powder coating industry.
According to the person in charge of Boen Technology, HAA has an advantage over TGIC in terms of cost, in addition to environmental performance. According to the current market price, HAA is around 18000 yuan/ton, while TGIC is at 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 person in charge of Boen Technology stated that the current situation can be improved by adjusting the formula, and everyone can use it with confidence. For specific technical inquiries, please call.
From the global market perspective, more and more countries are restricting its use due to the pressure of environmental and health forms. 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 global mainstream trends in health, environmental protection, and energy conservation in today's society, it has gradually matured and its market share has been increasing year by year. In the weathering powder market, it has already accounted for about 40% of the market share, close to half of the country. 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 holds an advantage. Therefore, in the future development process, the development space of HAA is still very large.
(Remark: reprinted from Paint Procurement Network)