Redesigning properties for industrial use
We read the weakness of each biomass material differently, and redesign it differently.
What held rosin back
Architectural paint — that is where we use it as a binder. Rosin is a natural resin taken from pine. It is cheap, supplied in volume and sticks well. Even so, it never became the binder of high-performance paint. Three weaknesses stood in the way.
Double bonds inside the molecule oxidise, and the colour deepens over time.
Acid groups left in the structure pull water in, and the film weakens.
The backbone is hard and short, so under stress it cracks instead of stretching.
What breaks, and what holds
Same wall, same UV, same water. The only thing that changes is whether the binder was modified — nothing else.
- Substrate (wall)
- Film · binder matrix
- Water
- Stabilised site
- Linked chain
- Resin particle
The rosin backbone is hard and short. Under stress it cracks instead of stretching, and the crack carries on through the film to the wall.
Acid groups left in the structure attract water. Water spread on the surface passes through the film and reaches the substrate.
Double bonds inside the molecule oxidise, and the whole film darkens over time.
Resin finely dispersed by phase inversion emulsification sits evenly through the film. The crack loses energy here and slows down. That does not mean it is stopped completely — it buys time before the crack reaches the wall.
At atmospheric pressure, catalyst and heat alone stabilise the double-bond sites. No high-pressure hydrogenation equipment is used.
Reacting directly, without intermediate purification, grows the molecule and reduces acid groups. Water beads on the surface, though a shallow trace still soaks in — as at the right edge.
How it is made
Oceanable works rosin at atmospheric pressure . We do not lean on high-pressure hydrogenation equipment, and we place no intermediate purification step. A shorter process means less equipment and less energy — that was the design goal.
Without high-pressure hydrogenation equipment, catalyst and heat alone clear the sites prone to oxidation. The reaction runs at atmospheric pressure.
With no intermediate purification step, it reacts directly to grow the molecule. The acid value falls and the softening point rises.
Water is added to the molten resin to invert the phase. It becomes water-dispersed without organic solvent.
S3 up close — the moment the phase inverts
Water dispersion is not dissolving resin in water. It is the continuous side switching from resin to water .
At first the resin side is continuous. The water added is trapped inside it as droplets.
As more water goes in, resin and water pass through a stretch where both connect. The inversion happens here.
The phase inverts, water becomes continuous, and the resin scatters into fine particles. No organic solvent is used.
Design goals
- Colour
The goal is that the colour does not deepen easily even under prolonged heat. That is the condition for holding colour across the life of the paint.
- Water
Reducing acid groups and growing the molecule to secure water resistance is the design direction.
- Film
The softening point rises so it is hard at room temperature, while still giving usable properties once cured as a film.
- VOC
Dispersing in water instead of organic solvent, it is designed to lower VOC emission.
- Equipment
Atmospheric-pressure processing and skipped purification mean it can be made without high-pressure equipment.
What held alginate back
Paper barrier coating — that is where we use it. Alginate is a natural polysaccharide from brown seaweed such as sea mustard and kelp. Its chains run straight, which suits it to coating liquids and films. Even so, petroleum-based plastic has held the inner coating of paper vessels.
Polyethylene is mostly used inside paper food packaging. Even when the paper breaks down, that layer stays behind in small fragments.
The chains pull water strongly. Coated as is, water pushes between the chains and the layer swells.
Biodegradable coating films so far have lacked mechanical strength and cracked where they were folded or pressed.
What holds the chains together
Same paper, same alginate, same water. The only thing that changes is whether the chains were tied with ions — nothing else.
- Paper (substrate)
- Barrier coating layer
- Alginate chain
- Metal ion (calcium · magnesium)
- Water
Alginate chains run straight but do not hold one another. The layer is simply chains stacked on top of chains.
The chains pull water strongly. Water follows the empty space between them down to the paper.
A layer holding water loses even thickness. In that state it cannot serve as a barrier.
Sprayed calcium or magnesium ions settle between the chains and tie two of them into a pair. The chains no longer move on their own.
The more they are tied, the narrower the gap between chains. Water beads on the surface. That does not mean it is stopped completely — a shallow trace still soaks in, as at the right edge.
Coating and crosslinking are repeated two or three times to build the layer. Rather than one thick pass, thin layers go on one over another.
How it is made
A coating liquid is made by mixing what is needed into an alginate solution, spread thin, and then set by spraying ions. Nothing is burnt off with heat, and no organic solvent is used.
A thickener, a plant-based antioxidant, a plasticiser and a catalyst are mixed into an alginate solution, first dispersed at room temperature and then stirred with heat.
It is spread evenly on paper at a thickness of tens of micrometres. The thickener holds the viscosity so the thickness does not waver.
A calcium or magnesium ion solution is sprayed and dried with hot air. This is repeated two or three times to build up layers.
S3 up close — the moment ions tie the chains
Crosslinking is not about making the chains anew chemically — an ion enters between two existing chains and holds both at once — that is all it is.
In water, alginate chains cannot hold one another and stay apart.
A sprayed metal ion works its way into the space between two chains.
One ion holds the chain above and the chain below together, and the gap narrows. The whole layer is tied into one.
Design goals
- Water
Narrowing the gap between chains through ionic crosslinking, to raise the contact angle with water, is the design direction.
- Barrier
Two or three thin layers are stacked to shorten the path moisture can take.
- Film
A plasticiser leaves flexibility, so it does not crack where it is folded or pressed.
- Shelf life
A plant-based antioxidant slows oxidation during storage and distribution.
- Breakdown
It is designed on the premise of breaking down through composting by soil enzymes and microbes.
- Replacement
The goal is to take the place of the polyethylene coating inside paper food packaging.
A coating laid over printed surfaces
OPV (overprint varnish) — that is where we use it. It covers the surface of printed matter and packaging and carries the protection, texture and gloss. Oceanable fills that place with a natural resin instead of petroleum-based resin.
We do not disclose which natural resin we use, or how we modify it. We state only the field of application and the product name.
If you need technical documentation, please reach us through a partnership inquiry. We will share it separately under a non-disclosure agreement.