Abstract
Acrylic paints are fast drying water based paints that are easy to handle and have a high covering capacity and therefore possess many characteristics that make them applicable in a wide range of applications, such as varnishes or artists paints. Due to their emitted volatile organic compounds, these paints are associated with different work-related diseases and are known to emit an unpleasant odor. In this study six acrylic paints for artists were analyzed regarding their odor-active constituents. Therefore, the samples were extracted with dichloromethane and purified via solvent assisted flavor evaporation prior to analysis of the distillates by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O), and GC-GC-MS/O. Additionally all samples were sensorially characterized by a trained sensory panel. The identified odorous substances were primarily benzene derivatives (styrene, ethylbenzene, allylbenzene, propylbenzene) with a plastic-like, aromatic and solvent-like odor. Thereby, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (naphthalene, indane, and tetralin derivatives) contributed to the plastic- and mothball-like odor whereas acrylic monomers (butyl acrylate) were found to be responsible for a mushroom-like and geranium leaf-like odor. As most of these substances are also known to be harmful, a reduction or replacement of these substances by less toxic and non-odor active ingredients is likely to turn out to be advisable in order to reduce the odor and potential negative physiological effects of paints.
Highlights
The historical development of acrylic paint dates back to the early Nineteenth century, when the first acrylic resin dispersion was developed by BASF
During the first step of the sensory evaluation, the panelists agreed on eight odor qualities that were mentioned by at least 50% of the panelists
Acrylic paint (AP) samples obtained from different manufacturers revealed different dominant odor qualities and showed a great variety with regard to their overall odor intensity, the hedonic rating and the assessment of possible health hazards
Summary
The historical development of acrylic paint dates back to the early Nineteenth century, when the first acrylic resin dispersion was developed by BASF. The composition of acrylic paints changed in various ways to improve the quality as well as safety of the products, and to reduce their toxicity. The introduction of waterborne acrylic paints brought progress in reducing harmful solvents and the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). As nowadays water is mostly used as solvent for acrylic paints (cf Table 1) and the paints usually contain only small amounts of organic solvents, they are commonly recognized as safe by the customer, even though an exposure to VOCs cannot be fully excluded.
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