We are now surrounded with infective dangers and the need for antimicrobial, hygienic coatings gain a lot of significance today as epidemics breakout at every decade, disrupting our normal lives. With the rise in shared spaces-acquired infections, Cipy, the pioneers and market leaders of industrial floorings since 1976, offer anti-microbial floorings and wallings to safeguard the people against fatal infections that lead to increased patient morbidity and mortality. The floors and walls of a hospital, pharma, F&B or healthcare facility contribute to a large hosting surface area for pathogens which can remain active from days to months. The surface sanitization is a temporary treatment and the residual microbes continue to multiply, while Cipy antimicrobial floorings and wallings destroy bacteria and harmful viruses and do not allow them to replicate. Fortified by a unique combination of organic and inorganic antimicrobial agents, these floors and walls confer antiviral and antibacterial effects to protect against contamination and transmission of bacteria and enveloped and non-enveloped viruses.
The antimicrobial agents in Cipy antimicrobial coatings
The active ingredients in Cipy’s antimicrobial floorings and wallings are Nano Silver and organic AMA. Antimicrobial property of silver and its ions have been recognised for over 5000 years. Nano Silver, in its ionic form, gives antibacterial and antiviral properties selectively, while offering very low toxicity risk to humans. The proprietary combination of Nano Silver and organic AMA in Cipy antimicrobial coatings imparts outstanding protection against viruses, bacteria and microbes.
Recommended industries
While healthcare and F&B facilities stress strictly on anti-microbial protection, antimicrobial coatings can be useful in any facility where improved sanitation and hygiene will be an added advantage. Many industries value antimicrobial floorings and wallings as a part of infection control programs and stringent efforts to control harmful bacteria within their environments.
- Hospitals & Healthcare: hospital rooms, operation theatres, corridors and more
- Pharma & biotech: Clean rooms, sterile areas, process rooms, vivarium and more
- F&B: Breweries, food processing facilities, diaries and more
- Hospitality: Commercial kitchens
Hybrid systems are combinations of two different types of polymers in the form of a cold mix or pre-condensate. These combinations unite certain properties of both components which could not be, otherwise, obtained in a single polymer alone. For eg, in a hybrid system of epoxy-polysulphide, where epoxy resins have many excellent properties including good adhesion to most surfaces, toughness and chemical resistance to many dilute acids, alkalis and solvents, while polysulphide has excellent flexibility and impact strength. The incorporation of a polysulphide component into an epoxy resin leads to the improvement of certain properties without adversely affecting the existing performance capabilities of the epoxy system. The benefits from such modifications include viscosity reduction, enhancement of adhesion, introduction of flexibility, improved impact strength, thermal shock resistance, improved corrosion resistance, and enhanced chemical resistance.
Cipy was the first to introduce hybrid chemistry in floorcoatings, by developing the first EPU, by infusing urethane groups into epoxy polymer matrices where the functional properties of epoxy (adhesion, toughness and gloss) are combined with those of PU (abrasion resistance, flexibility and impact resistance). Engineered for excellence in floor protection as well as decoration, EPU Flooring systems, with the scientifically superior hybrid technology, deliver a tough performance in the most aggressively abused areas. EPU flooring systems are more flexible, more impact and wear resistant than their Cipoxy counterparts. They are characterised by excellent flow, self-smoothing feature, resilience, good abrasion resistance and find applications in auto, light & heavy engg, pharma and healthcare facilities.
Cipy had indigenously developed PU-Concrete flooring, Duracrete, which employs a hybrid chemistry of combining cement and polyurethane, resulting into dual reactions: NCO & OH groups form PU, while cement and water (cement hydration) form concrete (C-S-H).
Duracrete floorings, because of the hybrid chemistry of PU and cement, exhibit similar modulas of elasticity as that of concrete, the feature of which makes them an integral part of the concrete substrate.
Recommended areas
- Manufacturing facilities
- Food & beverage facilities
- Fish & Meat processing
- Dairies
- Bakeries
There are always two types of moisture problems to encounter while laying a polymeric flooring: Residual moisture and the rising moisture.
Concrete is a mixture of cement, aggregates and water, which when mixed together at a typical w/c ratio, cement hydration takes place forming C-S-H bonds. For ease of working, excess water is always added to the cement mixture and once the concrete slab is poured and cured, it needs 28 days curing for the excess moisture within it to evaporate. During the drying process, the concrete batch water, cement, aggregate, and other admixtures create tiny pathways called capillaries. During the slow curing, the excess water in the slab moves through these capillaries. However, it does reach a point of equilibrium once the concrete is cured for 28 days and the moisture retained within the concrete at this point of equilibrium is called residual moisture. The residual moisture should be below 5% for any resinous flooring to be laid. If the flooring is applied at higher residual moisture above 5%, the moisture will travel through the porosities of the concrete and disrupt the flooring, causing blisters. For floors having residual moisture of over 5%, we recommend an ECC underlay, Cipocem 3k before any resinous flooring is laid. Cipocem 3K is a three component underlay which consists of a modified epoxy resin, a specially formulated waterborne amine and a powder pack containing cement, graded aggregates and plasticisers, thereby forming a dual reaction: Epoxy is cured by amine, while the excess water in the concrete floor hydrates with cement.
