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Mineral Fillers - Now Considered Mineral Additives!
The search of mineral fillers with a superior performance level is permanent in the paint in-
dustry, and the reasons range from keeping up competitiveness, more versatile formulations,
quality assurance and prompt delivery to the increasing concern with sustainability.
It has been a while now since mineral fillers have no longer been just fillers, but also played
a major role in coating formulations as additives and specialties. Suppliers of mineral fillers
began to improve their products so that they would impart optimum performance to the for-
mulations where they are used through better grinding, surface treatment, calcination and
other processes. Today, many of those which used to be just desired paint properties are now
possible thanks to the extensive research done on mineral fillers.
The market in mineral fillers has come a long way over the past few years, as market require-
ments get stricter and stricter, especially from paint manufacturers that need those additives
to be more clarified, finer, lighter and brighter for producing premium paints.
To that end, producers need to start with a rather discerning selection of rocks, and then
proceed with the appropriate crushing, grinding, calcination or other industrial process.
Currently, Brazilian producers of mineral fillers provide several particle sizes in slurry form,
and there are also high-quality imports that can be used as fillers and extenders. While
seeking to provide more value for money, suppliers also strive to make their mineral fillers
increasingly effective, competitive, innovative and sustainable.
This industry, too, is always evolving towards serving niche markets and developing mine-
rals for special applications, while always adding value to their customers’ end products by
improving washability, yield, hiding and matting power, lowering density, extending rheology
additives and TiO2, barring gases, enhancing mechanical strength, etc.
Corrosion Inhibitors - Appearance and Protection Efficiency
The use of corrosion inhibitors in paint formulations is indispensable because they prevent
chemical degradation, ensuring the good appearance and safety of products.
The market in corrosion inhibitors has progressively evolved over the past few years. Surface
treatment to prevent corrosion is essential to the development of paint formulations. It is no-
ticeable that there are various types of corrosion inhibitors today, all for just as various per-
formance and application requirements, from the simplest to the most demanding ones. The
products on the market range from the oldest items to the latest technologies. They all meet
varying customer requirements, including the best cost-benefit ratio for each application.
In addition, a growing number of paint makers need materials that can deliver high perfor-
mance while observing principles of sustainability, environment-friendliness and competiti-
veness. This is a world trend, and new technologies are being developed to replace substances
considered harmful to the environment.
Even though they are used in the most varied of paints and coatings, corrosion inhibitors play
a more prominent role in certain applications, such as protective coatings (for metals), metal
treatment (anticorrosive treatment), maritime coatings, and building and construction (for
reinforced concrete structures). Because of such a wide range of applications, the market in
corrosion inhibitors has been keeping pace with the expansion of Brazil’s industry base and
is expected to grow even faster due to new investments being made in the automotive and
home-building segments, as well as the international sporting events that will be hosted by
Brazil.
Hydrocarbon Solvents - Better Alternatives
Performance and cost are still the main factors leading to the extensive use of hydrocarbon