The development of melamine bio-polymers for coatings

The project was placed in the Smart Specialization Strategy (S4) in the priority area of the Network for the transition to the circular economy, within the Natural and Traditional Resources for the Future area. In the framework of the project, which is co-financed by the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Slovenia and the EU (Public Invitation for R & D projects (TRL 6-9)), pilot phases of the project for the production of melamine bio-polymers of the HMMM type and the transfer of technology to industrial level was carried out.

Conceptual solutions were proven and developed in a laboratory scale at the Melamin Research and Development Department. Application tests on laboratory samples were carried out by an industrial partner or a key future customer of a new product. The results of these tests have shown that the product (melamine bio-polymer of type HMMM) meets all the requirements and is fully comparable to the properties and quality of coatings made from HMMM of fossil origin.

The main result of the project is development of new technology and the new product of bio-HMMM to the level of industrial production, which is the research results and technological achievements of the R&D department of Melamin. Within the project, the method for determining the content of bio-components in the product was developed in cooperation with the Jožef Stefan Institute, which enables the certification of new products in accordance with the standard »The content of bio components in plastics«.

The project is important because the company with the newly developed bio-based product enables the breakthrough into global markets in the niche of green and sustainable products. In the wider sense, the project brings a gradual replacement of fossil resources with renewable sources, which is also the basis for the development of equivalent products in other areas.