Synthetic resins

What is synthetic resin?

They are synthetically produced resins that are modified by natural substances such as natural resins or oils. The resin is a yellow-brown to whitish colour with a strong odour that mainly emerges from the wood of conifers and is extremely viscous and sticky.

Nowadays in the industrial sector, resin types made of synthetic materials are preferably and predominantly used - synthetic resins for short. According to ISO 4618:2014, synthetic resins as coating substances are the result of polymerization, polyaddition or polycondensation reactions. A physical reaction is the joining of two molecules with the elimination of water.

Synthetic resins, are either liquid or solid and amorphous with no boiling point or melting point. Resins in general are a more or less liquid product consisting of various chemical substances - keyword: Manufacture of floors, paint and soap to turpentine and medicinal substances. The two components, resin and hardener, are mixed to form the reactive resin mass made from synthetic material.
 

What kind of material is resin?

With increasing viscosity, the result of resin and hardener is known as hardening as the Trommsdorff effect in the technical language. After the final hardening, it becomes the infusible, in other words thermosetting, synthetic material. This chemical process is named after the German chemist Ernst Trommsdorff and the English chemist Ronald George Wreyford Norrish.

The material of the various synthetic resins are soft solids or viscous substances made of prepolymer as a collective term for oligomers, which in turn are used to produce polymers as macromolecules.

In industry, all those polymers that form the basis for plastics are referred to as synthetic resins - keyword: organic coatings and paints.

As a material, synthetic resin is processed in many cases by casting, in other words in the casting process. The casting resin is either poured into a single use or a reusable mould. The type and composition of the material determine the designation and quality of the final synthetic resin.

Synthetic resins are of great importance in many construction works. They are the binder of wood-based materials or, as polyester resins, of paint and plaster.

Synthetic resin properties

The two properties with a unique selling point are that it is

• fluid
• viscous – amorphous

Casting resin, for example, is a synthetic resin that is processed into the end product in liquid form and as such solidifies in a non-deformable manner. Pouring the liquid resin is used in most cases

• for enclosing as protection against the ingress and influence of water, moisture and foreign bodies
• as the electrical insulation with protection against accidental contact and to increase the dielectric strength
• as a fixing of parts to each other
• to increase the mechanical stability of the fitting
• to increase shock and vibration resistance

The final solidification of both the liquid and the amorphous synthetic resin occurs through a chemical cross-linking reaction - as a thermosensor, the solidification is irreversible.

On the world synthetic materials market, synthetic resins made from what is often called the indestructible material have proven to be almost irreplaceable in numerous product areas. One reason for this is the properties of the material, another is the serial production with casting and processing.
 

Differences between synthetic resin and epoxy resin

The epoxide is a chemical compound obtained by the addition of oxygen to olefins - olefins themselves are unsaturated hydrocarbons.

In contrast to condensation resins, epoxy resins, or EP resins for short, are reaction resins.

• Condensation resins are synthetic, which are cured with the elimination of by-products such as water to form thermosets
• Reaction resins are cured without this separation, specifically by chain polymerisation or by polyaddition, to form thermosets

Synthetic casting resins are used either as a casting compound or for embedding objects; they can be, but do not always have to be, crystal clear. The main difference between EP resin and polyester resin is that EP resin is hardly or not at all processed with reinforcing fibres.

In practical use, both have their specific properties and performance features.

• Polyester resins are easy to process, harden quite quickly and offer a customer-friendly price-performance ratio. They have an intense odour during processing and curing, and their adhesion and adhesive properties on a solid surface are manageable to unsatisfactory.
• EP resins do not contain any solvents and therefore have little odour or are odourless. Their adhesive properties are good to very good, as is fibre adhesion. Shrinkage during processing is marginal, which has a positive effect on moulded parts. Compared to polyester resins, the hardening process takes visibly longer and the price is noticeably higher.
   

Synthetic resin products

The variety of synthetic resin types makes it possible, or necessary, to produce and offer exactly the right type of resin for the large number of areas of application.

Whether professionally or as a DIY hobbyist, basically almost all objects can be cast in polyester or EP resin.

Below is a selection from A to Z for the application of synthetic resin types

• sealing systems
• building materials
• floor coatings
• joint filler
• casting resins
• wood fibre materials
• impregnations
• injection preparations
• adhesives
• coatings
• glues
• polymer concretes
• foams
• composite fibre plastic
• dentures

Synthetic resin products are offered both online and in specialist shops. They are mainly used in the chemical, food and pharmaceutical industries.
 

