Cardolite Corporation has introduced LITE 3025 to extend its portfolio of epoxy curing agents based on the company’s proprietary phenalkamide technology. First introduced over five years ago with the breakthrough products LITE 3000 and LITE 3100, phenalkamide technology is designed to combine the benefits of cashew nutshell liquid (CNSL) and polyamide curing agent chemistries into one product. Since then, the product line has expanded steadily to meet the performance, workability, and regulatory demands of the market.

Cashew nutshell liquid based curing agents using phenalkamine chemistry have enjoyed widespread adoption in the heavy duty coatings market due primarily to their excellent corrosion protection and ability to cure fast even at low temperatures. Broader adoption, however, has been limited due to drawbacks in color, overcoat window, and sometimes flexibility. Phenalkamide chemistry is Cardolite’s proprietary technology for chemically modifying a polyamide with cashew to gain its benefits, especially in cure speed and water resistance. Unlike simple blends of phenalkamines and polyamides, studies of phenalkamides show that systems retain all the desired properties of both a polyamide and phenalkamine while eliminating the typical drawbacks. 

There is a cost for coatings companies to invest in modifying formulas, and in the highly competitive and conservative coatings market, cost matters almost as much as performance. For these reasons, phenalkamide curing agents are at par or below their polyamide cousins in terms of cost, and the products have been deliberately designed as drop-in alternatives to certain common polyamide grades. The release of LITE 3025 adds to the product line by giving customers an easy upgrade path from some common medium viscosity solvent-free polyamides.

“Phenalkamide technology has been adopted by many of our forward thinking customers in the coatings and adhesives markets, and we’re excited to launch LITE 3025 as our latest addition to the LITE 3000 series product line,” said Timothy Stonis, President of Cardolite. Existing grades in the product line run from medium solids curing agents cut in a variety of solvents all the way through to the flagship LITE 3060 designed for solvent-free heavy duty coating systems.