Use Fumed Silica as Anti-sedimentation Agents

Russia's insistence on paying for Russian gas in rubles has rattled European countries: Greece held an emergency meeting of suppliers, the Dutch government would urge consumers to use less gas, and the French energy regulator told consumers not to panic. Russian gas meets one-third of Europe's annual energy needs.

Russia said they could expand their demand for ruble payments for other commodities, including oil, grain, fertilizer, coal, and metals, which raised the risk of recession in Europe and the US. 

Moscow is expected to unveil its ruble payment plan in early April, but it said it would not immediately ask buyers to pay for gas in rubles.  

Western countries have said paying in rubles would be a breach of contract, and renegotiation could take months or longer. This uncertainty has pushed commodity market prices higher.

The supply and prices of other commodities like the fumed silica could also be affected.

Fumed silica is a kind of inorganic nanomaterial with a small particle size, large specific surface area, and high surface activity.
 
It is mainly used as a rheological auxiliary agent in paint and coating, which can effectively prevent flow hanging and thick edges in the construction process and improve construction efficiency.
In addition, silica in the coating is also used as an anti-sedimentation and dispersant aid, can effectively prevent the sedimentation of the pigment delamination, improve the coating weather resistance, scratch resistance, and the bonding strength between the coating and the substrate. 
 
Fumed silica is an ideal anti-sedimentation agent, its hydrogen bond structure is very stable and uniform, and it is a three-dimensional network structure, which is very effective to prevent the precipitation of pigment in the coating system. Especially for the color paste system, the appropriate amount will greatly improve the stability of color paste, and can reduce the amount of wetting dispersant, to improve the applicability of color paste and reduce the influence of color paste on the coating system. At the same time, the anti-sedimentation effect of fumed silica is very beneficial to the storage of coatings, especially some pigments such as metal powder and thin sections, which are easy to precipitate and cannot be completely suspended, the use of fumed silica can ensure that its dispersion does not precipitate. 


 
The precipitation of fumed silica is very beneficial for coating storage and transportation. For some pigments, such as metal powder and thin film, it is easy to precipitate and cannot be effectively suspended. The use of fumed silica can ensure that the mixture is uniform and does not cause sedimentation. In absolute non-polar liquid phase, such as hydrocarbons (hydrocarbons) without hydrogen bond (chemical structure such as R-H) bonding ability, halogenated hydrocarbon (halogen and hydrocarbon electrophilic addition or substitution reaction) solvent, the viscosity recovery time is only a fraction of a second;  Thixotropic recovery in polar liquids, such as hydrogen-bonded amines (R-NH3), alcohols (R-OH), carboxylic acids (R-COOH), aldehydes (R-CHO), and dialcohols (such as Ho-Rh2-OH, where R- is a saturated alkyl group), can take up to several months, depending on the amount of fumed silica added and the uniformity of mixing. The fumed silica is pre-dispersed and added to the finished paint. Usually, a high-speed dispersing machine or three-roller machine is used to improve the dispersion effect. If the dispersion is not good, the paint film will have particles, affecting gloss and aesthetics. 
 
In addition, as an anti-sedimentation agent, fumed silica is added to coppery acrylic resin conductive coating. The test proves that it can make the thermoplastic acrylic resin thixotropic and prevent the deposition of filler particles, but if the addition amount is too much, the coating becomes a gel state, the conductivity of the coating would be reduced. 
 
In the powder system, because of the small particle size and high surface energy, silica can be adsorbed on the surface of the coating powder, and form a surface layer on the surface of the powder to improve the dispersion of the powder. In the same coating system, the addition of fumed silica can obviously shorten the dispersion time and improve the production efficiency. 
 
The addition of fumed silica in wall coating can effectively prevent coating from hanging, improve the flatness of the construction surface, and also greatly improve the washing resistance and aging time of exterior wall coating. The bonding strength of coating film and the wall is also greatly improved, the hardness of coating film is significantly increased, and the surface self-cleaning ability is also improved. 
 
The adsorption of fumed silica on the surface of powder coating can form a movable layer and produce a "ball bearing" effect, which can prevent the powder coating from absorbing moisture and agglomerating and improve the fluidity of powder coating. 
 
The main function of floor paint is the rheological control, improving the weatherability and scratch-resistance of floor paint, and improving the leveling performance of the coating. 
 
Luoyang Tongrun Nano Technology Co. Ltd. (TRUNNANO) is a trusted global chemical material supplier & manufacturer with over 12-year-experience in providing super high-quality chemicals and Nanomaterials, including silicon powder, nitride powder, graphite powder, zinc sulfide, calcium nitride, 3D printing powder, etc.
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Chile's government has decided to create a state-owned lithium enterprise and hopes to establish a model for the company by the end of the year, Mining Minister Marcela Hernando said in an interview.  

Chile is the world's second largest lithium producer and has the largest reserves of lithium in the world. The domestic lithium industry is currently dominated by two private companies, Albemarle and SQM.  

Chile wants to participate more closely in the booming lithium market after leftist President Gabriel Boric took office in March. The accelerating electrification of the global auto industry has helped push prices of lithium, a key raw material for electric car batteries, to record highs over the past year, lapping up more players, including Mexico and Argentina, who want a piece of the market.  

According to Hernando, the government is setting up a task force to determine the best way to run state-owned lithium enterprises. She said the government hopes to establish plans by the end of the year for how the company will develop and what business model it will operate under. 

Hernando stressed that while the state would be a major shareholder in the proposed company, it was open to private investment.

Luoyang Tongrun Nano Technology (TRUNNANO) is a global chemical material supplier providing high-quality chemicals and Nanomaterials including graphite powder, 3D printing powder, the fumed silica.

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