VOC's or Volatile Organic Compounds, which are a result of evaporating solvents from solvent based paint products, are a contributing factor in air pollution. The EPA has enacted regulations designed to reduce VOC emissions from affected products by an average of 40% over the next 25 years.
Because the volatile organic compound (VOC) content of waterborne paints is significantly lower than conventional solvent-based paints, thereby reducing VOC emission, waterborne paints are increasingly being used as a replacement to solvent-based paints.
Waterborne paints are composed of synthetic resins and pigments that are kept dispersed in water by surfactants. They also contain small amounts of coalescing solvents. Waterborne paints dry by evaporation of the water. The coalescing solvents allow the resin particles to fuse together (coalesce) as the water evaporates to form a continuous coating. Waterborne paints must be protected from freezing and applied at a minimum temperature of 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
From a filtration perspective, waterborne paints present a unique challenge.
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