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Saturday 15 April 2017

Dusting a coat of powder

The paint and coatings industry has been aggressively trying to make its products environmental friendly with low HAPs and VOC emissions but with high durability and better finish. Powder coating fits all these parameters to become one of the most sought after technology in the industry.
By Debarati Das
Globally, one of the major challenges of the paints and coatings industry has been to manage and minimise the amount of toxins, wastes and air emissions in the entire life cycle without compromising the look and feel of every coat of paint.
Various coating technologies like water-based coatings, ultraviolet cure coatings, and other processes, have surfaced to match up with the numerous regulatory developments across the globe. However, powder coating is fast becoming a desired coating choice among users for being environmentally friendly while delivering the desired coating performance to a huge gamut of surfaces.
According to Allied Market Research, the powder coatings market is expected to generate $12,332 million by 2022 with increasing demand from applications, such as architectural, appliances, automotive, furniture, agriculture, construction, earthmoving equipment (ACE) and general industrial.
This trend is further expected to grow with the stricter environmental regulations and demand for minimal hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), volatile organic compound (VOC) and solvent-free coating solutions around the globe. The adoption of powder coatings over other liquid coatings has also seen a major growth in emerging countries with the booming construction industry.
Also, with the rise in the demand for office and outdoor metal furniture, power coating is increasingly being opted. The adoption of powder has also grown in the automotive segment, especially in under hood applications.
According to Allied Market Research, Asia-Pacific accounted for more than half of the total powder coatings market in 2015 with China at the top of the growth graph. This growth has been due to the increase in the domestic production of automotive, appliances, and growing construction industry.
To make the best of this growth, many companies have set up their base in Asia. AkzoNobel recently opened a €11 million powder coatings facility in Chengdu, western China to meet growing demand in the region from the automotive, construction, furniture and IT industries. The company also invested €9 million for a new powder coatings plant in Mumbai to tap the potential arising in India. “Demand for powder coatings has been growing at double-digit rates in India and this facility will position us well to capture that growth,” said Simon Parker, managing director, AkzoNobel’s powder coatings business. 
Allied Market Research also notes that the powder coatings market in Southeast Asia are expected to reach $295.9 million by 2022 with major revenue to be generated from the Indonesian powder coatings market. The demand will majorly be driven by the technological advancements and increase in demand from applications such as architectural, appliances, automotive, furniture, general industrial, agriculture, construction and earthmoving equipment (ACE).
Tighter environmental regulations targeted at traditional solvent-based coatings have given an additional impetus to the growth of powder coatings. For instance, in China, the extrusions market is shifting from PVDF liquid to powder as the Chinese government recently imposed a sales tax on liquid coatings that do not achieve a minimum VOC threshold.
In EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) countries, the growth of powder coating too is driven by the increased environmental regulations. According to Grand View Research, MEA is expected to witness substantial volume growth at a CAGR of 7.5% from 2016 to 2024 due to the growing demand for passenger and commercial vehicles in the Middle East along with an expansion of road networks mainly in Saudi Arabia.
While in Europe and Latin America, a powder is continuing to gain position on liquid, in North America, the growth in powder coatings is majorly coming from the architectural market.
Overall, the demand for powder coatings is arising from customers who are continuously trying to push the parameters for extended durability, lower VOC emissions, faster cure rates, lower cure temperatures, thinner films, improved appearance, improved metallic colour and other developments.
Key advantages of powder coatings
Globally, powder coatings have unanimously been recognised as an environmentally-responsible technology with zero VOCs and no targeted HAPs emitted. This makes it the preferred technology for most companies who are not just trying to meet regulatory demands of the government and agencies such as EPA and REACH but are also aiming to become responsible organisations. Powder coatings have repeatedly proved to have a minimal environmental impact to air, water or land and no major health hazard to the user as well with no VOC and HAP impact.
“There has been a shift in the industry towards solvent-free powder coatings, driven by concern about products with VOCs. Powder coatings bring a great deal of efficiency, with waste reduced to below one percent during application,” said Jean-Paul Moonen, global architecture powder coating, marketing manager, AkzoNobel.
Also, the entire cycle of power coating from manufacturing to an application is regarded very cost effective. Even an overspray can also be easily reclaimed and reused, reducing waste thereby ensuring optimal utilisation of the coating material and improving jobber productivity.
