Custom filler material produces excellent paint without common damage to mixing equipment

Micronized silica for paint industry produced via fine grinding jet mill

In order to produce paint of the highest possible quality, the raw materials must be tightly controlled. This includes the mineral fillers that make up to 50% of the paint. Filler materials like calcium carbonate, talc, kaolin and silica largely govern paint properties like UV resistance, weatherability, abrasion resistance and sheen. Modern exterior latex paints typically use silica as a filler material, however it is particularly abrasive to paint mixing equipment and causes expensive wear damage. This study by Samayamutthirian Palaniandy, Khairun Azizi Mohd Azizli, Ee Xun Hong, Syed Fuad Saiyid Hashim and Hashim Hussin from Universiti Sains Malaysia looks at controlling particle size and shape of silica paint filler to enhance the properties of paint while minimising damage to mixing equipment.

The researchers found that fine grinding of silica in a jet mill with controlled operational parameters produced high quality silica for the paint industry with beneficial morphological attributes such as particle size distribution, particle shape and surface texture. The filler that they prepared was also advantageous in that sharp edges of the grains of silica were removed in the milling process. This results in a high quality filler that is far less damaging to mixing equipment which would in turn prolong the life of expensive equipment, reducing costs as well as the likelihood of contamination from wear particles.