The evaporation of organic solvents from solvent-based coatings is the main cause of air pollution in the coatings industry. To protect the atmosphere from further pollution, an effective method is to replace solvent-based coatings with water-based paints. Therefore, the national medium- and long-term science and technology development plan also proposes to vigorously promote and use environmentally friendly water-based paints. In the past year or two, many policies and regulations related to water-based paints have been introduced, from recommendations to restrictions, and now there are explicit prohibitions in many places. As the market gradually shifts towards water-based paints and other low-VOC or zero-VOC coatings, the market share of solvent-based coatings will continue to decline. Research indicates that by 2020, the market share of water-based paints will surpass that of solvent-based coatings.

Water-based paint is a type of coating that uses high molecular resin as the base material and water as the solvent, characterized by being green, safe, and easy to use. Water-based paint uses water as a diluent, while oil-based coatings use organic solvents as diluents, making it much more environmentally friendly. It has low formaldehyde and low irritating odor hydrocarbons. This starting point lays the foundation for the prospects of water-based paint. Furthermore, compared to solvent-based coatings, the environmental advantages of water-based paints are very obvious. The VOC emissions from water-based paints are about 1/10 of those from traditional solvent-based paints. According to relevant statistical analysis, among the main sources of PM2.5, automobile exhaust accounts for 30%, VOC emissions account for 21%, and other residues emitted from daily power generation, industrial production, etc., through combustion account for 49%. About 18% of VOC emissions come from solvent-based paints.

In order to achieve the goal mentioned in the "13th Five-Year Plan for Ecological and Environmental Protection" that the ecological environment quality of our country will be generally improved by 2020, the state guides enterprises to use non-toxic or low-toxic raw materials in the production process, reducing or avoiding the generation of pollutants from the source, and promoting the substitution of toxic and harmful substances. Consequently, various local policies have been introduced to support water-based paints. Here are some of the policies compiled by the editor:

Oil-to-water transition in Guangdong region:

Starting from July 1, 2016, container manufacturing enterprises in Guangdong Province will implement the "Emission Standards for Volatile Organic Compounds in the Container Manufacturing Industry" (DB44/1837—2016), promoting the use of water-based environmentally friendly coating processes.

On February 7, 2017, Guangdong Province issued the "13th Five-Year Plan for Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction," which stipulates the promotion of environmentally compliant water-based or low-volatility architectural coatings, wood coatings, and adhesives in the construction decoration industry. A government green procurement system for coating products will be established, prioritizing the use of water-based or low-volatility products.

Oil-to-water transition in Huizhou region, Guangdong:

At the end of 2016, Huizhou proposed in its "13th Five-Year Plan for Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction" (draft for comments) to prohibit the use of solvent-based coatings and adhesives in the construction industry.

Oil-to-water transition in Shenzhen:

One of the "Shenzhen Standards" (for furniture) is the technical specification of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone "Limit on Harmful Substances in Finished Furniture and Raw and Auxiliary Materials," which has been approved by the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government and officially implemented from January 1, 2017.

Starting from May 1, 2017, the new standard will completely prohibit the use of solvent-based coatings and solvent-based adhesives in Shenzhen.

Oil-to-water transition in Jiangsu region:

On February 8, 2017, Jiangsu Province issued the "Special Action Plan for 'Two Reductions, Six Treatments, and Three Enhancements,'" clearly stating the mandatory use of water-based coatings.

Oil-to-water transition in Xi'an region:

Starting from April 2017, Xi'an has strictly prohibited the sale of high-volatility toxic and harmful diluents in the market, and increased the frequency and control of supervisory monitoring of volatile organic compounds in decorative coatings sold in the city. Water-based paints are mandatory for interior and exterior wall coatings of civil buildings, and the use of water-based paints is advocated for home decoration, while the use of phasing-out coatings is restricted and solvent-based coatings are strictly prohibited; in all construction sites in the city, the spraying of solvent-based coatings and other coatings is prohibited.

Oil-to-water transition in Shijiazhuang, Hebei region:

Shijiazhuang City decided to eliminate organic solvent-based coating enterprises by the end of June 2017 and promote water-based paints to replace oil-based paints.

Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region:

Starting from September 1, 2017, Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei will uniformly implement environmental protection standards for architectural coatings, restricting the use of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as paints and adhesives.

Oil-to-water transition in Nanjing region:

In 2017, Nanjing City will require all more than 800 motor vehicle maintenance units in the city to completely prohibit the use of oil-based paints and switch to water-based paints.

Oil-to-water transition in Wuhan, Hubei region:

In 2017, Wuhan City will promote the "oil-to-water" spraying in the automobile manufacturing and maintenance industries. In the furniture manufacturing and wood processing industries, water-based paints with low volatile organic compound content will be promoted.

After reading the above regulations, everyone probably no longer thinks that the "oil-to-water" transition in the coatings industry is an unattainable task. Speaking of this, I can give you another example. Recently, while browsing my social media, I saw a former paint dealer (reportedly with annual sales reaching 5 million) updating their status, and their latest post was already unrelated to coatings. Upon further inquiry, I found out that this person had been "cut off" by environmental monitoring. Now they have switched to telecommunications business. Here, I can only wish them well, and also give a warm reminder to those who still insist on selling solvent-based coatings: if this trend continues, the day of a complete ban on solvent-based coatings is not far away.

Moreover, as people's living standards continue to improve, there is an increasing focus on environmental protection and health during the decoration process, which has invisibly driven the demand for water-based paints in the market. The coatings industry is also advancing in research, production, and application of water-based paints at an unprecedented speed, with new products emerging one after another, expanding the market space for water-based paints. The era of water-based paints is already an unstoppable trend.