Abstract

Increasing pressure from governments and consumers demanding safer and higher-performance materials is impacting all industries, and the paint and coatings sector is no exception. With a wide range of users – from closed production units through to amateur DIY customers and many combinations in between – the industry is uniquely exposed to concerns and demands to reduce toxicity and carbon footprints – yet there are no easy answers.

In response to this need, Australian biotechnology company Circa Group has developed a realistic alternative to increasingly regulated and more toxic solvents, in partnership with the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence at the University of York in the U.K. Cyrene™ (CAS 53716-82-8) is a new solvent with similar solubilizing properties to traditional dipolar aprotic solvents such as N-methyl-pyrrolidone (NMP) and N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF).