Environmentally Advanced Polymer Now Able to Reduce Adhesion Failures and Minimize 'Installation Call-backs'
PHILADELPHIA-- Flooring installations have long been plagued by adhesion failures when water-based flooring adhesives are used over 'green' concrete or concrete slab in high-moisture environments. Specialty materials company Rohm and Haas (NYSE:ROH) today announced the introduction of an advanced, water-based acrylic polymer containing new Robond(TM) AquaBloc(TM) technology for formulated adhesives that provides tremendous improvements in water and high pH resistance in just such environments. The company is extending formulation support to adhesive and flooring manufacturers and says that when formulated into adhesive compounds used to install resilient flooring, plank vinyl, as well as vinyl-backed carpet tiles, and even commercial rubber flooring, the improved polymer, Robond(TM) FL-8400 with AquaBloc(TM) technology, does not dissolve or lose adhesion even under high-moisture conditions, a key reason that greatly contributes to hated call-backs following floor covering installation.
"Concrete is an active surface," explains David Keely, Rohm and Haas technical service senior scientist, Pressure Sensitive and Construction Adhesives. "Water seeps through and out of the concrete, extracting ions that elevate the pH of the water. That causes products made with other polymers without AquaBloc(TM) technology to break down so they no longer adhere properly." For installers who painstakingly follow manufacturer's instructions, the issue has been long-lasting and especially troubling.
"Sometimes within days or weeks after installation, resilient flooring will lift at seams or even over large areas," says Keely. "Our polymer with AquaBloc(TM) technology offers a more robust system compared to other polymers on the market, so formulated adhesives using this polymer can be installed over 'green' concrete and even where the ground beneath the concrete is always going to be moist and never dry completely." Rohm and Haas reports that testing on adhesives formulated with Robond FL-8400 demonstrates that after weeks immersed in high pH water, the Robond polymer remains unaffected, while other polymer products traditionally used in water-based flooring adhesives begin dissolving and failing in days.
Today's water-based adhesives avoid odor issues and VOC emissions and speed installation, so they are widely preferred. Vipul Desai, Senior Sales Executive, Pressure Sensitive and Construction Adhesives, says that Rohm and Haas always sets their sights on creating superior polymers, but that having an environmentally advanced product today is also a given at Rohm and Haas. "Our company is dedicated to sustainability and embraces environmental stewardship. In addition to establishing high performance goals for Robond FL-8400 polymer, we have to comply with the standards set by regulations and by the demand of our customers, too," he says. "This product merges high adhesion capabilities, exceptional water and high pH resistance, and low volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions." Robond FL-8400 is a 64 percent solids material easily formulated at low cost.
For more information, visit us @ go.rohmhaas.com/aquabloc
About Rohm and Haas Company
Leading the way since 1909, Rohm and Haas is a global pioneer in the creation and development of innovative technologies and solutions for the specialty materials industry. The company's technologies are found in a wide range of industries including: Building and Construction, Electronics and Electronic Devices, Household Goods and Personal Care, Packaging and Paper, Transportation, Pharmaceutical and Medical, Water, Food and Food Related, and Industrial Process. Innovative Rohm and Haas technologies and solutions help to improve life every day, around the world. Based in Philadelphia, PA, the company generated annual sales of approximately $8.9 billion in 2007. Visit www.rohmhaas.com for more information. imagine the possibilities(TM)
Contacts
Rohm and Haas Company
Laura Hadden
Director of Communications, Specialty Materials
Phone: + 01 215-592-3045
E-mail: lhadden@rohmhaas.com
or
David Keely
Marketing, Flooring Adhesives
Phone: +01 502-449-5345
E-mail: DKeely@rohmhaas.com
