Knowledge Base

Volatile Organic Compounds

High Performance Without Solvent Emissions

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are carbon-based chemicals that can evaporate into the atmosphere during the application and curing of many conventional paints, coatings and resin flooring materials.

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Historically, solvents were commonly incorporated into resin flooring formulations to reduce viscosity, improve application characteristics or modify drying behaviour. As the coating cured, these volatile components evaporated into the surrounding environment.

Modern resin technology makes it possible to take a very different approach.

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The Aspartech range has been developed around extremely low-VOC and ZERO-VOC technology, combining the environmental and workplace advantages associated with eliminating conventional solvent emissions with the mechanical and chemical performance required from modern industrial and commercial flooring.

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Why ZERO VOC Matters

Reducing VOC content provides advantages that extend well beyond environmental credentials.

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During the application of conventional solvent-containing coatings, VOCs can evaporate into the working environment. Depending upon the particular solvent and concentration involved, this can create strong odours and may require additional consideration of ventilation and occupational exposure.

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Eliminating conventional VOC solvents can therefore provide important practical advantages, particularly when resin flooring is being installed in occupied or sensitive buildings.

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ZERO-VOC Aspartech systems are particularly well suited to environments such as:

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• Hospitals and healthcare facilities.

• Schools, colleges and universities.

• Food and beverage facilities.

• Laboratories and clean environments.

• Retail and commercial premises.

• Warehouses and distribution centres.

• Manufacturing facilities.

• Buildings where surrounding areas need to remain operational.

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This can make it considerably easier to undertake flooring refurbishment while minimising disruption to surrounding operations.

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ZERO VOC Does Not Mean Zero Hazard

An important distinction should be made between VOC content and overall chemical safety.

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ZERO VOC describes the volatile organic compound content of a product. It does not automatically mean that a reactive resin is non-hazardous or that normal chemical-handling precautions can be ignored.

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Some resin technologies use reactive components such as isocyanates. These components participate in the chemical reaction that creates the cured polymer rather than simply evaporating from the coating like a conventional solvent.

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Appropriate PPE, ventilation, COSHH assessment, Safety Data Sheet instructions and good chemical-handling practice must therefore always be followed, irrespective of a product's VOC classification.

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Where a product contains more than 0.1% monomeric diisocyanates, professional and industrial users are subject to specific safe-use training requirements. The European REACH restriction introduced mandatory training from 24 August 2023 for applicable products above this threshold.

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This distinction is important:

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ZERO VOC = no conventional VOC emissions as declared under the applicable methodology.

It does not mean zero chemical precautions.

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LEED & Low-Emitting Materials

Low-emitting materials are an important consideration within LEED – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

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LEED's Low-Emitting Materials criteria are intended to reduce occupants' exposure to airborne chemical contaminants through appropriate material selection. For paints and coatings, LEED considers both VOC content and VOC emissions, with recognised VOC-content standards including SCAQMD Rule 1113.

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The Aspartech technical performance data records VOC content of <10.00 g/L for the relevant assessed products, providing an exceptionally low VOC contribution when compared with conventional solvent-containing coatings.

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It is important when specifying a LEED project, however, to distinguish between low VOC content and complete LEED credit compliance. Current LEED requirements can include both VOC-content and emissions-testing criteria depending upon the product category and project route. A low or ZERO-VOC declaration alone should therefore not be interpreted as automatically awarding a LEED point to a project.

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Instead, Aspartech's extremely low VOC content can form part of the product documentation used by the project team when assessing the applicable LEED Low-Emitting Materials requirements.

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BREEAM & VOC Reduction

VOC performance is also recognised within BREEAM, the widely used UK sustainability assessment methodology.

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Under BREEAM's Indoor Air Quality criteria, paints and coatings are assessed according to their VOC characteristics. For comparison, BREEAM UK New Construction 2018 identifies a maximum free TVOC content of 80 g/L for two-pack reactive performance coatings for specific end uses such as floors.

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Against that benchmark, an Aspartech result of <10.00 g/L represents an extremely low VOC level.

