Vynyl Ester Resins Without Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)

Growth in the use of structural composites made from Unsaturated Polyester and Vinyl Ester Resins (UPR’s and VER’s) in the Department of Defense is deterred by VOC and HAP emissions (Volatile Organic Compounds/Hazardous Air Pollutants). Removal of these VOC/HAP components will improve workplace safety, clean up the environment, and potentially remove reliance on petroleum based solutions. During Phase I, Price Engineering Solutions, LLC (PES) successfully completed initial development and testing along two parallel tracks: 1) investigation and development of a substitution methodology that replaces styrene in a typical resin with a non-HAP/non-VOC solvent system; and, 2) investigation and development of a new family of non-VOC/non-HAP resins with excellent processing and properties produced from renewable resources. During Phase II, PES will continue development and optimization of resin systems to produce new non-VOC/non-HAP resins that have ideal thermal and mechanical properties and excellent processability by identifying and optimizing non-VOC styrene substitutes for standard UPR and VER chemistries. However, optimization of our “green” resin technology will be a key component of our Phase II work. Typically, green (i.e. vegetable oils and terpenes) technology is challenging because it produces inferior properties. PES will aggressively develop new technology to overcome these problems.