Roofing products including granules with reflective coating

1. A roofing product comprising:

(a) a roofing material having a laminate coating composition applied during manufacture of said roofing material, said laminate coating composition comprising a dispersion of a plastic film resin and a white pigment;

(b) fine granules adhered to the roofing material, the fine granules being double-coated with said laminate coating composition before application of said granules to said roofing material; and

(c) a top coating of said laminate composition applied onto (a) and (b);

wherein the double-coated fine granules having the top coating composition applied thereon have a reflectivity above 70% when measured using an SSR instrument (ASTM C-1549 approved method).

2. The roofing product of claim 1 , wherein said fine granules are sized in the range from approximately #10 mesh to approximately #35 mesh.

3. The roofing product of claim 2 , wherein said fine granules are sized in the range from approximately 1.70 mm to 425 μm.

4. The roofing product of claim 1 , wherein said double-coated granules having a top coating composition applied thereon have a reflectivity in the range of 71% to 74%.

5. The roofing product of claim 1 wherein said roofing material comprises single ply membranes, built-up roofing (BUR), modified bitumen, ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber (EPDM), atactic polypropylene (APP), styrene butadiene styrene copolymer (SBS) or standing-seam profile.

6. The roofing product of claim 1 , wherein said top white coating composition comprises a mixture of a polymeric binder, heat expandable graphite particles, a polymeric carrier and an effective amount of a pigment that is capable of providing a coating that has an initial energy efficiency rating greater than or equal to 0.65 for a low-sloped roof, or an initial energy efficiency greater than or equal to 0.25 for a steep-sloped roof, wherein said mixture has a solids content from about 50-75% of which 1-10 wt. % is said expandable graphite particles.

7. The roofing product of claim 6 , wherein said polymeric binder is a thermoplastic polymer or a thermoplastic rubber.

8. The roofing product of claim 7 , wherein said polymeric binder is a thermoplastic polymer selected from the group consisting of acrylic or methacrylic polymers or copolymers, epoxy resins, and polyvinyl acetate.

9. The roofing product of claim 6 , wherein said polymeric binder is a thermoplastic rubber selected from the group consisting of styrene-butadiene rubbers, styrene-butadiene-styrene rubbers, styrene-ethylene-butadiene-styrene (SEES) rubbers, styrene isoprene styrene rubbers, and styrene butadiene rubbers.

10. The roofing product of claim 6 , wherein said polymeric carrier is water or a hydrocarbon solvent.

11. The roofing product of claim 6 , wherein said pigment is selected from the group consisting of titanium dioxide, calcium carbonate, colemanite, aluminum trihydrate (ATH), and borate compounds, as well as mixtures thereof.

12. The roofing product of claim 11 , wherein said pigment is titanium dioxide.

13. The roofing product of claim 6 , wherein said polymeric binder and the polymeric carrier form an aqueous polymeric-based emulsion.

14. The roofing product of claim 6 , wherein said polymeric binder and the polymeric carrier form a solvent polymeric-based emulsion.

15. The roofing product of claim 6 , wherein said polymeric binder is present in said mixture in an amount from about 5 to about 60 wt. %.

16. The roofing product of claim 6 , wherein said polymeric carrier is anacrylic polymer that is present in said mixture in an amount from about 30 to about 50 wt. %.

17. The roofing product of claim 6 , wherein said polymeric carrier is a thermoplastic rubber that is present in said mixture in an amount from about 8 to about 18 wt. %.

18. The roofing product of claim 6 , wherein said pigment is present in said mixture in an amount from about 2 to about 20 wt. %.

19. The roofing product of claim 6 , comprising one or more optional components selected from the group consisting of dispersants, defoamers, fillers, solvents, microbiocides, thickening agents, additional fire retardants, pH modifiers, wetting agents, light stabilizers, and adhesion promoters.

20. A process of manufacturing a roofing product, comprising:

coating a roofing material with a laminate coating composition comprising a dispersion of a plastic film resin and a white pigment;

double-coating fine granules with a further amount of said laminate coating composition

applying said double-coating fine granules to said roofing material; and

coating said double-coated fine granules with a further coating of said laminate coating composition to produce a roofing product having a reflectivity above 70% when measured using an SSR instrument (ASTM C-1549 approved method.

21. The process of claim 20 , wherein said roofing material comprises single ply membranes, built-up roofing (BUR), modified bitumen, ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber (EPDM), atactic polypropylene (APP), styrene butadiene styrene copolymer (SBS) or standing-seam profile.

22. The process of claim 20 , wherein said further coating comprises a mixture of a polymeric binder, heat expandable graphite particles, a polymeric carrier and an effective amount of a pigment that is capable of providing a coating that has an initial energy efficiency rating greater than or equal to 0.65 for a low-sloped roof, or an initial energy efficiency greater than or equal to 0.25 for a steep-sloped roof, wherein said mixture has a solids content from about 50-75% of which 1-10 wt. % is said expandable graphite particles.

23. The process of claim 20 , wherein said fine granules are sized in the range from approximately #10 mesh to approximately #35 mesh.

24. The process of claim 23 , wherein said fine granules are sized in the range from approximately 1.70 mm to 425 μm.

25. The process of claim 20 , wherein said roofing product has a reflectivity in the range of 71% to 74%.