Determination of optimal quantities of different types of driers for addition in the batches of paint formulation

Abstract

Paint is generally considered as a mixture of pigment, binder (vehicle), solvent, driers and other additives. Though the basic function of driers is to decrease the drying time after application, it significantly affects the gloss and clarity of paint coatings too. In a batch of manufactured paint usually three kinds of driers (surface drier, through drier and auxiliary drier) are used. An Indian paint manufacturing company identifies that determination of optimal quantities for different types of driers for addition in a batch of solvent-based paint production is a major quality problem for the organization. This paper describes how the management of the company resolved the quality problem by carrying out properly planned statistical studies. Using rotatable central composite design (RCCD), response surface methodology (RSM) and goal programming (GP) technique optimal quantities of the three types of driers for a batch are determined and implemented. The results show that the paint quality improved substantially.

Keywords: Rotatable central composite design, Response surface methodology, Multiple response optimization, Goal programming