Mitigating Environmental and Health Risks of Coatings: Advances in Safer Formulation, Use, and Disposal

Dear Colleagues,

Advances in coating technology have led to improved protection and aesthetics in everyday products. Coatings are engineered films applied to substrates to enhance functional performance. Industrial coatings focus on wear protection and surface renewal, using optimized combinations of materials, surface pretreatments, application techniques, and curing methods to achieve long-lasting films. However, many traditional coating processes involve hazardous chemicals, such as solvents, paints, and additives, that can impact environmental and human health if not properly contained, used, or disposed of. Releases into soil, water, and air lead to pollution issues such as smog formation, ozone depletion, and toxicity exposures.

To address these concerns, our proposed Special Issue explores innovations in sustainable coatings to mitigate risks across product life cycles. We invite submissions on low-carbon-based materials, emissions controls, safer application methods, recycling technologies, greener chemistries, and overall sustainability assessments. To explore this important topic, we are assembling a Special Issue of Coatings to encourage researchers and to provide them with a platform to publish their novel studies on the topic “Mitigating Environmental and Health Risks of Coatings: Advances in Safer Formulation, Use, and Disposal”.

The themes of this Special Issue broadly include (but are not limited to):

Improving disposal and recycling of coatings materials. Research opportunities exist to develop safer disposal methods for spent coatings, such as chemical neutralization techniques to reduce hazards from improper incineration. Novel biodegradable or compostable coatings designed using green chemistry principles could break down after use without toxic byproducts. Analyzing the end-of-life characteristics and recyclability of different coating types can also drive improved recycling processes and technologies.

Innovations in coating processes and chemistries for pollution prevention. Emerging technologies present opportunities to prevent pollution in coating processes, such as through novel chemistries, plasma treatment, and nanotechnology, and replacing hazardous solvents with more sustainable options like supercritical CO₂ or developing lower-carbon coatings that can reduce VOC emissions and energy use. Optimizing application parameters and equipment to improve transfer efficiency and recycle overspray also minimizes waste generation.

Health risks and toxicity of coating materials. Toxicological studies help identify and mitigate risks associated with new coating materials such as engineered nanoparticles, evaluating hazards and developing safety guidelines. Assessing occupational exposures, consumer risks, endocrine disruption potential, and toxicity throughout product lifecycles provides critical insights for their safer design and use.

Monitoring, modeling, and assessment life cycle of coated contaminants. Applying life-cycle assessment methods to coatings can identify high-impact areas across raw material extraction, production, use, and disposal life-cycle stages. Advances in analytical methods enable the detection of trace additives such as plasticizers and PFAS in environmental samples. Modeling helps predict exposure risks from new nanomaterials. Ongoing monitoring programs can study trends in novel contaminants over time. Together, these approaches facilitate the proactive assessment and mitigation of potential health and environmental impacts.

This Special Issue provides a forum to advance coating technologies while safeguarding human and environmental health. We encourage contributions to further a future of responsible, sustainable coatings.

Prof. Dr. Yu Shen
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• coatings
• environmental risk
• environmental fate
• disposal
• recycling