Process of manufacture of particles with a natural calcium carbonate and ethylene acrylic acid salts base, suspensions and dry pigments obtained, their uses

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10011731-B2
Application number	US-201514691843-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 21, 2015
Priority date	Jan 19, 2006
Publication date	Jul 3, 2018
Grant date	Jul 3, 2018

Abstract

The present invention consists of a process of preparation of at least one mineral matter and/or of at least one pigment, including a calcium carbonate made at once partially organophilic and partially hydrophilic, in which the carbonate is blended and/or ground and/or concentrated in an aqueous medium, in the presence of at least one salt of ethylene acrylic acid, one dispersing agent and/or one grinding aid agent, which is introduced before and/or during this treatment stage.
Another object of the invention lies in the aqueous dispersions and suspensions of calcium carbonate thus obtained. They may be dried and the dry pigments obtained also constitute an object of the invention.
Use of these aqueous dispersions and these dry pigments in the field of plastic, paints and paper constitutes another object of the invention.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A process for the preparation of at least one mineral matter comprising calcium carbonate that is partially organophilic and partially hydrophilic, the process comprising the stages of:
a) supplying at least one mineral matter comprising calcium carbonate in a dry form or in a form of an aqueous dispersion and/or suspension,
b) blending and/or concentrating in an aqueous medium the mineral matter obtained from stage a) in the presence of: (1) a dispersing agent, and (2) at least one salt of ethylene acrylic acid, wherein the salt of the ethylene acrylic acid is present at a dry weight percent of 0.2 to 2% based on the dry weight of mineral matter, and the dispersing agent is present at a dry weight percent of 0.1 to 2% based on the dry weight of the mineral matter, wherein
(i) the ethylene acrylic acid is a copolymer of acrylic acid monomer and ethylene monomer,
(ii) carboxylic groupings of the ethylene acrylic acid salt are entirely neutralized or neutralized at a rate of 70 to 99% relative to the total number of the carboxylic sites of the ethylene acrylic acid, with at least one neutralization agent,
(iii) the ethylene acrylic acid salt has a melt index of between 50 g/10 minutes and 1,500 g/10 minutes when the ethylene acrylic acid salt is totally neutralized, measured according to norm ASTM1238 125° C./2.16 kg,
(iv) the ethylene acrylic acid has a viscosity of 3,000 to 7,000 mPa.s, 15,000 to 20,000 mPa.s, and 50,000 to 100,000 mPa.s at temperatures of 200° C., 170° C. and 140° C., respectively, and
(v) the ethylene acrylic acid salt has a mass ratio of ethylene monomer to acrylic acid monomer of between 10:90 and 30:70, and

wherein the dispersing agent is a homopolymer of acrylic acid and/or a copolymer of acrylic acid with a water-soluble monomer selected from methacrylic acid, maleic acid, itaconic acid, crotonic acid, fumaric acid, isocrotonic acid, aconitic acid, mesaconic acid, sinapic acid, undecylenic acid, angelic acid, canellic acid and/or 2-acrylamido 2-methyl propane sulfonic acid in acid form or partially neutralized, or acrylamide, methylacrylamide, an ester of an acrylic or methacrylic acid, acrylate phosphate, ethylene methacrylate, propylene glycol, vinylpyrrolidone, vinylcaprolactame, vinyl acetate, sodium styrene sulfonate, allylamine, or derivative thereof, and
c) optionally drying the mineral matter resulting from stage b); and
wherein the mineral matter obtained from stage a) and/or stage b) has a dry weight of greater than 65% based on the total weight of the aqueous dispersion and/or suspension of mineral matter, and a Brookfield viscosity of less than 1,000 mPa.s measured at 100 rpms at 25° C.

2. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the mineral matter comprises natural and/or precipitated calcium carbonate.

3. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the mineral matter comprises natural calcium carbonate.

4. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the ethylene acrylic acid salt is soluble in an aqueous media, and comprises carboxylic groupings that are partially or totally dissociated from their acid proton.

5. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the ethylene acrylic acid salt has a mass ratio of ethylene monomer to acrylic acid monomer of 20:80.

6. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the ethylene acrylic acid salt has a melt index of between 200 g/10 minutes and 300 g/10 minutes when the ethylene acrylic acid salt is totally neutralized, measured according to norm ASTM1238 125° C./2.16 kg.

7. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the ethylene acrylic acid salt has a melt index of between 1,000 g/10 minutes and 1,400 g/10 minutes when the ethylene acrylic acid salt is neutralized at a rate of 70 to 99% (as a proportion of the carboxylic sites), measured according to norm ASTM1238 125° C./2.16 kg.

8. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the neutralization agent includes at least one monovalent cation selected from the group consisting of one or more alkali ions and/or one or more amines and/or ammonia.

9. The process according to claim 8 , wherein the monovalent cation comprises a sodium ion.

10. The process according to claim 8 , wherein the monovalent cation comprises a primary amine.

11. The process according to claim 10 , wherein the amine is an alkanolamine.

12. The process according to claim 10 , wherein the amine is an alkanolamine comprising at least one ethanol and/or propanol grouping.

13. The process according to claim 12 , wherein the amine is 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol.

14. The process according to claim 12 , wherein the amine is dimethyl ethanolamine.

15. The process according to claim 13 , wherein 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol is used in a quantity effective to contribute a proportion of monovalent cation of between 75 and 125% of the carboxylic groupings of the ethylene acrylic acid.

16. The process according to claim 13 , wherein 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol is used in a quantity effective to contribute a proportion of monovalent cation equal to 100% of the carboxylic groupings of the ethylene acrylic acid.

17. The process according to claim 14 , wherein dimethyl ethanolamine is used in a quantity effective to contribute a proportion of monovalent cation of between 75 and 125% of the carboxylic groupings of the ethylene acrylic acid.

18. The process according to claim 14 , wherein dimethyl ethanolamine is used in a quantity effective to contribute a proportion of monovalent cation equal to 100% of the carboxylic groupings of the ethylene acrylic acid.

19. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the ethylene acrylic acid has a viscosity of 15,000 to 25,000 mPa.s, 50,000 to 100,000 mPa.s, and 300,000 to 400,000 mPa.s at temperatures of 200° C., 170° C. and 140° C., respectively.

20. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the mineral matter includes, in addition to calcium carbonate, at least one other mineral matter selected from a dolomite, a bentonite, a kaolin, talc, cement, gypsum, lime, magnesia, titanium dioxide, satin white, aluminium trioxide, aluminium trihydroxide, a silica, mica, a talc-calcium carbonate blend, a calcium carbonate-kaolin blend, a blend of calcium carbonate with aluminium trihydroxide or aluminium trioxide, a blend of calcium carbonate with a synthetic or natural fiber, a mineral costructure, a talc-calcium carbonate costructure, or a talc-titanium dioxide costructure, or any blend thereof.

21. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the mineral matter comprises greater than or equal to 70% of calcium carbonate based on the total dry weight of the mineral matter and/or pigment.

22. The process according to claim 1 , wherein when the mineral matter is present in the form of an aqueous dispersion and/or suspension during stage a), the concentration by dry weight of mineral matter is greater than 60%, and less than 30% of the total weight of the dispersion and/or suspension when the dispersion and/or suspension in stage a) contains no dispersing agent.

23. The process according to claim 1 , wherein stage b) is undertaken in an aqueous medium which leads to the formation of an aqueous dispersion and/or suspension of which concentration by dry weight of mineral matter is greater than 70% of the total weight of the dispersion and/or suspension.

24. The process according to claim 1 , wherein stage b) leads to an aqueous dispersion and/or suspension of mineral matter having an average diameter of less than

Assignees

• Omya Int Ag

Inventors

• Buri Matthias
• Gane Patrick A C
• Hunziker Philipp
• Burkhalter René
• Karth Beat

Classifications

• C08K3/26

  Carbonates; Bicarbonates · CPC title

• C08K2201/003

  Additives being defined by their diameter · CPC title

• C09C1/021

  Calcium carbonates · CPC title

• D21H17/67

  Water-insoluble compounds, e.g. fillers, pigments · CPC title

• C01P2004/62

  Submicrometer sized, i.e. from 0.1-1 micrometer · CPC title