Zinc stearate

Zinc stearate is a source of soluble zinc for accelerator activation for translucent compounds or in cases where maximum activity with minimum quantity is desired. It is used as a lubricant for uncured stock, having the advantage over talc of dissolving in the rubber during the curing. 

BP Zinc stearate PhEur Zinci stearas USP Zinc stearate 

Cecavon-, dibasic zinc stearate HyQual stearic acid zinc salt zinc distearate zinc soap. 

The USP 28 describes zinc stearate as a compound of zinc with a mixture of solid organic acids obtained from fats, and consists chiefly of variable proportions of zinc stearate and zinc palmitate. It contains the equivalent of 12.5-14.0% of zinc oxide (ZnO). 

The PhEur 2005 states that zinc stearate [(CiyHajCOOliZn] may contain varying proportions of zinc palmitate [(Ci5H3iCOO)2Znj and zinc oleate [(Ci7H33COO)2Zn]. It contains not less than 10.0% and not more than 12.0% of zinc. 

Zinc stearate is primarily used in pharmaceutical formulations as a lubricant in tablet and capsule manufacture at concentrations up to 1.5% w/w. It has also been used as a thickening and opacifying agent in cosmetic and pharmaceutical creams and as a dusting powder. See Table I. 

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The basic metal salts and soaps tend to be less cosdy than the alkyl tin stabilizers for example, in the United States, the market price in 1993 for calcium stearate was about 1.30— 1.60, zinc stearate was 1.70— 2.00, and barium stearate was 2.40— 2.80/kg. Not all of the coadditives are necessary in every PVC compound. Typically, commercial mixed metal stabilizers contain most of the necessary coadditives and usually an epoxy compound and a phosphite are the only additional products that may be added by the processor. The requited costabilizers, however, significantly add to the stabilization costs. Typical phosphites, used in most flexible PVC formulations, are sold for 4.00— 7.50/kg. Typical antioxidants are bisphenol A, selling at 2.00/kg Nnonylphenol at 1.25/kg and BHT at 3.50/kg, respectively. Pricing for ESO is about 2.00— 2.50/kg. Polyols, such as pentaerythritol, used with the barium—cadmium systems, sells at 2.00, whereas the derivative dipentaerythritol costs over three times as much. The P-diketones and specialized dihydropyridines, which are powerful costabilizers for calcium—zinc and barium—zinc systems, are very cosdy. These additives are 10.00 and 20.00/kg, respectively, contributing significantly to the overall stabilizer costs. Hydrotalcites are sold for about 5.00— 7.00/kg. 

EPDM-Derived Ionomers. Another type of ionomer containing sulfonate, as opposed to carboxyl anions, has been obtained by sulfonating ethylene—propjlene—diene (EPDM) mbbers (59,60). Due to the strength of the cross-link, these polymers are not inherently melt-processible, but the addition of other metal salts such as zinc stearate introduces thermoplastic behavior (61,62). These interesting polymers are classified as thermoplastic elastomers (see ELASTOLffiRS,SYNTHETIC-THERMOPLASTICELASTOLffiRS). 

Dry lubricants are usually added to the powder in order to decrease the friction effects. The more common lubricants include zinc stearate [557-05-17, lithium stearate [4485-12-5] calcium stearate [1592-23-0] stearic acid [57-11-4] paraffin, graphite, and molybdenum disulfide [1317-33-5]. Lubricants are generally added to the powder in a dry state in amounts of 0.25—1.0 wt % of the metal powder. Some lubricants are added by drying and screening a slurry of powder and lubricant. In some instances, lubricants are appHed in Hquid form to the die wall. 

Zinc oxide is a common activator in mbber formulations. It reacts during vulcanization with most accelerators to form the highly active zinc salt. A preceding reaction with stearic acid forms the hydrocarbon-soluble zinc stearate and Hberates water before the onset of cross-linking (6). In cures at atmospheric pressure, such as continuous extmsions, the prereacted zinc stearate can be used to avoid the evolution of water that would otherwise lead to undesirable porosity. In these appHcations, calcium oxide is also added as a desiccant to remove water from all sources. 

This stock is discharged from the mixer to equipment that allows cooling and a convenient storage form, such as a mill or an extmder/die plate that yields a sheet or pelletized form. Usually the material is coated with a slurry of clay, calcium carbonate, or zinc stearate to prevent self-adhesion. 

Butyl slurry at 25—35 wt % mbber continuously overflows from the reactor through a transferline to an agitated flash dmm operating at 140—160 kPa (1.4—1.6 atm) and 55—70°C. Steam and hot water are mixed with the slurry in a nozzle as it enters the dmm to vaporize methyl chloride and unreacted monomers that pass overhead to a recovery system. The vapor stream is compressed, dried over alumina, and fractionated to yield a recycle stream of methyl chloride and isobutylene. Pure methyl chloride is recovered for the coinitiator (AlCl ) preparation. In the flash dmm, the polymer agglomerates as a coarse cmmb in water. Metal stearate, eg, aluminum, calcium, or zinc stearate, is added to control the cmmb size. Other additives, such as antioxidants, can also be introduced at this point. The polymer cmmb at 8—12 wt % in water flows from the flash dmm to a stripping vessel operated under high vacuum to... 

