In the 1920s alkyd resin roars into prominence: Kienle said he found that his combination of an aromatic or cyclic polybasic acid and an oxidizable acid derived from a drying oil produced a new form of resinous material that was soluble at ordinary temperatures.(90 years with PCI: a retrospective)

Paint & Coatings Industry, March, 2004 by Maty, Joe

The advent of alkyd resins is usually traced to the work of Roy Kienle of General Electric Co. in the 1920s, although earlier research had found that a reaction of phthalic anhydride with glycerol produced heat-cured, insoluble resins of a polyester type, Kienle refined this reaction, finding that modification with the fatty acids of vegetable and fish oils provided solubility.

Kienle was granted a patent for this oil-modified polyester resin, but the patent was later invalidated in the courts, according to historical accounts of the early development of alkyds. The first alkyd resins sold commercially were marketed as "Glyptals" by General Electric.

Kienle's work led to the commercial production of alkyd resins in the late 1920s. These materials were...

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