Specialty additives
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Discover Arkema's rheological additives solution by functionalities
Rheology modifiers: control viscosity and optimize application performance
Rheology modifiers are key additives that adjust the flow behavior and viscosity of liquid formulations. They ensure easy application, stability during storage, and perfect finish in coatings, adhesives, sealants, and other industrial systems. By fine-tuning rheology, these additives improve brushability, sprayability, and anti-sag properties.
Why use rheology modifiers?
- Enhanced application control: Prevent dripping, sagging, and surface defects.
- Improved storage stability: Maintain consistent viscosity over time.
- Versatile performance: Adaptable to waterborne, solvent-based, and high-solid systems.
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Dispersing agents: optimize pigment dispersion and stability
Dispersing agents are essential additives that improve the distribution of pigments, fillers, and other solid particles in liquid systems. They prevent agglomeration, enhance color development, and ensure long-term stability of formulations. By reducing particle-particle interactions, dispersants deliver superior performance in coatings, adhesives, inks, and industrial applications.
Why use dispersing agents?
- Improved color strength: Maximize pigment efficiency and brightness.
- Enhanced stability: Prevent sedimentation and flocculation over time.
- Better processability: Reduce grinding time and energy consumption.
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Surface modifiers: enhance coating performance and appearance
Surface modifiers are advanced additives designed to improve the surface properties of coatings, inks, and adhesives. They play a critical role in achieving optimal slip, scratch resistance, and matting effects, while enhancing the overall durability and aesthetics of the finished product.
Why use surface modifiers?
- Improved slip and scratch resistance: Protect surfaces from abrasion and wear.
- Enhanced appearance: Achieve desired gloss or matte finish.
- Better processability: Reduce surface defects and improve leveling.
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Superplasticizers: high-performance water reducers for concrete and mortar
Superplasticizers are advanced chemical admixtures designed to significantly reduce water content in concrete while maintaining excellent workability. By improving fluidity without compromising strength, superplasticizers enable high-performance concrete with superior durability and finish. They are essential for modern construction projects requiring high strength, low permeability, and long-lasting performance.
Why use superplasticizers?
- Enhanced workability: Achieve fluid concrete with reduced water.
- Higher strength: Maintain or improve compressive strength at lower water-cement ratios.
- Versatile applications: Ideal for precast, self-compacting concrete, and high-performance structures.
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Flow & leveling additives: achieve perfect surface finish in coatings
Flow and leveling additives are essential components in modern coating formulations. They help eliminate surface defects such as craters, pinholes, and brush marks, ensuring a smooth, uniform finish. These additives improve wetting, film formation, and surface appearance, making them indispensable for high-performance paints, inks, and industrial coatings.
Why use flow & leveling additives?
- Enhanced surface quality: Prevent imperfections and improve gloss.
- Better application properties: Optimize spreading and film uniformity.
- Versatile compatibility: Suitable for waterborne, solvent-based, and high-solid systems.
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Scale inhibitors: prevent mineral deposits and optimize industrial performance
Scale inhibitors are specialized chemical additives designed to prevent the formation of mineral scale—such as calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, and barium sulfate—in industrial systems. Scale buildup can lead to equipment damage, reduced efficiency, and costly downtime. By using scale inhibitors, industries ensure smooth operations, extended equipment life, and consistent product quality.
Why use scale inhibitors?
- Protect equipment: Avoid corrosion and blockages caused by mineral deposits.
- Reduce maintenance costs: Minimize cleaning and replacement expenses.
- Improve process efficiency: Maintain optimal heat transfer and fluid flow.
Defoamers: the ultimate anti-foam solution for industrial processes
Defoamers, also known as anti-foam agents, are essential additives designed to control and eliminate foam formation in industrial applications. Excessive foam can disrupt production, reduce equipment efficiency, and compromise product quality. Defoamers work by breaking air bubbles and stabilizing liquid systems, ensuring smooth and reliable operations.
Why use defoamers?
- Boost productivity: Minimize downtime caused by foam-related issues.
- Consistent quality: Maintain the physical and chemical properties of your formulations.
- Versatile applications: Suitable for concrete, cement, plasterboard, and building & construction systems.
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Rheological additives enabling coating performance and quality
Structure control from formulation to final surface
In advanced coatings formulation, the focus is shifting toward multifunctional rheological additives that improve performance throughout the coating lifecycle.By interacting at the particle level and contributing to internal structure, these additives help increase formulation robustness, improve surface wetting, and deliver excellent appearance and mechanical properties.
This results in improved finish quality, enhanced resistance, and consistent behavior across different systems and end-use conditions.
