Fusion Bonded Epoxy Powder Coatings

Fusion bonded epoxy coating is also known as fusion-bond epoxy powder coating or FBE coating for short. Fusion bonded epoxy coating as its name implies is an epoxy based powder coating, which is used to coat and protect steel pipes, rebar and valves from corrosion. These protective coatings are thermoset polymer coatings.

At normal atmospheric temperatures, the resin and hardener of the FBE coatings remain unreactive and the FBE remains as a dry powder. When the FBE coating is heated to approximately 180 to 250 C during the curing process, the powder melts and transforms to a liquid form, which flows over the steel surface before chemical cross-linking, quickly hardens the coating. This process is known as fusion bonding and is an irreversible process. Meaning that once the chemical cross-linking reaction occurs, the coating cannot revert back into its original form. This also means that additional heating will not melt the coating, which is why it is also know as a thermoset coat.

The pipeline industry is one of the primary areas using FBE coatings today. Countless pipeline operating companies globally use fusion bonded epoxy coating either as a primer or as a stand-alone coating. FBE coatings provide excellent resistance against corrosion under severe environmental conditions.

The concrete reinforcing rebar industry is another area where FBE coating is widely used. FBE coated rebar has proven to be extremely effective in preventing corrosion on the reinforcing rebar steel, thus preventing structure failure.