What are Halogen-free Epoxy Coating Powders?

The European (RoHS) and Japanese (JIG) guidelines recommend controls on halogenated compounds. The reason is environmental as these are believed to release dioxins (toxic by-products) once they are burned which has also been linked to the increase risk of cancer.

What elements are considered halogens?

Halogens are the elements found in group or column VIIA of the Periodic Table of the Elements and include:

Fluorine (F)
Chlorine (Cl)
Bromine (Br)
Iondine (I)
Astattine (At)

As it concerns epoxy coating powders, or epoxy molding compounds, halogens have been historically used as the ingredients in the flame retardant portion of the formulation which typically included bromines. In cases where there are no flame retardants, there are no halogens as in the case with epoxy coating powders for motor irons or busbars, where the metal mass is so large as to not require flame-retardants.

Test Method TM EN 14582 Solids Extraction per IPC TM 2.3.34

Various standards exist that give a definition of halogen-free materials including:

JEITA ET-7304
IEC 61249-2-21
JEDEC

Though the requirement is slightly different in each standard, they all refer to Test Method TM EN 14582 Solids Extraction per IPC TM 2.3.34 and they all agree that if a material contains less than 900 ppm (parts per million) each or a total of less than 1500 ppm of bromine and chlorine, then a material is considered to be halogen-free.

CAPLINQ offers halogen-free Epoxy Coating Powders

CAPLINQ does still offer halogen-containing materials for customers who have not made the switch to halogen-free epoxy coating powders, but also offers Halogen-Free Functional Epoxy Coating Powders for customers who have made the switch to halogen-free products.