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The Mission: All about powder coatings in one book from the current market situation and REACH to the various types of powder coatings, raw materials, parameters affecting the properties of powder coatings, production technologies and application technologies. The reader thus gains a current overview of this important class of coating systems. Indispensable for everyone who comes in contact with powder coatings in their daily work.

The Audience: Newcomers and career-changers, students and experts who want to broaden and deepen their knowledge. For all involved in the development, production, testing and marketing of powder coatings, raw materials and application equipment.

The Value: This third, completely revised edition provides an up-to-date and deep insight into the key aspects and theories behind the production, properties and applications of powder coatings. More than 5,000 current literature references and patents have been evaluated to ensure that it illustrates the current state of the art. Highlighted core terms and a greatly expanded index ensure that any given topic can be found directly and quickly.

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Preface
In 1676 Isaac Newton said If I have seen a little further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. The excellent original book Powder Coatings, Chemistry and Technology written by Tosko Aleksandar Misev and later updated by Peter Gillis de Lange has served for my generation as a sort of bible on its sector. Therefore, it has been a great honor while at the same time a tremendous challenge to write a third edition of this book. Due to this respect the original text is maintained where possible, but altered and extended if recent scientific findings made it necessary.
The Stone Age did not end due to a lack of stones. New technologies replace the old ones; novel developments change the look of the world, sometimes at an incredibly fast speed. Just to name a few recent incidents since the last print of the book: The rise of China, severe worldwide financial crises, the changed way of communicating (e.g. smart phones, social media) and radical governmental regulations (e.g. REACH). Of course, these developments had influences on the world of powder coatings, too. Consolidation, relocation and customization are some of the effects. Replacement of toxic ingredients (e.g. TGIC), use of energy saving curing methods and the extension of powder coatings into new application fields are the interconnected technological changes that are covered in this book.
This book is directed to anybody who is involved in developing, producing, testing and marketing of powder coatings, raw materials or application equipment.
What is new compared to the second edition? More than 5,000 recent articles and patents concerning powder coatings have been evaluated and 250 of those have been referenced in this book to ensure that it illustrates the current state-of-the-art. Highlighted core terms and a significant extended index should help finding the desired topic in a shorter time. A list of powder coating related web addresses will enable the reader to locate additional relevant information at the push of a button. Product and company names have been updated as much as possible. Plus more than 30 new photos, diagrams and drawings complete this revised and updated third edition.
I would like to thank Werner Grenda for valuable discussions, Dr. Corey King for corrections of the manuscript and Dr. Michael Ringel for his contribution regarding REACH. Many thanks to the two dozens companies for the excellent photos they provided for this book.
Emmanouil Spyrou
Marl, Germany, Mai 2012

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