The plastic industry is booming in China, and the masterbatch industry has also risen and become an indispensable part of the plastics industry. Especially in recent years, with the rapid expansion of automobile manufacturing, consumer goods and home appliance industries, consumers' requirements for product appearance have been continuously improved, and they have a higher pursuit of color richness, which makes masterbatch become very important in the coloring of plastic products.
Masterbatch is a pigment concentrate, which is a particle aggregate made by evenly dispersing pigments in a carrier resin with a higher amount of pigments than ordinary dyeing pigments, which is specially used for the coloring of organic polymer products. It is usually prepared by homogeneous dispersion of pigments and thermoplastic resins in more than conventional proportions, and the carrier resin selected can wet the pigment well, has excellent dispersion action, and has good compatibility with the coloring resin. The main components of masterbatches include carrier resins (e.g., polyolefins), pigments (various organic and inorganic pigments), and dispersants (e.g., polyethylene waxes, EVA waxes). Some masterbatches also add the right amount of surfactant or coupling agent (e.g., silane coupling agent) during preparation.
Many industrial plastic products require high mechanical strength and sometimes good durability at high temperatures, which can be achieved by adding fillers. Fillers are auxiliary ingredients that are used in high amounts during plastic processing or coloring to improve the performance of plastic products and reduce costs.
The most extensive fillers include inorganic mineral materials. The existence of inorganic mineral fillers can increase the relative yield of plastics, improve the strength and heat resistance of plastics, and reduce the cost of products, so that plastics have better processing, physical and mechanical properties. Commonly used inorganic mineral fillers include barium sulfate, wollastonite, kaolin, talc and calcium carbonate.
Calcium carbonate is a rich, inexpensive and widely used inorganic filler. Adding calcium carbonate to the product can improve processability and reduce costs. Compared with other fillers, calcium carbonate fillers have lower hardness and have less impact on processing equipment; At the same time, calcium carbonate has little effect on pigments or other colorants, which is conducive to the stability of the color of the product.
Attapulgite clay is widely used because of its excellent physicochemical properties and process properties. After purification and processing, attapulgite clay is widely used in the filler of plastic rubber, and is widely used in woven bags, flooring, plastic films, packing belts and other fields.
Wollastonite is an inorganic mineral that has been developed and utilized since the 60s of the 20th century, with global proven reserves of nearly 200 million tons and prospective reserves of about 400 million tons. Compared with kaolin and calcium carbonate, wollastonite is more effective in filling and reinforcing plastic and rubber products.
Kaolin has excellent properties and is widely used as a filling modifier for thermoplastic and thermosetting plastic products. However, due to the acidic nature of kaolin, which can cause harmful chemical reactions with other components of the filling system, careful consideration is required when using kaolin as a filling modifier. The acidic hazards of kaolin can often be eliminated by surface modification, thereby improving its adhesion to plastics.
Talcum powder is a commonly used filler, and its main raw material is natural talc. Talcum powder is widely used in the filling and modification of plastics, which can reduce the cost of filling plastics, and improve the mechanical properties, dimensional stability and high temperature creep resistance of plastics, so it is widely used in automotive, aviation, instrumentation and other industries.
Barium sulfate can be divided into two types: natural barium sulfate and synthetic barium sulfate. Synthetic barium sulfate has the characteristics of high whiteness and small particle size, which is suitable as a filling modifier for plastics. Barium sulfate has the properties of heat resistance, chemical corrosion resistance, chemical composition stability, etc., and can be used as a filler for plastics to improve the chemical corrosion resistance and heat resistance of products.