Blending of Polyethylene Pyrolysis Oil and Natural Rubber Latex as Binder for Water Resistant Emulsion Paint

Abstract

Water-based paint, also called emulsion paint, is a type of paint that uses water as its solvent during production. The binder, typically made of acrylic or polyvinyl acetate, acts as a film-forming agent by holding the pigments and other additives together. In this study, emulsion paint was formulated using waste polyethylene pyrolysis oil (PEPO) and natural rubber latex (NRL) as binders. Polyethylene pyrolysis oil was blended with natural rubber latex at different ratios, beginning with 10% PEPO in a 90% NRL solution at 30 °C. The blended binders were mixed using a glass rod for 30 minutes. This process was repeated for PEPO concentrations of 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, and 60% (i.e. 10%–60%), and the resulting blends were analysed and compared with other binders. Each blend ratio was used in the paint formulations and coded as PA, PB, PC, PD, PE, and PF. The paints were characterised and compared with the standard. Most of these paints were within the standard range. Paint E (PE) performed best because it passed all tests within the standard range, with a viscosity of 1400 mPa·s, density of 1.39 g, pH of 7.6, dry-to-touch time of 23 minutes, and dry-to-hard time of 80 minutes; opacity, adhesion, resistance to blistering, flexibility, tackiness, water resistance, and stability were also satisfactory. This indicates its suitability for both exterior and interior applications. The effects of concentration on viscosity, density, turbidity, refractive index, pH, elongation at break, moisture uptake, melting point, and water solubility were studied for the PEPO/NRL binder to assess its suitability. FTIR, XRD, SEM, TGA, and DTA were employed to characterise the binder. The investigation revealed properties associated with conventional emulsion paint in the formulated PEPO/NRL binder-derived emulsion paint, including drying time, moisture uptake, and water solubility.