Increasingly industry is recognizing the importance of environmental stewardship. Protecting the environment is becoming the norm rather than an abnormality. One way of improving a product, while adhering to environmental guidelines, is to use eco-friendly processes. One industry that continues to offer products protection against adverse elemental forces while reducing its environmental impact is the powder coating industry. Professionals in Grand Rapids MI have long recognized the ability of powder coatings to provide effective protection against corrosion while not negatively affecting the ecosystem.
Factors Affecting Corrosion-Resistance in Powder Coatings
Choosing the right powder anti-corrosive coating for your components or products is important. Whether your company builds oil pipelines or refrigerators, the right pigment is essential if it is to prevent/reduce corrosion. The success of an anti-corrosive powder coating depends upon recognizing the role of different factors in its composition and execution. Among those playing a major role are:
Binders: The most common types used are epoxy resins. They are moderate in price and provide superior anti-corrosion. Another option is the more expensive polyester resin
Curing Agents: These differ according to the specific resin. For epoxy resins, the curing agent may be imidazole, amine, anhydride or phenolic; for polyester resins, it is a primid curing agent
Pigments and Extenders: These can suppress corrosion in one of several ways, e.g. barrier protection, sacrificial properties.
Additives: Theoretically, any additive that improves adhesiveness works to increase corrosion protection of powder coatings, e.g. silanes
All these factors can influence the anti-corrosion capabilities of powder coatings.
Powder Coating
While powder coatings do face certain limitations in specific corrosion intense environments, they continue to grow in popularity for this usage. Their inherent environmental friendliness is one characteristic driving their growth in the Grand Rapids MI industry. However, industries need to look at the factors influencing the anticorrosion effectiveness of the coatings. Further research may improve the ability of a powder coating to address C5 and C6 corrosion categories.
