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Introduction
Most coatings consist of a binder matrix filled with solid particles, being pigments and/or
fillers. The particles must be dispersed, stabilized and distributed in the paint. During film
formation, when the wet paint transforms into a dry coating, the particles should stay
uniformly distributed in the system.
The properties of a coating are governed by, amongst others, the loading of the system
with solid particles. Some coatings contain a high amount of solid particles and other
coatings, like clear coats, are free of particles. Particle loading is quantified by the Pigment
Volume Concentration (PVC) of the system. The PVC of a system is defined as the volume
percentage of solid particles in the system after film formation:
The definition implies that the PVC of a system is calculated by leaving the volatile
components, like water and solvents, out. The volumes of the non-volatile components
should be used, implying that the weights of the solids must be transferred into volumes by
using the density of each of the components.
A system of high PVC has a high loading and a system of low PVC contains a low amount
of particles:
High and low Pigment
An example
Consider a white, gloss paint based on alkyd resin (EU) and titanium dioxide (EU) (TiO2):
Example composition of a
white, gloss paint.
For the ease of calculation we forget about the additives. The total volume of solid particles
in 100 grams of this system can be calculated by dividing the weight of TiO2, 25.20 grams,
by its density. This gives: Vp = 6.00 cm3. The paint does not contain filler: Vf = 0.
Now we have to calculate the non-volatile part of the binder. We know the following:
The alkyd resin is dissolved in organic solvent, de-aromated white spirit D-40,
having a density of 0.80 g/cm3.
We must use the non-volatile part of the binder in the PVC calculation.
The density of the alkyd solution is 1.00 g/cm3; this is not the density of the alkyd
resin.
The 54.67 grams of alkyd solution contains 32.80 grams of alkyd resin and 21.87 grams of
D-40. From the density of D-40, it follows that the alkyd solution contains 27.34 cm3 of
solvent. The rest of the volume of the alkyd solution is the non-volatile alkyd resin: Vb =
27.33 cm3. From this analysis it follows that the density of the alkyd resin is 1.20 g/cm3.
By inserting the volume of the solid particles and the volume of the non-volatile part of the
binder in the equation, it follows that the PVC of this system is 18.0%.
Follow-up
To learn more about Pigment Volume Concentration, read “Effect of Pigment Volume
Concentration on Coatings Properties – Part II” by expert Ron Lewarchik.
The views, opinions and technical analyses presented here are those of the author or
advertiser, and are not necessarily those of UL’s Prospector.com or UL LLC. All content is
subject to copyright and may not be reproduced without prior authorization from UL or the
advertiser. While the editors of this site may verify the accuracy of its content from time to
time, we assume no responsibility for errors made by the author, editorial staff or any other
contributor.
Introduction
In Part I of this article, expert Jochum Beetsma discussed the definition of PVC, including
examples of PVC calculations and the PVC of various types of coatings. In Part II, we will
discuss Critical Pigment Volume Concentration (CPVC), pigment oil absorption (OA), and
the impact that pigment shape and density have on coatings properties.
As the PVC increases, many properties of a coating change abruptly. These changes occur
at the CPVC. CPVC can be defined as the point at which there is just sufficient binder to
provide a completely absorbed layer on the pigment surface as well as all the interstitial
spaces between the pigment particles in a close-packed system.
The CPVC
for a pigment combination can be calculated from the oil absorption (OA) provided that the
OA value is based on a non-flocculated dispersion. OA is expressed as grams of linseed oil
The views, opinions and technical analyses presented here are those of the author or
advertiser, and are not necessarily those of UL’s Prospector.com or UL LLC. All content is
subject to copyright and may not be reproduced without prior authorization from UL or the
advertiser. While the editors of this site may verify the accuracy of its content from time to
time, we assume no responsibility for errors made by the author, editorial staff or any other
contributor.