The more severe moisture related issue is the rising moisture, which creates mayhem with industrial floorings, leading to osmotic blisters. This happens when there is no damp proof membrane (DPM) between PCC and RCC or when the concrete is cast at a place where the water table is very high. Moisture from the ground makes its way into concrete floor, traverses through the capillaries. These moisture vapour transmission (MVT) forces exceed the adhesive strength of the flooring, creating blisters, delamination and ruptures. To mitigate MVT related problems, Cipy recommends a breathable flooring based on waterborne epoxy cured with a waterborne cycloaliphatic amine. Cipoxy AQ SF breathes through the concrete substrates, resulting in outstanding performance parameters such as no outgassing, no osmotic blisters, no delamination, and no amine blushing.
Recommended areas
- Areas where residual moisture above 5%
- Areas prone to hydrostatic pressure
The whole focus of the floor coating industry today is to provide customers and contractors a dependable flooring system that can be installed with consistency and speed. Today, the facility owners do not have enough time to allot to the flooring contractors because of the apprehensions of the uncertainty in return to service, which then end up in production losses and so are wary of the contemporary floorings that take a minimum 3 days to return the coated floors back into service. Whether the intent is to lay a new flooring or renovate an existing one, while selecting and specifying the most appropriate type of flooring, the customers, consultants and contractors look forward not just on functionality, conformity and appearance, but also on the time required for installation. They are all looking towards an effective flooring solution which has the least time consumption and minimum disruption and so there is a growing demand for rapid turnaround floorings.
Our range of rapid cure floorings includes MMA and Polyaspartic floorings, out of which the quickest is MMA floorings.
A typical MMA flooring system which consists of primer, screed and topcoat cures rapidly @ 30-40 minutes per individual layer and the whole three coat system can be installed in 1.5 -2 hours and returned to service within 4-5 hours. QuickFloor MMA provides an extremely strong, long-lasting flooring that is impermeable, hygienic, anti-skid, non-yellowing and easy to repair.
The newest offering in the Indian flooring industry, Spartikote floorings incorporate a unique Polyaspartic technology based on a novel chemistry of aliphatic polyurea. Remarkable abrasion resistance, excellent gloss, self-levelling nature, enhanced adhesion to concrete, rapid setting and resistance to a variety of chemicals make Spartikote floorings the supreme choice for those whom time is the foremost factor. Unlike conventional slow setting epoxies, Spartikote floorings can be installed in just few hours, with the next day return to service. It can be applied on interior as well as exterior areas because of its excellent UV resistance.
Recommended areas
These quick setting floorings are ideal for any facility that run uninterruptedly, where any downtime is directly correlated with a loss in productivity and revenue. They are model flooring solutions for a range of industries such as F&B, hotels, hospitals, flight kitchens, shopping malls, retail locations, health clinics, and much more.
- Shopping malls
- Retail facilities
- Flight kitchens
- Hotels & restaurants
- F&B facilities
Slips and falls are the most common cause of injuries at workplaces and most of these accidents happen when floorings become slippery while in contact with water, oil, grease, detergents or liquid chemicals. Anti-skid property of a flooring is determined by Pendulam CoF test, conforming to British Standard, BS 7976: Parts1-3, 2002. This method is based on a swinging, imitation heel (using a standardised rubber soling sample), which sweeps over a set area of flooring in a controlled manner. The slipperiness of the flooring has measurable values, known as the pendulum test value (PTV). Slip potential classification, based on pendulum test values (PTV):
| Anti-skid nature | PTV |
| High slip potential | 0-24 |
| Moderate slip potential | 25-35 |
| Low slip potential | 36 and above |
Recommended areas
- Food and beverage processing plants
- Carpark decks
- Ship decks
- Offshore platforms
- Retail and grocery stores
- Restaurants, hotels, casinos and other hospitality locations
- Abattoirs
- Poultry
- Dairy facilities
Recommended Products
- Duracrete HD… Click Here to Download TDS
- Duracrete HDF
- Cipoxy HDF
- Cipoxy FC 100 4K…..Click Here to Download TDS
- Cipthane 4K
- Floorkote 4K……Click Here to Download TDS
Static charge is created by the contact and separation or friction of two similar or dissimilar materials. Electrostatic dissipation is the transfer of electrostatic charge between objects at different electro-static potentials. The human body is the most common ESD source. When a person walks across an epoxy or PU flooring, static charges are created through friction, as the resinous flooring acts as an insulative material. But the person does not feel these electrostatic discharges until the body is charged to 3000-4000 volts. But in IT and electronic industry, even a charge of 3 millivolt can cause severe damages to sensitive components.
