FEICA 2019 Conference and EXPO
Dubrovnik, Croatia, 11 - 12 - 13 September 2019

Presentation Abstract

Efficient processing with low moisture calcium carbonates

This is the first of a series of three papers on the science of Calcium Carbonate in Adhesives and Sealants. Following publications will tackle the fundamental of rheological modification and mechanical reinforcement.

Calcium carbonates is the most used filler in Adhesives and Sealants. While coarse products (extenders) are essentially aimed at cost reduction, fine and treat-ed products (functional fillers) offer added functionalities such as mechanical rein-forcement and rheological modification.

When micrometric and submicrometric products are used in moisture curing and moisture sensitive systems, the amount of water carried into the systems by the functional fillers need to be taken in consideration. To prevent variability of product quality and performance of Adhesives and Sealants, costly corrective measures include: filler pre-drying, long mixing time under vacuum, heating/cooling, chemical drying.

Given the economical and operational relevance of moisture in Calcium Carbonate fillers, it is important for the formulator and the production engineer to understand the root cause of the problem. This paper will describe the fundamental behavior of Calcium Carbonate in relation with environmental humidity. We first describe the mechanism using model systems and then expand to interpret real-world produc-tion condition. The fundamentals of surface treatment, a common mitigation tech-nology, will be presented. We will then outline advanced process and material en-gineering solutions. Finally, we will give an overview of the industrial relevance of the phenomena, supported by a separate set of case studies.