It is no secret that we are becoming increasingly more concerned with environmental sustainability.
Many consumers are increasingly valuing methods of manufacturing that cause minimum harm to the environment and the health of our communities.
Manufacturers are feeling pressure from consumers, with many moving towards sustainable and cost-efficient production methods and practices. So, it is not surprising that many of our customers are asking whether powder coatings are an environmentally friendly option.
In short, powder coatings are significantly more environmentally friendly than solvent-based coating methods such as wet paint and spray painting. In this article, we explore the reasons why powder coatings are a more sustainable and ethical choice compared to solvent-based paints.
Is Powder Coating more Environmentally Friendly than Traditional Wet Paint?
There are three primary factors to consider when comparing the environmental effects of powder coating versus traditional wet paint; hazardous chemicals, durability, and waste.
Hazardous Chemicals:
Powder coatings do not require chemical agents to be sprayed, bonded, and dry, unlike traditional wet paint solutions.
Powders consist of a dry blend of resins, pigments, additives and curing agents designed to melt, mix and interlace at elevated temperatures. Powder coating works by using compressed air and natural electrostatic and temperature-based reactions. In a nutshell, here is how powder coating works:
Compressed air is used to propel electrostatically charged powder onto a grounded object. In other words, the powder is attracted to an object and sticks sort of like a magnet. Then, the object is cured in an industrial oven where an elevated temperature causes the powder to melt and interlace to form a seamless layer. Finally, the object is cooled down and sets into a hardened film.
On the other hand, traditional wet paint applications require chemical agents to spray, bond and accelerate the drying process. Chemicals involved in the spraying, bonding and drying process, such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, lead, arsenic, mercury and cadmium, are hazardous to the environment.
The powder coating process does not use the same chemicals as wet painting applications and releases less hazardous and polluting chemicals into the air.
Hazardous airborne chemicals released by solvent-based painting applications can be detrimental to the broader and immediate environment.
Powder coating has the distinct advantage of being safer for the health and well-being of manufacturing and production staff. Prolonged exposure to airborne chemicals in solvent-based wet paintings could be detrimental to the long term health and well-being of staff.
Powder coating releases significantly fewer hazardous airborne particles into the workspace.
Durability:
Well-applied powder coatings are durable and can last decades with minimal care and maintenance.
Powder coatings have a long service life, decreasing the level of maintenance, retouching, and re-painting that an object requires over the product lifespan. As a result, fewer chemicals and waste materials are created during required touch-ups and re-coatings. This is a huge advantage over wet painting applications as solvent paints are prone to flaking and chipping. Flaked and chipped finishes are unsightly and susceptible to rust.
For instance, a metal fence may require sanding, re-coating and paint chip waste disposal two or three times over 20 years to prevent rust, while a powder-coated surface would last just as long with minimal maintenance.
Waste:
Powder coating creates very little waste and many of the materials required in the process can be recycled.
Like we mentioned earlier, powder coatings use less hazardous chemicals than spray painting applications. Powder coating replaces the need for spraying propellants by using compressed air. In effect, fewer pollutants are released into the atmosphere like carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide.
Powder coating is also an accurate method of applying metal coatings. The powder coating process utilises an electrostatic reaction which means that powder is attracted to stick to the object. As a result, there is minimal overspray.
Wet spray applications do not utilise an electrostatic reaction. Up to 50-70% of wet spray is over-sprayed, even in the hands of an experienced sprayer. On an industrial scale, this contributes to a substantial amount of inefficiency and waste.
A little known advantage to powder coating is that it is possible to recover and re-use over-spray provided the same colour is used in the spray booth. However, this is not possible with wet over-spray.
Wet paint is more prone to paint chipping and flakes than powder coatings. Paint chips and flakes pollute soils and water systems where hazardous chemicals or metals such as lead and cadmium leech into the natural environment.
Powder coating chips are significantly less harmful to the environment as they don’t contain heavy metals.
In Conclusion:
Powder coating has been a popular metal coating method since being introduced to Australia in the 1960s.
The powder coating method leverages natural reactions to apply, heat, and cure coatings offering a significant benefit over hazardous chemicals and waste involved in wet painting applications.
Powder coatings are far more durable than wet paint finishes, making them ideal for any metals exposed to a high degree of wear and tear through physical contact or environment. It is a combination of these factors, as well as the fast service that powder coating offers, that has made powder coating a preferred solution for manufacturers.
Powder coating, however, may not always be the best solution for your project requirements. Wet painting is a preferred coating method for small batch sizes, or for objects that can’t be physically moved to a powder coating facility. To determine whether your project requirements are best suited to powder coating or wet paint, we encourage you to read our comparison article, What is better; Paint or Powder coat?
