The Development Status of Epoxy Flooring in China

Epoxy flooring is widely favored by the market for its excellent properties such as wear resistance, pressure resistance, seamless surface, waterproofing, static dissipation and explosion-proof performance. Since its early application in flooring construction, its technology has gradually matured, and more new types have emerged, including color sand type and explosion-proof type, driven by market demand and customized application requirements. How much do you know about the development of epoxy floor coatings?

Domestic floor coatings are dominated by epoxy products, among which solvent-based epoxy accounts for about 70% to 80%. As one of the earliest resin materials applied to flooring, it boasts the most mature technology and the largest consumption volume. It is mainly divided into two categories: acrylic and polyurethane.

Acrylic floor coatings are unsaturated systems polymerized from methacrylic monomers, forming a cross-linked network structure through free radical cross-linking with peroxide curing systems. This type of material features outstanding weather resistance and is suitable for outdoor environments. Its fast cross-linking reaction greatly shortens the construction cycle, and it can cure well even at sub-zero temperatures, enabling construction in cold climate conditions.

Acrylic floor coatings deliver good light resistance, outdoor aging resistance, UV resistance, chemical resistance and water resistance. Their superior weather resistance allows them to be used on ground surfaces and outdoor sites where traditional epoxy and polyurethane systems cannot be applied. Environmentally friendly, hygienic and free of small-molecule decomposition after curing, they meet the standards of the food and sanitary industry. In particular, their curing performance is insensitive to temperature changes; construction can be carried out at temperatures as low as -30℃, and the surface can be put into service within 1 to 2 hours after curing at normal temperature.

Polyurethane floor coatings consist of Component A (polyether resin, polyester resin, acrylic resin or epoxy resin) and Component B (isocyanate), mainly including elastic floor coatings and anti-slip floor coatings.

Polyurethane (PU) is a new type of organic polymer material, known as the "fifth largest plastic". Industrial production of polyurethane coatings began as early as the 1960s. Well-known foreign polyurethane enterprises include Bayer, Huntsman, Dow Chemical, GE, Covestro, Degussa and KETCH. Through mergers, acquisitions and equity holdings, these corporations have established large multinational polyurethane monopolies and firmly controlled the global raw material market.

Compared with overseas development, China’s polyurethane flooring market started relatively late and was first introduced in 1996. For years, domestic polyurethane flooring products relied entirely on imports, resulting in high market prices. By the end of 2008, Wanhua’s production capacity was expected to expand to 500,000 tons, while Shanghai Bayer launched a designed capacity of 350,000 tons and officially put it into operation in 2009.

At present, the manufacturing industry in developed Western countries is highly mature, with fewer new factory projects being built each year. Consequently, more foreign enterprises have shifted their focus to China. In China’s coastal economic development zones, foreign-funded enterprises, accounting for only 5% of the country’s total factory quantity, consume 80% of polyurethane flooring materials. Among these consumption volumes, 85% is applied to extreme production areas such as food factories, beverage factories, chemical plant warehouses and storage zones, where polyurethane flooring demonstrates irreplaceable advantages over other technologies.

Ordinary wear-resistant flooring and epoxy flooring can no longer meet the requirements of extreme production environments, such as areas with extremely heavy loads, ultra-high or ultra-low temperatures, high water exposure and strong chemical corrosion. To solve these problems, internationally renowned brands have developed Water-based 307 Polyurethane Mortar Flooring, synthesized from water-based polyurethane and high-strength inorganic aggregates.