Sustainability and rheological additives in paints and coatings
From a formulation perspective, rheological additives play a key enabling role in sustainability-driven coatings, allowing formulators to meet environmental and safety constraints while preserving application behavior and coating performance.
- Within this framework, Arkema continues to advance rheological additive technologies with a strong focus on safer formulations and improved environmental profiles. This includes the development of additives with optimized toxicological characteristics, reduced classification constraints and improved handling, supporting safer use for formulators and applicators in waterborne and low-VOC systems.
- Arkema is also actively exploring alternative feedstocks and polymer architectures to progressively reduce reliance on fossil-based raw materials while maintaining rheological efficiency and formulation robustness. These developments aim to improve the overall sustainability profile of additives without compromising key functions such as viscosity control, stability or application consistency.
- Finally, Arkema’s rheological additives support material efficiency and durability. By enabling controlled flow, stable wet film formation and consistent application, they help reduce defects, limit rework and support longer coating service life. This indirect but measurable contribution reinforces sustainability objectives by reducing paint consumption and extending maintenance intervals, while meeting the performance expectations of modern coatings.
RHEOTECH™ 4000 LC is a low carbon footprint HASE thickener for water-based paints and coatings, combining excellent efficiency, strong pigment compatibility and easy formulation. It enables reliable rheology control and consistent application performance while supporting sustainability-driven formulation strategies.
CRAYVALLAC® OPTIMA is an advanced rheological additive for high-solids coatings, formulated for low activation temperature, excellent intercoat adhesion, and good sag resistance. Its wide activation temperature window delivers flexible, reliable rheology control and robust performance across demanding industrial and architectural coating applications.
COAPUR™ XS 83 is a HEUR thickener specifically designed for waterborne applications, offering high efficiency at low dosage and a well-balanced compromise between sag resistance and leveling. It delivers reliable rheology control with no detrimental effect on physical properties, while also supporting water and corrosion resistance in demanding coating formulations.
Download additives dedicated brochures
More technical information...
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SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS TO REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT
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RHEOLOGY SOLUTIONS FOR ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY INDUSTRIAL PAINTS
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CRAYVALLAC® RHEOLOGY MODIFIERS FOR DTM COATINGS
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COAPUR™ XS 83: GO BEYOND THE LIMITS WITH PSEUDOPLASTIC HEUR THICKENER
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RHEOLOGY MODIFIERS FOR METALLIC PIGMENTS
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CRAYVALLAC® OPTIMA: RHEOLOGICAL ADDITIVE FOR PCM
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COAPUR™ XS 83: HEUR THICKENER FOR WB ACRYLIC PRIMERS
Innovation, expertise and market-driven solutions
Partnering to address evolving coating requirements
Driven by continuous technology developments, Arkema’s solutions address evolving market needs. Leveraging expertise in polyurethane, modified polymer architectures and applied rheological science, Arkema provides technical support to help customers design coatings that balance application efficiency, durability and sustainability—delivering measurable benefits in productivity, performance and long-term value creation.
Often asked to our rheological additives experts
The primary role of rheological additives is to control viscosity, flow and structure throughout the lifecycle of a coating or paint, from formulation and storage to application and film formation.
Arkema’s rheological additives are designed to help formulators prevent defects such as sagging, settling or poor leveling, while ensuring consistent application behavior and stable final properties. By enabling precise rheology control, Arkema’s solutions contribute directly to reliable performance, appearance and durability in modern coating formulations.
Selecting the right rheological additive depends on several key parameters, including formulation type (waterborne, high solids or solventborne), application method (spray, roller, brush), and the targeted rheological profile.
Arkema supports this selection process through a broad portfolio of rheology solutions and deep formulation expertise, helping customers evaluate interactions with binders, pigments and other additives. Laboratory screening and application testing, often carried out with Arkema’s technical teams, ensure optimal performance under real-use conditions.
Yes, combining different rheological additives is a common and effective formulation strategy.
Arkema’s complementary rheology technologies are designed to be used individually or in combination, allowing formulators to address specific functions such as low-shear structure build, flow control during application or stability during storage. When properly balanced, these combinations enable fine-tuning of rheological behavior across different shear regimes without compromising formulation stability or performance.
In waterborne systems, rheological additives must provide effective viscosity control while remaining compatible with aqueous chemistries and sensitive formulation components.
Arkema’s waterborne rheological additives are developed to deliver stable rheological performance across variations in pH, temperature and shear, while supporting low-VOC formulations and consistent film formation. These solutions also play a key role in helping formulators meet sustainability targets by improving application efficiency and reducing reliance on solvents.