Walk into any modern manufacturing or food-processing facility, and you’ll notice clean floors, coated walls, and protected machinery. What remains unseen is the microscopic layer of microplastic particles that traditional coating applications can unintentionally release into the facility environment—creating an overlooked contamination risk that accumulates over time.
Traditional petroleum-based coatings often shed microplastics during application, curing, or early wear. These particles can circulate via HVAC systems, settle on surfaces and equipment, and remain airborne—posing long-term risks to worker health, compliance, and operations. In contrast, facilities that adopt microplastic-free coatings gain a first line of defense against this invisible contamination, protecting both their workforce and their production integrity.
Indoor Microplastics: A Growing Health Concern
Peer-reviewed research shows that indoor air contains significantly higher levels of microplastics than outdoor air—even though they are less visible to the human eye. One study using Raman spectroscopy measured inhalable-sized microplastics (1–10 µm) indoors and estimated that adults may inhale up to 68,000 microplastic particles per day. This exposure level is roughly 100 times higher than previous surface-based estimates, demonstrating just how easily microplastics accumulate in indoor environments over time.
These findings highlight an urgent issue for workplaces such as manufacturing plants, warehouses, and food-processing facilities. Unlike outdoor air, which benefits from natural dispersion, indoor air systems continuously recirculate particles. Once microplastics enter HVAC ducts, they are redistributed across entire facilities, embedding into filters, settling on surfaces, and contaminating equipment.
Addressing this challenge requires more than increasing ventilation or cleaning frequency—it calls for changing the materials that release microplastics in the first place. Petroleum-based industrial coatings remain one of the hidden sources of airborne microplastics, shedding particles during application, curing, and wear. By contrast, facilities that invest in microplastic-free coatings take a proactive step toward reducing exposure, improving worker health, and strengthening compliance with air quality and safety standards.
Oil-Based Coatings: An Unseen Source of Indoor Microplastics
Mainstream coating systems rely on petroleum-derived polymers. During spraying and curing, these formulations can disperse microplastic particles into the ambient air. Each coating cycle—especially frequent coverage—adds to the accumulation of particles throughout facility spaces.
Industry testing focuses heavily on VOC emissions and protective performance metrics, but rarely assesses microplastic generation, giving compliance checks a false sense of environmental safety.
Plant-Based Coatings Designed To Be Microplastic-Free
BioBond’s plant-based protective coatings are carefully formulated with no added microplastics, and are engineered to be free of microplastics generated during application or wear—so while they’re optimized for strong performance, they also help reduce persistent contamination risks.
Evidence: Plant-Based Materials Yield Far Fewer Microplastics
In controlled degradation studies, plant-based plastics like polylactic acid (PLA) released nine times fewer microplastics compared to conventional petroleum-based plastics like polypropylene—when subjected to intense sunlight and seawater exposure.
While these are not coating-specific, they offer strong evidence that plant-based material chemistry inherently reduces microplastic generation—a promising insight for coatings development.
Practical Implementation Strategies
Shifting to microplastic-free coatings can be seamless and impactful when approached strategically:
- Identify high-exposure zones (e.g., near HVAC intakes, food prep lines, high-traffic areas).
- Specify formulations clearly labeled as microplastic-free and low VOC.
- Pilot in small zones, tracking air particulate levels and filter performance.
- Scale up adoption facility-wide, synchronized with routine maintenance cycles.
This gradual rollout minimizes disruption while delivering measurable indoor air improvements.
Business Benefits of Switching Now
Transitioning to microplastic-free coatings brings demonstrable advantages:
- Cleaner air and surfaces, improving overall facility hygiene
- Lower maintenance costs, with reduced filter replacements and cleaning labor
- Enhanced worker confidence, leading to higher morale and productivity
- Strengthened compliance posture, anticipating stricter indoor air quality regulations
- Market differentiation, as safer operations become increasingly valued
Ready to eliminate microplastic contamination from your facility?
Contact BioBond’s protective coatings team at CoatingsInfo@biobondadhesives.com for a materials consultation that addresses your specific contamination concerns and performance requirements.
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