Specialty chemicals company LANXESS is showcasing its broad product range for the paints and coatings industry at the European Coatings Show (ECS) in Nuremberg, Germany, from April 21 to 23, 2015. Its exhibit includes colorants, biocides, flame-retardant additives and benzyl products for manufacturing premium coating materials.

One show highlight is the presentation of the bright red pigments with particularly high chromaticity, which will be produced in Ningbo, China, starting in early 2016. A test reactor in Krefeld-Uerdingen, Germany, is already producing the new grades for testing purposes. Visitors to the LANXESS stand will be able to see a 1:250 scale model of the production facility. In the morning of the first two days of the show, there will also be a presentation of the construction progress via a live video link to the site in China.

A new yardstick in Penniman red production – innovative processes and new color spaces

The Penniman process using nitric acid is widely used in China for the production of iron oxide red pigments. On account of its formation of gaseous nitrogen oxides (NOx), as well as soluble nitrate and ammonium compounds, the process is a major challenge from an ecological perspective. While developing an innovative and more sustainable Penniman red process, it was discovered that apart from the known nitrogen oxide emissions, significant quantities of nitrous oxide (N₂O) are also generated. The impact of nitrous oxide as a critical greenhouse gas is 300 times greater than that of CO₂. Thanks to comprehensive scrubbing of off-gas streams containing NOx and N₂O as well as efficient biological treatment of wastewater contaminated with ammonium and nitrates, the updated Penniman red process developed by LANXESS sets new standards in the iron oxide industry. The Inorganic Pigments business unit (IPG) at LANXESS will employ this exceptionally sustainable technology in its new iron oxide production facility in China. “ECS is the world’s most important platform for informing our customers and sales agencies in the coatings industry of new product developments,” says Jörg Hellwig, head of the IPG business unit. “We are proud that we can already showcase our new red shades in Nuremberg, shortly before they go into full production for the global market in Ningbo.”

On Monday, April 20, 2015, Stephen Spiegelhauer, head of the Global Competence Center Paints & Coatings at IPG, will discuss the new red shades in his presentation “The reddest iron oxide pigments ever” at the European Coatings Congress.

Brilliant colorants for a broad range of applications

The LANXESS Rhein Chemie Additives business unit is presenting not only high-performance pigments such as Bayfast, but also its extensive line of Levanyl and Levanox-brand pigment preparations. Based on organic and inorganic high-performance pigments, these versatile products make it possible to combine brilliant and pure hues with excellent lightfastness and weather stability.

Premium industrial chemicals for premium coatings

LANXESS is also showing its benzyl products at ECS. The main exhibit is benzyl alcohol for the production of premium colorant and coating formulations. LANXESS is the world’s largest manufacturer of this high-purity substance, with production sites in India and Germany. With these two world-scale facilities on separate continents, the company is ideally positioned to supply this key chemical to global corporations with numerous production locations as well as to small-to-medium enterprises in a wide range of countries. “As a consequence of our continuous optimization of our logistics processes, we provide our customers with high supply reliability,” underscored Thomas Krüger, global product marketing manager for benzyl products in the Advanced Industrial Intermediates business unit.

Perfect protection

As one of the leading manufacturers of biocidal active ingredients and biocide formulations, the LANXESS Material Protection Products business unit (MPP) offers a comprehensive range of products for the paints and coatings industry. The preservatives protect wood coatings, emulsion paints, coatings and plasters from microbial attack. LANXESS developed Preventol A31-D for use in exterior coatings, such as algicidal and fungicidal facade paints. The aqueous dispersion contains slow-release diuron and an innovative combination of fungicidal active ingredients, meaning it displays a broad spectrum of activity even in low concentrations. It also has a positive toxicity profile and contains no components with VOCs.

Detailed information about the company’s products is available on the Internet at www.lanxess.com.