Manufacture of synthetic resins

The development of the first synthetic resin types goes back to the 1900s. The pioneers and developers of that time included the Belgian-American chemist Leo Hendrik Baekeland, Carl Heinrich Meyer, Dr. Ludwig Berend and Dr. Kurt Albert. In the 1930s, the first epoxy resin was developed by the Swiss chemist Pierre Castan. The special character of the epoxy resin was the longevity for coatings. Following the patenting, industrial production began immediately after the end of the Second World War - this production is still being developed today.

Manufacturing is synonymous with the processing of several components such as synthetic resin and hardener. The result is a reactive resin mass. With the hardening process, the toughness increases. In other words, the viscosity increases up to the point of hardening. The result is then the thermoset as an infusible synthetic material. The synthetic resin processing takes place as a variant in the casting process - the casting resin is poured into a mould that can be used once or several times. More on making synthetic resin.
 

Is synthetic resin toxic?

The purity of synthetic resins and casting resins from harmful substances has always been an ongoing issue. Experience has shown that the pollutant load decreases with increasing curing, up to the point of complete volatilization.

Repeated inhalation causes damage to health. The chemical concentration on the one hand and the persistence of inhaling escaping vapours on the other hand can lead to lasting damage to health: diabetes, infertility or cancer.

Cured epoxy resins are non-toxic and therefore harmless - as long as they are really completely cured. If this is not the case, severe allergic reactions can be triggered by even minimal eye or skin contact. Experience has shown that epoxy resins take a week or more to evaporate.

A special property is the absolute odourlessness of the epoxy resins. On the one hand, this is pleasant to handle and use, but on the other hand there is no tangible indication of when they are absolutely harmless to health. Here the principle applies: rather wait a little longer than usual.
 

Casting floors with synthetic resin

Casting floors with the epoxy resin coating offers several long-term and sustainable advantages at the same time. They include abrasion resistance and weather resistance. The floor coating is difficult to ignite and is well suited for electrical insulation - it is extremely resistant to tracking. Ultimately, the floor coating is also resistant to all acids, alcohol, mineral oil and petrol through to chlorinated hydrocarbons.
 

Prime the floor with synthetic resins

For priming floors, for example as a screed synthetic resin primer, a highly concentrated primer is recommended. With priming, the previously porous substrate is permanently protected from a variety of influences. Priming is worthwhile on both smooth and porous surfaces - priming makes the surface less absorbent. This in turn extends the life of the floor coating as such. In addition, priming can also prevent rusting.
 

Synthetic resins and their coatings

Nowadays, there is more and more demand for floor coatings made of epoxy or PU resins. PU is the abbreviation for polyurethane as a reactive type of synthetic resin that hardens through chemical reaction. The ingredients and fillers of this floor coating include epoxy resin, polyurethane resin, methacrylate resin and other polymers.

In a nutshell: This coating of the floor is a coating of solvent-free reaction resins together with fillers and, if necessary, also with colour pigments. The coating ensures a mechanically stronger wear layer with good chemical resistance and an easy-care surface.
 

Synthetic resin flooring (synthetic resin flooring)

The synthetic resin floor covering is a coating consisting of the synthetic hard component and the hardener. This floor is very trendy today, at the beginning of the 2020s, and can be designed in many different ways. Once it has dried, the coating forms a seamless floor without any evaporation. With a new screed as the substrate of the floor, priming is the be-all and end-all. A floor with this coating is just as suitable for living rooms as it is for utility rooms - keyword: Kitchen, sanitary area, utility room.
 

Synthetic resin plants from PURPLAN

PURPLAN GmbH, headquartered in the municipality of Wallenhorst in Lower Saxony, plans, designs and builds plants for the production, storage and storage of a variety of synthetic resin types. Common and popular synthetic resin plants are the binder, dispersion or polyester resin plants.

The family-run medium-sized company with two additional branches in Germany in Dresden/Saxony and Wuppertal/NRW as well as two international branches in Shanghai/China and in Charlotte in the US state of North Carolina is as well known on the world market as it is locally.

Reaction plants for synthetic resin production, tank farms and bottling plants have always been the core competencies in synthetic resin production.