DBE, a high-boiling solvent mixture of dibasic acid esters (referred to as DBE by DuPont), is a mixture of dibasic acid esters, also known as divalent acid esters or dicarboxylic acid esters. It is an environmentally friendly high-boiling solvent (universal solvent for coatings) with low toxicity, low odor, and biodegradability, widely used in the paint, coating, ink industries, and other fields.
Chinese Name: Divalent Acid Ester
Appearance: Colorless transparent liquid with a slightly bitter and clean fragrance
Characteristics: Low toxicity, low odor, low water content
Main Use: Special volatility in baking paint industry
Chemical Properties:
DBE products are very stable under normal temperature and humidity conditions. They exhibit typical ester functional group characteristics, including saponification and hydrolysis reactions. Ester exchange reactions are mainly used to convert ester products into useful plasticizers and other polyester products.
With increasing emphasis on environmental protection and safety health, more laws and regulations prohibit or recommend against the use of harmful solvents, such as chlorinated solvents (e.g., trichloroethane, chloromethane), glycol ethers, and ethanol ether acetate solvents. DBE products serve as alternatives to these solvents and can fully meet the growing demand for VOC compliance.
Technical Indicators:
Ester Content: >99%
Acid Value: <0.3 mgKOH/g
(Methanol + Moisture): ≤0.3%
Boiling Range: 196–225°C
Physical Properties:
Appearance: Colorless transparent liquid with a slightly bitter and clean fragrance
Color (Pt-Co): <100
Main Applications:
1. Coil Coatings: Helps maintain a balanced evaporation rate, avoiding film blisters due to overly rapid evaporation and defects from over-baking. Provides a smooth film appearance, improves toughness and post-processing performance, and enhances pigment hiding power.
2. Baking Paint Industry: Exhibits special volatility; as temperature rises, its evaporation rate increases faster than other solvents—slower in the initial stage and faster in the later stage, which is more conducive to drying.
3. Container/Can Coatings: Effectively replaces isophorone, glycol ethers, and glycol acetate solvents in can and container coatings. High solvency and low evaporation rate ensure good leveling, improving coating flexibility, adhesion, and other key properties.
4. Automotive Coatings: Suitable for various automotive coatings and different resin systems. Used in primers and topcoats to achieve ideal gloss, enhance film fullness. Adding a small amount improves wetting, leveling, and reflow properties.
5. Enamel Wire Coatings: An excellent solvent for polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl formal, polyurethane, polyester, and polyesteramide coating formulations. In polyester and polyesteramide systems, it can completely replace cresol, enabling high-solid, low-viscosity resins. Its non-corrosive nature significantly reduces storage difficulties for users.
6. Wood Coatings: Long distillation range and wide buffer interval offer greater flexibility and selectivity in solvent formulations and application conditions. Helps adjust evaporation rate, improve leveling, and prevent surface defects like blushing and pinholes.
7. Ink Industry: Replaces highly toxic and strong-smelling high-boiling solvents like isophorone in inks.
8. Resin Industry: Low viscosity allows reducing resin viscosity without lowering molecular weight or solid content, or increasing solid content while maintaining the same viscosity. This enables production of high-solid, low-viscosity resins.
9. Polymer and Chemical Intermediates: Used as organic synthesis intermediates. Polyreactions can produce a wide variety of polyesters and other polymers, and it serves as a raw material for pharmaceuticals, pesticides, initiators, and other chemical products.
10. Cleaners, Paint Strippers, Industrial Cleaning: Achieves excellent results in cleaners, paint strippers, and industrial cleaning applications.