How can we determine the solvent content of emulsion paints?
Emulsion paints contain only small concentrations (5-15 %) of organic solvents as co solvents. The most important volatile constituent of such paints is water. Both the water and the solvent must first be separated from the nn-volatile part of the paint, e.g. by drying at 105 °C. More accurate separation is, however, achieved by distillation, using thin-film vaporizers or special distillation units in order to suppress solvent retention which might falsify results.
Distillation temperatures may have to be raised to 150 °C or more if high boiling solvents are present. Solvents are qualitatively determined by gas chromatography, supplemented in case of doubt by infra-red analysis. Plants which do not have the necessary analytical equipment can have tests done by material testing institutes or private analytical laboratories.
Solvent Content of Emulsion Paints
Blog, Updated at: 8:28 PM
