Finishing operations account for a significant percentage of a manufacturer’s carbon footprint. Transitioning to solutions that are more energy efficient, generate less waste, emit fewer harmful emissions and provide better coverage in fewer coats can shrink the environmental impact of the coating application process in meaningful ways.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other government organizations around the world consider powder coating to be a sustainably advantaged finishing solution due to several beneficial features:
- Solvent-free formulations: Powder coatings are specifically formulated without solvents that release volatile organic compounds (VOCs); these emissions contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone and poor air quality.
- High material utilization: powder is electrostatically sprayed with excellent adherence to the part, reducing waste and overspray (which can be captured and reused). Among contemporary finishing options, powder coating has the highest materialization rate of 95% to 98%.
- No hazardous byproducts: there is no wastewater to manage in the powder coating process and compressed air, not harsh chemicals, is used for cleanup.
- Energy-efficiency: low-bake powder formulations cure at lower oven temperatures than standard powder coatings, which can lead to significant energy savings.