Initially, powder coating faced the setback over liquid coatings due to its ability to give a glossier finish, match bright metallic colours and cure at lower temperatures. However, new resin systems have eliminated these setbacks. Many of these coatings can be cured at temperatures as low as 121°C. With low curing temperature systems, such as IR cured powders, powder coating can be effectively be used on heat-sensitive substrates such as wood, plastics, and assembled components with heat sensitive details. Powder coating is also chosen for the durability of the coating on metal and aluminium, as it enjoys the benefits of lower energy and investment costs, shorter curing times, higher lines speeds, weather resistance and better performance. The industry is coming up with metallic finish coatings to meet the demand from various sectors including automobile and electronic manufacturers.
Displaying the range of colour effects that powder coating is capable of, Axalta Coating Systems recently launched a high gloss acrylic polyurethane direct-to-metal (DTM) coating, Imron® 3.1 HG-D™ +, for its industrial customers in North America.
This product delivers a durable high gloss, high build, one-step system in non-corrosive exposures and select harsh environments. “Imron 3.1 HG-D + is purposely designed for use as a DTM or a high build topcoat with outstanding DTM colour and gloss retention in addition to excellent adhesion, flexibility and hiding,” said Ross Morgan, Axalta Coating Systems product manager.
One the other hand, it's Alesta® BK08 20 Gloss is a semi-matte powder coating which is designed to offer an extremely smooth appearance along with weather ability on varied surfaces. This product is specifically designed for exterior projects, tool boxes, sports equipment, furniture, and architecture.
“Our customers have requested a very smooth, low gloss polyester, which exhibits a consistent appearance and affords excellent abrasion and corrosion resistant properties,” said Craig Dietz, Axalta Market product manager.
TCI Powder Coatings’ specially designed its TruIllusion powder coating line to reflect light from different angles of the coating, changing the coating and therefore offering an illusion and a special effect appearance. This not just breaks the delusion that powder coating has a limited arena of colour effects, but also proves that there is more to this coating technology this than meets the eye.
“This product line was developed based on feedback from the automotive, appliance, architectural, and recreational equipment segments and their need for improvements in colour styling, durability and appearance,” said Jack Bostock, vice president of sales and marketing at TCI Powder Coatings.
Powder coatings are also being developed for high-temperature applications. Silicone-based powder coatings are often used on products that must retain their appearance, adhesion, and surface protection even after prolonged exposures to high heat (up to 538°C). Some of the applications include gas and charcoal grills, fireplace inserts, engine exhaust components and light fixtures.
Powder coatings also have various other advantages over traditional wet paint systems including controlled film thickness, easy rectification of poorly coated areas, etc, which makes it the popular choice of coating among end users.
Growth drivers
Powder coatings are used in a wide variety of applications and surfaces and the market can be broadly divided into four major substrate segmentations, namely, metal, wood, glass and plastics. Metal substrates are by far the major segment and comprise about 93 percent of the value because of its natural conductivity and heat tolerance. This is followed by wood and a plastic substrate which holds 3 percent and the remaining 1 percent is held by plastics substrate.
Powder coating has always been considered an economical alternative in the transportation market especially for vehicle body parts where abuse and corrosion are high, like under body and under hood areas, tailpipe extensions, windshield wiper devices, wheel rims, etc.
In the initial years, powder coating did not find much demand in furniture, but offlate this sector is witnessing substantial growth. Advances in powder application equipment have also contributed to the growth of powder coatings.
Powder coatings come in two resin types namely thermoplastics and thermosetting plastics. Thermosetting resins include polyester, epoxy-polyester hybrids, epoxy, acrylic, and polyurethane, and has accounted for a dominant market due to its superior finish, excellent durability, reduced maintenance cost and prolonged shelf life of the coated products.
Along with being cost effective and easy to apply, powder coating also exhibits anti-corrosion and anti-bacterial functions increasing is popularity. Powder coating can no longer be defined in one particular segment. Fire extinguishers, iPad stands, horns, wipers, radiator grills, door handles, wheel rims, bumpers, bicycle, windows, doorframes, building facades, kitchen, bathroom, electrical fixtures…. powder coating can be applied everywhere. Its scope is huge and hence, opportunities immense.
© Chemical Today Magazine
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