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As with LEED, final BREEAM credit achievement is assessed at project level and may involve additional product and emissions requirements. Aspartech's low-VOC performance should therefore be considered as supporting evidence for the relevant assessment rather than a claim that use of the product alone guarantees a BREEAM credit.

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SCAQMD & VOC Content

The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) is frequently referenced internationally when assessing VOC content in architectural coatings.

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SCAQMD Rule 1113 establishes VOC limits for architectural coatings and is specifically recognised by LEED as one of the applicable VOC-content standards for paints and coatings.

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The Aspartech technical information supplied for FLOORCOAT, CLEANZONE, CLEARCOAT and LINE-MARKER records:

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SCAQMD allowable VOC content: 70.00 g/L
Aspartech product VOC content: <10.00 g/L

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This means the declared Aspartech VOC content is less than one-seventh of the 70 g/L reference value shown in the product data.

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For products specifically designated ZERO VOC, the VOC contribution is lower again, providing the maximum benefit available from removing conventional volatile solvents from the formulation.

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Performance Has Not Been Sacrificed

One of the most important characteristics of the Aspartech range is that extremely low VOC content has not been achieved at the expense of flooring performance.

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The supplied technical testing demonstrates the level of performance possible from the technology.

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Across the Aspartech systems shown, results include:

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Adhesion: approximately 3.1–3.9 MPa for the main tested coating systems.

Shore hardness: results of up to 75 Shore D, demonstrating hard and durable cured surfaces.

Cross-cut adhesion: Classification 0, the best result on the scale used in the Aspartech technical data.

Taber abrasion: results as low as 100 mg, demonstrating excellent wear resistance.

Water permeability: results between 0% and 1% within the supplied product testing.

UV stability: the tested systems are recorded as Excellent, with no recordable gloss or colour degradation.

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Certain systems additionally achieve 9H pencil hardness, representing the highest rating on the scale referenced within the Aspartech data. The significance is simple:

Environmental performance does not have to mean reduced mechanical performance.

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Better for Modern Refurbishment

ZERO-VOC technology can be particularly advantageous during refurbishment.

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Traditional solvent-containing flooring materials can create odours that travel well beyond the immediate application area through corridors, doorways and ventilation systems. This can make flooring work difficult in buildings that need to remain partially operational.

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Removing conventional VOC solvents from the formulation can substantially reduce this problem and make modern Aspartech systems particularly appropriate for projects where installation speed, building occupancy and minimising disruption are important considerations.

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Combined with the rapid-curing characteristics of Aspartech technology, areas can potentially be prepared, coated and returned to service significantly faster than would be possible with many traditional flooring systems, subject to the cure schedule of the particular Aspartech product.

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From Solvent-Based Coatings to Modern Reactive Technology

The development of resin flooring has progressively moved away from reliance upon conventional solvent-heavy formulations.

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Aspartech represents the next stage of that evolution: high-solids/reactive technology designed to produce the finished polymer within the floor rather than relying upon large quantities of solvent that subsequently evaporate into the atmosphere.

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This provides an important combination of:

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• Extremely low or ZERO VOC content

• Rapid curing

• High adhesion

• Excellent abrasion resistance

• Chemical resistance

• Moisture tolerance

• Low-temperature curing capability

• UV stability

• LEED and BREEAM supporting credentials

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For modern industrial and commercial buildings, these characteristics allow environmental considerations and flooring performance to be addressed together rather than treated as competing requirements.

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Aspartech – Performance Without the VOCs

A modern resin floor should not have to choose between durability, rapid installation and environmental responsibility.

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Aspartech technology demonstrates that extremely low and ZERO-VOC flooring systems can still provide the adhesion, hardness, abrasion resistance, chemical performance and durability demanded by industrial and commercial environments.

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With VOC results of <10.00 g/L across the tested products shown, together with ZERO-VOC formulations within the range and supporting LEED and BREEAM credentials, Aspartech provides a modern alternative to traditional solvent-containing resin flooring.

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High performance. Extremely low emissions. ZERO-VOC technology.

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