Noida, India, 18.01.2021: The Chemicals Business of UFlex Limitedtoday announced securing of a patent (Patent No 354903) on ‘A process for the preparation ofEpoxyEster Resin’ in accordance with the provisions of the Patents Act, 1970.This is the first patent for Chemicals business ever in India and it will be considering applying for a global patent in due course of time.UFlex’ Chemicals Business is a leading manufacturer of Inks, Coatings and Adhesives for flexible packaging, cartons, labels, and paperboard.

UFlex’ new patent will ensure technical advancement in providing a process for resin preparation wherein no wastewater treatment is requiredwhich is a significant move in the direction of sustainability. Furthermore, EpoxyEsterResin prepared by this process will be used in radiationcuring or energy curing and therefore curing will be faster, unlike the typical EpoxyEster resin which is thermally cured and takes a longer time besides being uneconomical.With enhanced stability of coating and its chemical resistance attributes atotal of 16 claims have been taken under this patent.

On securing this patent, Rajesh Bhasin, Joint President, Chemicals Division, UFlexLimited said, “We are extremely delighted with the continued strengthening of our R&D prowess. The issuance of this patent is another step in the development of a robust portfolio for our business. This is part of our initiative to backward integrate, using our inherent strengths. Such initiatives help us to have greater control on product quality and supply security. This unique achievement is all because of the progressive approach, years of hard work and commitment.”

EpoxyEster resins are known for their use in coatings, paints and adhesives. Before this patent was registered, conventionally EpoxyEster resin is produced in a two-stage process. The first stage is condensationwhich generatesa lot of salt that is removed through several water washings, resulting in high effluent generation. Typically, wastewater contains 50,000-95,000 ppm TDS and 50,000-60,000 ppm COD, which, therefore, requires large capital investment for wastewater treatment plants adding to the capital expenditureand operating expense of the process of Epoxy resin preparation. In the second stage of a conventional process, Epoxy resin is converted into EpoxyEsterresin with theesterification processwhich results in the formation of undesirable EpoxyEsterresin,which has a dark colour and odour.

However, UFlex’ newly inventedand patented approach arrests the challenges posed in a conventional method as the Epoxy ester produced has no waste water generation, no odour and neither adark colour which is good for fast curing coatings with efficient cost effective processing.

Epoxy Resins are gaining supremacy over the conventional use of Vinyl Esters and polyesters in the Flexible Packaging industry as well as in Offset printing areas. Epoxy Resins deliver performance attribute in five key areas.