Demonstration Overview
The DoD STED Program is currently in planning to demonstrate biobased pavement marking paint in DoD operations. Pavement marking paint is used to provide traffic direction markings on various surfaces such as paved roadways, airfields, and parking lots. Biobased traffic and zone marking paints are designated for federal procurement preference per Section 8102 of U.S. Code Title 7, with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) BioPreferred Program establishing minimum content requirements. The demonstration technology, a soy-based acrylic alkyd, meets BioPreferred requirements and combines the safety, environmental, and material management benefits of a waterborne acrylic with the performance benefits of an alkyd while avoiding the safety and regulatory burdens of a traditional solventborne alkyd.
For more information regarding the biobased pavement marking paint demonstration, please Contact Us.
Demonstration Products*
The following systems are selected for demonstration:
- BioStripe paints by Aexcel Corporation
*Mention of or referral to commercial products, services, and manufacturers herein is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute endorsement by, nor the official policy or position of, the Department of Defense (DoD), any of its Components, or the U.S. Government.
Demonstration Sites
- Fort Drum
- Dugway Proving Ground
- USAG West Point
- Joint Base Lewis-McChord
- Naval Station Norfolk
- Naval Station Mayport
Demonstration Details
Pavement marking paints historically relied on chemistries that present environmental and health risks. Traditional solventborne traffic and zone marking paints can include carcinogens (e.g., benzene or ethyl benzene) or reproductive toxins (e.g., toluene) at significant concentrations and emit higher levels of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). The applied paint then degrades over time, releasing paint chips containing these chemicals into the environment. Safer and lower VOC solvent-based formulas can still contain significant quantities of chemicals that pose neurotoxicity or flammability concerns (e.g., acetone). To mitigate environmental and health risks, pavement marking operations now commonly utilize waterborne acrylic or latex. Most traffic paints, both solvent- and water-based, have removed toxic heavy metals that were previously in wide use (e.g., lead, cadmium, zinc).
While traditional waterborne paints have lower VOCs, low flammability concerns, and only small concentrations of some hazardous constituents, they sacrifice some of the performance benefits of traditional solventborne paints (e.g., greater durability and dirt resistance). In addition, traditional waterborne paints do not meet federal preference requirements for biobased content or utilize domestic renewable feedstocks. As a biobased waterborne acrylic alkyd pavement marking paint, the demonstration technology may offer the best of both worlds โ the higher durability and resistance of alkyd paints together with the safety and environmental benefits of waterborne acrylics โ while also exceeding the minimum federal biobased content levels established by USDA BioPreferred.