Cellulose acetate Silica gel Scoured wool Sawdust Rayon waste Fluorspar Tapioca Breakfast food Asbestos fiber Cotton linters Rayon staple Starch Aluminum hydrate Kaolin Cryolite Lead arsenate Cornstarch Cellulose acetate Dye intermediates Calcium carbonate White lead Lithopone Titanium dioxide Magnesium carbonate Aluminum stearate Zinc stearate Lithopone Zinc yellow Calcium carbonate Magnesium carbonate Soap flakes Soda ash Cornstarch Synthetic rubber... 

Accelerated sulphur systems also require the use of an activator comprising a metal oxide, usually zinc oxide, and a fatty acid, commonly stearic acid. For some purposes, for example where a high degree of transparency is required, the activator may be a fatty acid salt such as zinc stearate. Thus a basic curing system has four components sulphur vulcanising agent, accelerator (sometimes combinations of accelerators), metal oxide and fatty acid. In addition, in order to improve the resistance to scorching, a prevulcanisation inhibitor such as A -cyclohexylthiophthalimide may be incorporated without adverse effects on either cure rate or physical properties. 

This rubber has a very high melt viscosity and this was reduced by using a polar flow promoter such as zinc stearate at levels of 9.5 and 19%. This not only reduced the viscosity at low shear rates but also increased the level of pseudoplasticity so that at the high shear rates used in injection moulding flow was even more enhanced. 

After reaction for 15 min, the band near 3295 cm (not shown in Fig. 13) decreased significantly in intensity, indicating that the mono-substituted acetylene groups were reacting. New bands also appeared near 1539 and 1512 cm . After reaction for 30 min, several additional bands appeared near 1011, 1030, 1085, 1232, 1320, 1430, and 1515 cm. The bands near 1011, 1030, 1085, 1232, 1320, and 1430 cm were clearly related to the benzothiazole sulfenamide fragment of DCBS while the band near 1539 cm was related to zinc stearate. 

When a plasma polymerized acetylene film on a steel substrate was reacted with the squalene-containing model rubber compound at 155°C for 15 min, a new band assigned to zinc stearate appeared near 1539 cm in the RAIR spectra... 

The layers in the plate-like structure of talc are Joined by very weak van der Waals forces, and therefore delamination at low shear stress is produced. The plate-like structure provides high resistivity, and low gas permeability to talc-filled polymers. Furthermore, talc has several other structure-related unique properties low abrasiveness, lubricating effect, and hydrophobic character. Hydrophobicity can be increased by surface coating with zinc stearate. 

Rubber base adhesives can be used without cross-linking. When necessary, essentially all the cross-linking agents normally used in the vulcanization of natural rubber can be used to cross-link elastomers with internal double carbon-carbon bonds. A common system, which requires heat to work, is the combination of sulphur with accelerators (zinc stearate, mercaptobenzothiazole). The use of a sulphur-based cross-linking system with zinc dibutyldithiocarbamate and/or zinc mercaptobenzothiazole allows curing at room temperature. If the formulation is very active, a two-part adhesive is used (sulphur and accelerator are placed in two separate components of the adhesive and mixed just before application). 

This chapter reports the results of studies on the physical, dynamic mechanical, and rheological behavior of zinc oxide neutralized m-EPDM, particularly in the presence of stearic acid and zinc stearate, with special reference to the effects of precipitated silica filler. 

Thus, it can be concluded that in the present iono-mer system, zinc stearate plays a dual role. First, below its melting point it reinforces the matrix and strengthens the ionic aggregates and, second, at a higher temperature it results in solvation of the ionic aggregates and plasticizes the system, thus, facilitating the transition from the rubbery state to the viscous flow state [23]. 

EPDM-ZnO-stearic acid systems could not be extruded even at 190°C. This is not unexpected since the material, in the absence of zinc stearate, shows no transition from the rubbery state to the viscous flow state (Fig. 1). In the presence of 10 phr of zinc stearate, the m-EPDM-ZnO-stearic acid system could be extruded but melt fracture occurred at a lower temperature (150°C) at all shear rates. At 160°C and 170°C, however, the extrudates showed melt fracture only at high shear conditions. At 20 phr loading of zinc stearate, melt fracture of the extrudate occurred at high shear conditions at 150°C, but at higher temperatures no melt fracture occurred and the extrusion was smooth under all shear conditions. At 30 and 40 phr loadings of zinc stearate, the extrudates were smooth under all shear conditions at all temperatures. 

Figure 4 shows the plots of apparent viscosity versus shear stress at 170°C for different mixes. It is evident that the materials behave as pseudoplastic fluids, and the viscosity decreases with increasing zinc stearate... 

Since the system is processed as thermoplastics are processed, its reprocessability was studied under repeated cycles of extrusion in the MPT. Results of reprocessability studies are shown in Table 5. It is evident that after the first cycle viscosity increased slightly, which may be due to the orientation effect. In the subsequent cycles viscosity remained almost constant. Therefore, it is concluded that the zinc stearate plasticized zinc salt of m-EPDM is melt processable just as thermoplastics. 

Figure 5 Probable mechanism of shear-induced exchange reactions during melt flow process [33]. (1) Interaction of zinc stearate, (RCOO)2 Zn, with ionic aggregates before melt flow. (II) Exchange reactions during melt flow.

Zinc salt of maleated EPDM rubber in the presence of stearic acid and zinc stearate behaves as a thermoplastic elastomer, which can be reinforced by the incorporation of precipitated silica filler. It is believed that besides the dispersive type of forces operative in the interaction between the backbone chains and the filler particles, the ionic domains in the polymer interact strongly with the polar sites on the filler surface through formation of hydrogen bonded structures. 

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