Fundamentals of Sustainable Design

Spring 2022



Course Description: "In this foundational course students are introduced to hands-on and holistic approaches to sustainability. This course covers current sustainability frameworks, principles, and materials assessments, as well as the history and logic behind them, providing students with useful research tools to apply to the ever-changing demands of sustainable design, business, development, and policy-making."

Project Objective:  This project reviews the life stages of acrylic paint.  





History of Acrylic Paint
Watercolors were painted on papyrus and used in Egyptian art forms. In Asia, traditional Chinese painting with watercolors developed around 4,000 B.C., primarily as a decorative medium, and by the 1st century A.D., the art of painting religious murals had taken hold. The oldest known oil paintings were created by Buddhist artists in Afghanistan and date back to the 7th century AD.  oil and watercolor, both of which have been around for centuries, acrylics have only been in popular use since the mid-20th century. Unlike oil and watercolor paints, acrylic paints have had a short history.Acrylic compounds were invented in the mid 19th century, but it was German chemist Otto Karl Julius Röhm who actually brought the practical potential of these materials to light. In 1901, Röhm published his dissertation on the polymerization products of acrylic acid.

In 1915, Röhm secured a German patent for polyacrylic ester as a paint binder for use in drying oils in industrial paints and lacquers. Rohm founded and was the president of the Rohm und Haas chemical company which is now a subsidiary of the Dow Chemical Company. In these early years, acrylic resins were primarily intended for industrial use but early experimentation with acrylic paint in artistic contexts began in the first half of the 20th century. In the 1920s and 1930s, Mexican muralists began experimenting with these synthetic mediums. As early as 1936, the Mexican social realist muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros founded and held a workshop in New York City to experiment with the latest synthetics and methods of application, many of which were used in his Echo of a Scream. One notable attendee of this workshop was Jackson Pollock, who went on to use synthetic gloss enamel paints for his famous dripping and pouring techniques.

In the late 1940’s, Leonard Bocour and Sam Golden started a Magna paint, a New York City based acrylic resin paint company. Magna paints were actually mineral spirit-based acrylic paints rather than water-based. Many well known artists of the time experimented with this new painting medium, including Mark Rothko, Kenneth Noland, Barrett Newman, and Roy Lichtenstien.

In the 1950s, Röhm and his business partner Otto Haas introduced the first acrylic emulsion specifically designed for paint, which has become the cornerstone for all contemporary artists’ acrylic emulsions. By 1955, the first commercially available water based acrylic paints were placed on the market.

Acrylics burst onto the artistic scene at a time when artists were beginning to explore movements and forms such as pop culture, photorealism, abstract expressionism, and pop art. Acrylics provided an ideal medium for these art forms, which sought hard-edged flat images and distinct use of line. Here are some other examples of how acrylic paints differ from oil and watercolor paints:

  • Acrylic paints dry quickly (10-12 minutes for thin applications, longer for thick applications), oil paint take a minimum of 24 hours to dry.
  • Acrylic paints can be cleaned with water when wet, unlike oil paint that requires solvents
  • Acrylic paints are permanent when dry, unlike watercolor paints that can become liquid again if wetted
  • They come in a range of consistencies and formats to suit the artist’s needs
  • Acrylic paints stick to almost any surface
  • They work across styles and techniques - from experimental applications to traditional painting styles
  • They are low odor, with no fumes and are non-flammable

In essence, the arrival of acrylic paint opened up a whole new wave of creativity and possibility in the modern art world that to this day is still a strong influence in artistic forms and trends.

Although late to arrive, acrylic paint has had a marked influence in the development of 20th century art movements and forms. The versatility it offers the artist unlocks limitless creative vistas that are still being explored today.


WHAT IS ACRYLIC MADE OF?

Acrylic is a transparent thermoplastic known as polyacrylate and is derived from natural-gas. It is a composition of Methyl Methacrylate (MMA) and Poly Methyl Methacrylate (PMMA) resin. In short, it’s a petroleum-based product, so petroleum solvents and chemicals should always be avoided to prevent marking the surface.


HOW IS ACRYLIC PROCESSED?

