In 2020, water-based synthetic leather is gradually replacing the previous heavy polluted synthetic leather with excellent environmental protection. In today's society, the concept of green environmental protection has already been known to everyone. Any production process and technology development should be based on low-carbon and eco-friendly conditions. The synthetic leather industry is also responding to this green directive. Through long-term scientific, technological research and continuous testing, the water-based ecological synthetic leather was finally developed.
Now synthetic leather appears in every place of people's lives with a very high rate. Strong commercial demand continues to promote the development of the synthetic leather industry. It can be said that the historical evolution of synthetic leather is very clear. From the earliest PVC to the now popular microfiber synthetic leather, the skill upgrades have witnessed the prosperity of the synthetic leather industry scene. Focusing on the present, a new kind of water-based leather is surprisingly available.
This kind of synthetic leather fundamentally has solved the problem of heavy metals and DMF contained in synthetic leather in the past. With water as the medium, zero pollution is fully realized.
Nowadays, most synthetic leather companies use solvent-based slurries. These slurries are not environmentally friendly and the production process is not green. Therefore, in a strict sense, few companies in China can produce environmentally friendly eco-synthetics that meet EU regulation leather. The EU is Chinese main export base for synthetic leather. In accordance with the changes in EU environmental protection regulations, the National Development and Reform Commission has adjusted its new industrial structure guidelines. "Development, production and post-processing technology of artificial leather and synthetic leather" are listed as encouraged projects.
The concept of water-based ecological synthetic leather includes the following four aspects:
1. Not to pollute the environment in the production process,
2. It is harmless in the process of processing it into leather products;
3. It is harmless to the human body during use and do not pollute the environment;
4. It is biodegradable, and the degraded products will not cause new pollution to the environment.
In accordance with the requirements of the European Union, the country has drafted regulations for ecological synthetic leather. The development of water-based ecological synthetic leather must meet the content of low carbon, low energy consumption, zero or less emissions, and recycling.
When it comes to water-based synthetic leather, we have to talk about water-based polyurethane resin. The water-based polyurethane resin has gradually replaced solvent-based, becoming the main direction of the polyurethane industry. Waterborne polyurethane can be widely used in coatings, adhesives, fabric coatings and finishing agents, leather finishing agents, paper surface treatment agents and fiber surface treatment agents.
Waterborne polyurethane has many advantages, so it is widely used in: coatings, inks, adhesives, leather finishing agents, artificial leather, glove lubricants, etc. Take leather finishing agent as an example: finishing is a major link in the leather production process. It can add the beauty and performance of leather, improve the grade, add variety of patterns and expand the scale of application. In the meantime, the polyurethane coating agent has good film-forming performance, strong hiding power, strong bonding, and excellent physical properties of the coating, which can greatly improve the grade of the finished leather. For this reason, it has received high attention and extensive attention.
In the future, water-based leather will surely occupy a leading position in the market, and become the new favorite of the synthetic leather industry and mid- and downstream companies with many advantages such as pollution-free, low-carbon and environmental protection.