Researchers develop eco-friendly alternative to paints

Researchers at a private university have developed an eco-friendly alternative to paints which is water-repelling and ensures that household items do suffer corrosion.

The coating is developed by associate professors Dr Harpreet Singh Grewal and Dr Harpreet Arora and their research team at the School of Engineering of Shiv Nadar University.

The self-cleaning coating is a cost-effective and eco-friendly substitute for the existing toxic paints and coatings available in the market, according to the researchers.

Developed by extracting the nano-silica particles of rice husk (an agriculture waste product), it also has the potential to offer an alternative to crop residue burning by farmers, a major cause for air pollution in the northern part of the country, they said in a statement.

The research has been sponsored by the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) and has been tested under extreme weather conditions, including rain and storms, they said.

Results of the research indicate that the exposure to outdoor conditions has no impact on the coating.

Another important feature of the coating is that it is non-toxic and can be applied on all household appliances, buildings, automobiles and industrial components to help elongate their life, they said.

"The existing paints and coatings available in the market contain toxic elements like lead, hexavalent chromium or chemical compounds which cause serious health effects, such as reproductive problems, birth defects, and aggravated asthma due to air pollution," the statement said.

The research has been published by the scientific journal Progress in Organic Coatings, it added.