Impacts of static charges
- Explosion hazards in ammunition plants where explosive materials are used or stored.
- Damage to sensitive electronic devices in electronics, aerospace, tele-communications or data processing industries, causing high reject rates and costly production downtime.
- Malfunction of electro medical interference (EMI), loss or alteration of electronic / magnetic data.
- Ignition of air-borne dust or vapours in solvent handling areas
ESD floorings for static control
Cipy ESD floorings are resinous static control flooring systems that dissipate static charges and provide attractive, durable, seamless floors that offer superior ESD protection. Cipy ESD floorings, combining the advantages of polymer floorings as well as conductive features, maintain constant surface resistivity. In industries where static charges can result in significant damage, injury and financial loss, Cipy ESD floorings are the decisive solutions. There are two types of ESD floorings: Conductive & Static dissipative.
ESD 104 is a conductive flooring system where the surface resistivity is within the range of 25000 ( 2.5 x10^4) and 10,00,000 (10^6) ohms, whereas ESD 108 is a static dissipative flooring system where the surface resistivity is within the range of 1x 10^6 and 1x 10^9 ohms.
Cipy ESD floorings are available in epoxy and PU-Concrete versions.
Recommended areas
- Operation theatres
- High tech electronics
- Semiconductors
- Ammunition plants
- Ordnance depots
- Aerospace & Avionics
- IT
- Manufacturing: solvent & assembly areas
A flooring that is thermal shock resistant has the ability to resist rapid and sudden changes in temperature. Thermal shock resistant floorings are most commonly found in food and beverage facilities where the vessels and floors are frequently cleaned with steam. Steam on hitting the floors raises the floor temperature to 80-90 C. Steam then evaporates into air and as per the law of physics, evaporation produces cooling. The floors are, thus, subject to both temperature extremes: Sudden heating and sudden cooling. When there is a significant temperature change between the resinous flooring and the concrete substrate, the flooring can get dis-bonded, delaminated, cracked, or bubbled. Standard floorings like epoxy or MMA typically cannot withstand exposure to such excessive swings in temperature, except PU-Concrete floorings.
PU-Concrete floorings are based on a hybrid technology combining PU and Cement, triggering two reactions simultaneously:
- Formation of urethane linkages due to NCO-OH reaction
- Formation of concrete(C-S-H) due to cement hydration
PU-Concrete floorings, ie, Cipy’s Duracrete floorings exhibit similar coefficient of thermal expansion as that of concrete and hence can sustain temperature swings.
Recommended industries
- Food & beverage facilities
- Abattoirs
- Commercial kitchens
- Commercial bakeries
- Dairies
UV radiation is one dominating factor causing polymer coatings getting aged in the form of photo-oxidation, when they are exposed to sunlight. The Sun is the natural source of UV radiation which is divided into three bands: UV-A (wavelength 315 - 400 nm), UV-B (280 - 315 nm) and UV-C (100 - 280 nm). Radiation from the band UV-C and majority of radiation from the band UV-B are absorbed by the Earth’s ozone layer and for this reason about 97% of ultraviolet radiation, which reaches the Earth’s surface, belongs to the band UV-A. It causes photo-oxidation of polymer coatings undergoing primarily on their surface. Photo-oxidation is a radical process and promotes polymer chains disintegration. Photo destruction leads to colour fading from severe discolouration (brown) to slight (amber).
Epoxy systems, of bisphenol A types, have a severe sensitivity to weathering due to their UV-sensitive aromatic ether groups and hence chalks heavily. Polyurethanes are polymers containing urethane groups, created by reacting isocyanates with polyols and chain extenders. Polyurethanes are divided into two fundamental chemical families: Aromatics and Aliphatics.
Aromatic PU molecules are composed of resonant benzene rings and so suffer from poor light stability, while aliphatic polyurethanes provide the best UV resistance and colour stability amongst all types of industrial coatings. They are therefore often used for exterior applications and at all places where colour stability is concerned. The term aliphatic refers to straight chains of carbon molecules in the backbone of the compound which gives them the resistance to UV light.
Recommended areas
UV resistant coatings are recommended for applications on steel structures, tanks, concrete structures lying outdoors. UV resistant floorings are needed for any facility area that is exposed to sunlight or artificial lighting.
- Floorings for exterior areas of manufacturing industries
- Exposed decks of car parks
- Steel & concrete structure lying outside