ALTIRIS® infrared reflecting pigments for exterior polymers and coatings

Supporting a global challenge to reduce energy usage

The sun supports all life on earth yet in some cases it can have damaging effects. Sunlight can heat up the colorful surfaces of buildings, which can raise their internal temperature and place heavy loads on air-conditioning systems, increasing energy usage and related CO₂ emissions. Heat from the sun can also cause colorful exterior polymer systems to degrade and warp, which can reduce product lifetimes, increase waste, and increase cost for consumers. There is a global initiative¹ underway that challenges us to reduce the energy usage of buildings, and cool roofs can help achieve energy reduction targets.

Huntsman Pigments' latest innovation, ALTIRIS® infrared reflecting pigments, can give coatings and polymer products in any color the power to reflect solar energy. The ALTIRIS® brand was launched at the American Coatings Show 2012 in Indianapolis on May 8.

Heat reflection - energy efficiency

ALTIRIS® pigments have significant implications for energy efficiency and custom color branding in coatings and polymers. ALTIRIS® infrared reflecting pigments reflect solar energy so that structures coated using ALTIRIS® pigments can stay cooler for longer, helping to reduce energy consumption used for air conditioning and reducing associated greenhouse gases. Polymers made using ALTIRIS® pigments can also reflect solar energy, helping to make them less prone to warping. Weathering tests using ALTIRIS® pigments have already shown exceptional performance across a spectrum of color formulations in the most durable systems.

Unprecedented color range - more design freedom

ALTIRIS® pigments can create infrared reflecting coatings and polymers in an unprecedented range of dark and vibrant colors, which can increase the range of coatings and polymer products. As a result there can be more design freedom for architects and designers to specify a broader range of materials, in a greater range of colors. As part of the ALTIRIS® pigments offer, Huntsman uses its proprietary color matching technology to help companies achieve a brand color match in solar energy reflecting coatings.

Single additive - easy to formulate

Huntsman’s ALTIRIS® pigments can give infrared reflectance from a single additive making it easy to formulate. More importantly, Huntsman’s ALTIRIS® pigments can give coatings products high levels of infrared reflection, even in dark and vibrant colors.

ALTIRIS® pigments can dramatically increase solar reflection in exterior coatings by more than 100 percent in some color ranges², even in black. ALTIRIS® pigments also allow a number of darker shades to surpass the  Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Organisation (LEED) energy standard of 25% total solar reflection (TSR). The implications for coil and exterior coatings are clear—cooler colorful surfaces can lead to reduced energy consumption and CO2 emissions, as well as energy cost savings.

In addition to increasing solar reflectance and providing significantly greater color customization options, ALTIRIS® pigments can help products like automobile coatings and vinyl siding last longer, and can help make them available in a much greater range of colors.

ALTIRIS® infrared reflecting pigment for inks

Watermarks, holograms, intricate designs, fluorescent imagery – these are some of the ways printers and paper makers make bank notes, pin numbers for use with bank cards, passports, event tickets and scratch cards difficult to counterfeit.  However, new solutions are constantly needed to help keep one step ahead of the fraudsters.  

PIN numbers are generally distributed by post.  The numbers can be hidden by a scratchable, visually opaque overprinted panel, also used on lottery scratch cards.  However, in some instances the panels although visually opaque, are transparent in the infrared region of the spectrum and devices can be used to see through overprinted panels to the contents beneath.

Huntsman’s ALTIRIS® pigment is a strong near infrared reflector, which means when it is incorporated into the manufacture of overprinted panels for security protection, it reflects near infrared light, helping to prevent fraudsters using infrared detection apparatus to see the information beneath.  ALTIRIS® pigment can also be used at high loadings in thin ink films to give strong visible opacity.

Huntsman's ALTIRIS® pigments team can bring you excellent infrared reflectance. We also offer technical support and advice about how to integrate ALTIRIS® infrared reflecting pigments into your systems. By working together we can help expand your range of infrared reflecting colors. The ALTIRIS® pigments support team is with you all the way. Using expert knowledge, skill and our proprietary software we work with you to help achieve the color you require and the solar reflectance you need.

For more information contact Sean Reid, Business Development Manager

T: +44 (0)1740 608 215
M: +44 (0)7795 805 695
E: altiris@huntsman.com

1. Monitoring the energy use effects of cool roofs on California commercial buildings: Akbari, Levinson, Konopaki, Rainer: 2004
2. Our specialist research team prepares coatings containing ALTIRIS® pigment and control samples with the same RAL index. We then compare Total Solar Reflectance using a Cary 5000 spectrophotometer.