Kaolin, surface-treated clay

Inks. Refined kaolin is a common ingredient in a large variety of printing inks (qv). In addition to extending the more expensive polymers present, ka olin also contributes to improved color strength, limits the penetration of the ink into the paper, controls rheology, and improves adhesion. Kaolin for this appHcation must usually be as white as possible and free from oversize particles. Surface treated clays are used to improve compatibiHty with oil-based ink. Clays can also be an ingredient in the newer water-based or uv-cured inks. 

Clays vary in price from only a few doUars per ton for common clay to > 0.25/kg for some of the specialty surface treated clays. For clays that are used in large quantities such as kaolins for paper coatings, transportation to the point of use may be the primary cost component. 

Surface-treated clay - This is processed kaolin diat has been surface modified (e.g., with stearates or silanes) to improve compatibility with and performance in organic matrices. 

Clay n. Any naturally occurring sediment rich in hydrated silicates of aluminum, predominating in particles of colloidal or near-colloidal size. There are many types of clays and clay-like minerals. Those of particular interest to the plastics industry are varieties refined by nature and man to a state of good color and particle-size distribution, such as kaolin (China clay). They are used as fillers in epoxy and polyester resins, PVC compounds, and urethane foams. Calcined clays are those that have been heated to a high temperature to drive off the chemically bound water, sometimes also surface-treated to improve their chemical inertness and moisture resistance. They are used primarily in vinyl insulation. 

Kaolin deposits are cored and analyzed before mining to determine quality. Mined clays are then either wet or dry processed by air floatation or water fractionation. Surface-modified clays can be made by treating standard, delaminated, and calcinated grades with surface modifiers. The treatment can be performed by either the supplier or the end user. These surface modifiers include silane, titanate, polyester, and metal hydroxide. The objective of these surface treatments is to increase filler loadings and/or improve physical properties such as melt viscosity, thermal stability, and modulus without loss of physical characteristics. Electrical applications represent the largest use of surface-modified kaolin in plastics. 

US consumption of fine particle-sized calcium carbonates (which improve brightness and reduce absorption in a variety of polymer matrices) is expected to reach about 176 SOO tonnes by 2003. valued at US 38.6 million. Use of fine-particle kaolin and other clay-based fillers in plastics will total 57 600 tonnes, valued at US 21,7 million, and compounders and resin producers are expected to increase use of fine-particle and surface-treated alumina trihydrate by 6.2% per year, from about 30 800 tonnes in 1998 to 41 700 tonnes by 2003. 

Both kaolin and calcined clays are available with surface treatments. Many treatments may be applied but few have any commercial importance. Kaolins are available treated with surfactants and pH adjusters, which produce kaolins that may be dispersed directly into water, (e.g., rubber latices), or with amines to enhance cure performance. Stearic acid treated products may provide ease of dispersion. The most important treatments, technically, are the organo-silanes. 

Special surface modifications are available to further improve reinforcement. The objective of the surface treatment is to increase filler loading and/or improve physical properties without loss of rheological characteristics. A variety of surface-modified kaolins have been introduced including clays treated with silane, titanate, polyester, and metal hydroxide. Silane-treated kaolin is used in applications requiring maximum aging characteristics in the service environment. 

Suzuki and Suga reported the use of clays as solid acids to support and activate metallocene catalysts for olefin polymerization. They were able to use much less alkylaluminmn cocatalyst relative to solution polymerization conditions. The clays were slurried with AlMeg in toluene, then treated with a solution containing zirconocene dichloride, II, and AIMeg. The metallocenium cation was presumed formed via abstraction of chloride and/or methyl ligands by acidic sites on the surface of the clay, and the low basicity of the clay smface was proposed to stabilize the coordinatively unsaturated cation. Propylene was copolymerized with 250 psi ethylene at 70°C. For acid-treated KIO montmorillonite, an activity of 3300 X 10 kg polymer/(g Zr h) was obtained. Catalysts based on vermiculite, kaolin, and synthetic hectorite all showed lower but still appreciable activities. In this brief report, the Al/Zr ratio was not specified, and the clay dispersion was not reported. 

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