As a functional coating material, silicone release agents play a vital role in modern industrial production. With the increasingly stringent environmental regulations and the continuous expansion of terminal application fields, the application of solvent-free silicone release agents in the field of paper coating has shown a rapid growth trend, while the application of PET substrates is relatively small. This article will deeply explore the technical motivations, market drivers and future development trends behind this phenomenon, analyze the technical advantages of solvent-free silicone release agents and the reasons for their widespread application in the paper field, and analyze the technical bottlenecks and challenges in the application of PET substrates, providing comprehensive technical references and market insights for practitioners in related industries.


Technical advantages and environmental characteristics of solvent-free silicone release agents
Technological innovation driven by environmental regulations has become an important feature of the development of the silicone release agent industry. In recent years, with the improvement of environmental awareness and the advancement of the "dual carbon" goals worldwide, governments of various countries have introduced strict regulations to limit the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Traditional solvent-based silicone release agents release a large amount of organic solvents during production and use, which not only causes environmental pollution but also may endanger the health of operators. In contrast, solvent-free silicone release agents use polysiloxane containing vinyl functional groups as the base polymer, and form an isolation film through addition heat curing reaction under the action of crosslinking agents and catalysts, and almost no VOCs emissions are generated during the whole process. This environmentally friendly feature makes it the mainstream direction of the development of the release agent industry. Especially in the context of China's "14th Five-Year Plan" emphasizing green manufacturing, the promotion of solvent-free technology has received strong support at the policy level.


From the perspective of technical performance, solvent-free silicone release agents show multiple advantages. First, the silicone polymer film formed after curing has excellent isolation properties, which can meet different application requirements from light release to heavy release. Secondly, by adjusting the branching degree and active functional groups of the base polymer, the viscosity of the system and the stability of the release force can be accurately controlled to adapt to different coating speeds and application scenarios. For example, for high-speed coating environments (800-1200 meters/minute), the new solvent-free product significantly improves the curing speed in the low-temperature section and reduces energy consumption by optimizing the platinum catalyst ligand structure. Furthermore, the coating uniformity of the solvent-free system is better, and stable performance can be achieved at low coating amounts. For example, some products can achieve ideal release effects at a coating amount of 1.30 g/m2, which not only reduces the cost of raw materials, but also reduces the impact on substrate performance.


In terms of economic benefits, although the initial R&D investment of solvent-free silicone release agents is high, they have obvious cost advantages in the long run. On the one hand, the solvent recovery and treatment links are eliminated, reducing the complexity and operating costs of production equipment; on the other hand, as the rise in oil prices leads to rising solvent costs, the price competitiveness of solvent-free products is becoming increasingly prominent. According to market data, the release agent production line using solvent-free technology has been able to achieve large-scale production above the ton level, serving leading domestic high-end packaging manufacturing companies, and some products have even achieved import substitution. Taking a certain company's annual production of 2,000 tons of release agent production demonstration line as an example, its product sales have reached 31.92 million yuan, and realized 7.66 million yuan in profits and taxes, with significant economic benefits.


Application safety is another important advantage of solvent-free technology. Traditional solvent-based products are flammable and explosive and require special storage and transportation conditions, while solvent-free systems fundamentally eliminate this safety hazard. At the same time, solvent-free products will not cause changes in coating amount due to solvent volatilization during use, and the process stability is higher. They are particularly suitable for high-end applications with strict requirements on release force consistency, such as electronic die-cutting, medical supplies and other fields. In addition, the residual bonding rate of solvent-free systems can usually reach more than 90%, which means that the released material can be reused many times without affecting performance, providing downstream users with greater operational flexibility and cost savings.


Table: Performance comparison of solvent-free and solvent-based silicone release agents


Performance indicators Solvent-free Solvent-based Comparison of advantages
VOC emissions Almost zero High Solvent-free has obvious environmental advantages
Coating uniformity Excellent Good Solvent-free is more suitable for precision coating
Curing speed Fast (can be cured at low temperature) Slower (requires high temperature) Solvent-free is energy-saving and adaptable to more substrates
Release force stability High Medium Solvent-free has more reliable performance
Production cost High at the beginning, low in the long term Low at the beginning, high in the long term Solvent-free has obvious comprehensive cost advantages
Safety High (non-flammable and non-explosive) Low (flammable and explosive) Solvent-free is safer to use
In summary, solvent-free silicone release agents are gradually replacing traditional solvent-based products with their environmental characteristics, excellent performance, economic benefits and safety advantages, and have become the mainstream choice in the release agent market. With the continuous advancement of technology and the improvement of the industrial chain, solvent-free products will demonstrate their value in more application fields and promote the entire industry to develop in the direction of greening and high performance.