You are on page 1of 4

Pigment Volume Concentration Part I

Introduction

Most coatings consist of a binder matrix filled with solid particles, being pigments and/or
fillers. The particles must be dispersed, stabilized and distributed in the paint. During film
formation, when the wet paint transforms into a dry coating, the particles should stay
uniformly distributed in the system.

Pigment Volume Concentration

The properties of a coating are governed by, amongst others, the loading of the system
with solid particles. Some coatings contain a high amount of solid particles and other
coatings, like clear coats, are free of particles. Particle loading is quantified by the Pigment
Volume Concentration (PVC) of the system. The PVC of a system is defined as the volume
percentage of solid particles in the system after film formation:

Vp : total volume of all pigments in the system.


Vf : total volume of all fillers in the system.
Vb : volume of the non-volatile part of the binders in the
system.

Definition of Pigment Volume Concentration

The definition implies that the PVC of a system is calculated by leaving the volatile
components, like water and solvents, out. The volumes of the non-volatile components
should be used, implying that the weights of the solids must be transferred into volumes by
using the density of each of the components.

A system of high PVC has a high loading and a system of low PVC contains a low amount
of particles:

High and low Pigment

Volume Concentration of coatings. Typical


PVC values of coatings.
An example

Consider a white, gloss paint based on alkyd resin (EU) and titanium dioxide (EU) (TiO2):

Example composition of a
white, gloss paint.

For the ease of calculation we forget about the additives. The total volume of solid particles
in 100 grams of this system can be calculated by dividing the weight of TiO2, 25.20 grams,
by its density. This gives: Vp = 6.00 cm3. The paint does not contain filler: Vf = 0.

Now we have to calculate the non-volatile part of the binder. We know the following:

 The alkyd resin is dissolved in organic solvent, de-aromated white spirit D-40,
having a density of 0.80 g/cm3.
 We must use the non-volatile part of the binder in the PVC calculation.
 The density of the alkyd solution is 1.00 g/cm3; this is not the density of the alkyd
resin.

The 54.67 grams of alkyd solution contains 32.80 grams of alkyd resin and 21.87 grams of
D-40. From the density of D-40, it follows that the alkyd solution contains 27.34 cm3 of
solvent. The rest of the volume of the alkyd solution is the non-volatile alkyd resin: Vb =
27.33 cm3. From this analysis it follows that the density of the alkyd resin is 1.20 g/cm3.

By inserting the volume of the solid particles and the volume of the non-volatile part of the
binder in the equation, it follows that the PVC of this system is 18.0%.

Follow-up

To learn more about Pigment Volume Concentration, read “Effect of Pigment Volume
Concentration on Coatings Properties – Part II” by expert Ron Lewarchik.

The views, opinions and technical analyses presented here are those of the author or
advertiser, and are not necessarily those of UL’s Prospector.com or UL LLC. All content is
subject to copyright and may not be reproduced without prior authorization from UL or the
advertiser. While the editors of this site may verify the accuracy of its content from time to
time, we assume no responsibility for errors made by the author, editorial staff or any other
contributor.
Effect of Pigment Volume Concentration on
Coatings Properties – Part II
Introduction

In Part I of this article, expert Jochum Beetsma discussed the definition of PVC, including
examples of PVC calculations and the PVC of various types of coatings. In Part II, we will
discuss Critical Pigment Volume Concentration (CPVC), pigment oil absorption (OA), and
the impact that pigment shape and density have on coatings properties.

Critical Pigment Volume Concentration

As the PVC increases, many properties of a coating change abruptly. These changes occur
at the CPVC. CPVC can be defined as the point at which there is just sufficient binder to
provide a completely absorbed layer on the pigment surface as well as all the interstitial
spaces between the pigment particles in a close-packed system.

Diagram of Paint at CPVC

The CPVC
for a pigment combination can be calculated from the oil absorption (OA) provided that the
OA value is based on a non-flocculated dispersion. OA is expressed as grams of linseed oil

per 100 grams of pigment. ρ is the density of the


pigment(s), and 93.5 is 100 times the density of linseed oil (EU). Both OA and CPVC are
expressed as percentages and not as fractions. The definitions of both OA and CPVC are
based on close-packed pigment-binder with just sufficient binder to absorb at the pigment’s
surface and fill all the interstices between the pigment particles. An example of the
calculation of CPVC of a white alkyd (EU) finish using rutile titanium dioxide (EU) with an oil
absorption value of 20 (# of grams of linseed oil/100 grams of pigment) and a pigment

density of 4.2 g/cc follows:


As the pigment density and/or the OA increases, the CPVC decreases. Above the CPVC,
air voids are present (film density decreases) and below the CPVC, the pigment particles
are separated. The dramatic and abrupt change in the behavior of paint that occurs when
passing through the CPVC can be used to determine the CPVC. The abrupt changes in
properties include: physical (adhesion, tensile strength/elongation and paint density),
durability (resistance to moisture, rust, moisture penetration, blistering, wet adhesion, stain
resistance), and appearance (hiding, gloss, tint strength). Other factors that effect water
and oxygen permeation include particle shape and particle size. Pigment particles vary in
size and shape. Some of the terms used to describe pigment particle structure in increasing
order that they depart from sphericity to an
increasing degree are as follows:Pigments with
platelet shaped particles can reduce permeability
especially if they are aligned parallel to the
coating surface. Mica (EU), micaceous iron
oxide (EU) and metal flakes (EU) are a few
examples of such pigments. The smaller the
average pigment particle size, the more resistant
pigments are to dense packing. For example, the
dense packing factor for fine (precipitated) calcium carbonate (EU) is on the order of half
that of coarser calcium carbonate. The surface area of a unit weight of pigment varies
inversely with the particle diameter. This relationship is especially true for most pigment
particles that do not vary greatly in shape from a sphere, nodule or rectangle. Thus, for a
given weight of pigment particles, halving the diameter doubles the surface area, and the
greater the surface area for a given pigment, the greater the vehicle demands.

The views, opinions and technical analyses presented here are those of the author or
advertiser, and are not necessarily those of UL’s Prospector.com or UL LLC. All content is
subject to copyright and may not be reproduced without prior authorization from UL or the
advertiser. While the editors of this site may verify the accuracy of its content from time to
time, we assume no responsibility for errors made by the author, editorial staff or any other
contributor.

About Ron Lewarchik


Ronald J. Lewarchik, President and CEO of Chemical Dynamics, LLC, brings 40 years
of paint and coatings industry expertise to his role as a contributing author with the
Prospector Knowledge Center. As a contributing writer, Ron pens articles on topics
relevant to formulators in the coatings industry. He also serves as a consultant for the
Prospector materials search engine, advising on issues related to optimization and
organization materials within the database.

You might also like