Acrylic plastic refers to a family of synthetic, or man-made, plastic materials containing one or more derivatives of acrylic acid. The most common acrylic plastic is polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), which is sold under the brand names of Plexiglas, Lucite, Perspex, and Crystallite. PMMA is a tough, highly transparent material with excellent resistance to ultraviolet radiation and weathering. It can be colored, molded, cut, drilled, and formed.

Like all plastics, acrylic plastics are polymers. The word polymer comes from the Greek words poly, meaning many, and meros, meaning a part. A polymer, therefore, is a material made up of many molecules, or parts, linked together like a chain. Polymers may have hundreds, or even thousands, of molecules linked together. More importantly, a polymer is a material that has properties entirely different than its component parts.

Acrylic plastics manufacturing involves highly toxic substances which require careful storage, handling, and disposal. The polymerization process can result in an explosion if not monitored properly. It also produces toxic fumes. Recent legislation requires that the polymerization process be carried out in a closed environment and that the fumes be cleaned, captured, or otherwise neutralized before discharge to the atmosphere.

INGREDIENTS OF ACRYLIC PAINT

Water-based acrylic paint is composed of pigment particles dispersed in an acrylic polymer emulsion. There are three main components in any acrylic paint - pigment, binder and vehicle:

  • Pigment - pigments are granular solids which give paint its color. They are milled to a tiny particle size and do not dissolve, but remain suspended in the paint. Pigments can be organic, inorganic, natural and synthetic. They have little or no affinity for the surface to which they are applied.

  • Binder - a binder is the substance that keeps pigment in place after the paint dries. Acrylic paint has acrylic polymer as its binder and this forms a film after the water has evaporated.

  • Vehicle - this refers to the part of the paint that carries the pigment and binder. Water is the vehicle for water-based acrylic and when combined with the binder, it creates a polymer emulsion. Once the water leaves the system via evaporation or absorption, the paint dries, creating a stable clear polymer film full of trapped colored pigment particles.


HOW DOES ACRYLIC PAINT WORK?

Acrylic colors dry as a result of water evaporation. Here’s what occurs as pigment, water and acrylic are transformed into a long-lasting paint film:

Stage 1 - Squeezed from the tube, or scooped from the jar, acrylic paint is a finely balanced dispersion of pigment in an emulsion of acrylic polymer and water. The water serves to keep the emulsion liquid and acts as a kind of chemical ‘chaperone’, preventing the acrylic polymer particles from getting close and personal and locking together before you're ready

Stage 2 - When exposed to the atmosphere, water in the emulsion evaporates, or is absorbed into the painting support. That’s when the acrylic polymer particles come into direct contact and fuse with each other

Stage 3 - The clear polymer particles organize themselves into a stable, hexagonal  structure, trapping the pigment in place. The result? A paint film which is extremely stable, water-resistant, permanent and vibrant.



ACRYLIC PAINT’S END OF LIFE


Acrylic plastic is not easily recycled. It is considered a group 7 plastic among recycled plastics and is not collected for recycling in most communities. Large pieces can be reformed into other useful objects if they have not suffered too much stress, crazing, or cracking, but this accounts for only a very small portion of the acrylic plastic waste. In a landfill, acrylic plastics, like many other plastics, are not readily biodegradable. Some acrylic plastics are highly flammable and must be protected from sources of combustion.

The same is true of acrylic paint. 

No matter how carefully a painter measures before starting a paint job, it’s inevitable they will end up with some paint left over. According to PaintCare.org, 10% of purchased paint—or about 70 million gallons—goes unused in the U.S. every year.

Before a painter disposes of the paint, they need to check to see if it’s still good. If they are done with the paint can and it’s still fresh, it is recommended to donate it donate it to a neighbor or your local chapter of Habitat for Humanity. 

To dispose of the paint, place the paint can outside or in a well-ventilated area to allow the paint to harden. This process can take a couple of days to a few weeks, depending on the temperature and humidity. After the paint solidifies, remove what should be a hard disk and put it in the trash. Recycle paint can. Try to recycle the paint tube or pail, but most of the time the paint tubes and pails are also made of acrylic plastic that is in group 7 and not recycled in most communities. 

Some states have recently passed laws to decrease the paint left over from homeowner projects, promote the use of leftover paint, and manage proper disposal in an environmentally sound way at no charge Paint Care currently has 786 paint drop-off sites in nine states. Search for the site closest to you. Click below to find a location: