Enhancing Paint Production: Modular Production Using Intermediates and Emerging Solutions

This PhD research aims to enhance paint production operations by developing a modular production concept based on intermediate preparation, integrating inline process and quality control tools, and optimizing the activation of rheological modifiers. The study combines theoretical analysis, process simulation, and experimental validation to establish a comprehensive framework for more efficient, controllable, and sustainable coating manufacturing.

A theoretical case study was developed to compare traditional and modular paint production in terms of product quality, production time, and energy consumption. The results demonstrate that modular production with intermediates can reduce overall production time by up to 23% and energy consumption by up to 27%, while final product preparation times can be shortened by 49-74%, depending on batch size and formulation design. These findings underline the potential of modular production to improve responsiveness and resource efficiency, provided that intermediate stability and quality consistency are maintained.

Experiments employed a pilot-scale inline disperser to study dispersion behavior, a newly developed continuous grindometer for real-time fineness monitoring, and strategies for activating rheological modifiers. Comparative trials between the inline disperser and a conventional high-speed dissolver revealed that the inline disperser performed comparably to a conventional high-speed dissolver for rapidly dispersing fillers and TiO₂, while achieving higher chroma and greater efficiency for organic pigments. It was less affected by viscosity variations and could potentially eliminate the let-down step for selected products.

The continuous grindometer was developed to monitor the fineness of grind in real time by detecting scratches created by pigment particles during dispersion. The results confirmed that the continuous grindometer produced comparable results to the Hegman gauge (average deviation of 12%) while providing real-time, less subjective, and reproducible measurements. It successfully captured the dynamic progression of dispersion, performed robustly across a wide viscosity range (500–50000 cP), and achieved optimal performance at application speeds above 10 cm/s. Overall, it offers a reliable, scalable, and objective alternative to traditional fineness measurement, enabling both offline and inline quality monitoring.

The study also elucidates the activation mechanisms of bentonite and amide wax rheological modifiers. For amide wax, temperature was identified as a key activation factor. Microscopic imaging and viscosity measurements confirmed that effective activation requires 50–65 °C for sufficient dissolution and self-alignment. Dispersion methods such as bead milling, ultrasonication, and inline dispersion, which generate frictional heat, enhanced wax activation. Creating a dedicated amide wax intermediate instead of direct addition improved sag resistance and increased the applicable film thickness from 300 μm to 400 μm without extra wax. For bentonite, optimized activation through bentonite intermediates and high-shear methods, including ultrasonic processors and inline dispersers, improved the formation of the house-of-cards structure, increasing the applicable film thickness from 138 μm to 250 μm without additional bentonite.

Overall, this research tackles key inefficiencies in paint production by combining modular production using intermediates, inline process, and quality control tools, and optimized activation of rheological modifiers. The findings provide practical solutions to enhance efficiency, product quality, and consistency, offering a framework that can be possibly applied to industrial coating operations.