Popular Science|Ten Applications of Barium Sulfate

Popular Science|Ten Applications of Barium Sulfate

Barium sulfate is made of barite as the main raw material by mineral processing, ore washing, grinding and other processes. The hardness of barium sulfate is 3-3.5 (Mohs) and its specific gravity is 4.3-4.7. It has the characteristics of high specific gravity, low hardness and brittleness. Barite is almost insoluble in water, ethanol and acid, and soluble in hot concentrated sulfuric acid. With the development of some high-performance barium sulfate products, the application field of barium sulfate is constantly expanding. At present, barium sulphate is widely used in many industries with large demand as follows:

1. The application of barium sulfate in paints is superior to most other filling powders. It has the characteristics of low cohesion, low light dispersion and fine particles. It is especially suitable for paints, varnishes, spraying paints, etc. It has chemical resistance and weather resistance. Its inertia, insoluble in water, acid, alkali and other organic intermediaries, excellent gloss and particle fineness make the paint long-term exposure to be maintained. Barium sulfate is recommended for topcoats to increase surface hardness and color stability.

Barium sulphate has high filling property and can be applied to all kinds of coating series, such as primer, thick paste paint, etc. Its low specific surface area, particle size distribution and fluidity make barium sulphate have low wear resistance in processing. Barium sulphate is recommended for automatic primer surface layer, it’s uniformity and smoothness even when it is filled with high content    

2. Barium sulfate is used in latex paint, known as "acid-resistant" latex paint. It has acid resistance even when exposed. The chemical properties of barium sulfate can be increased by its dispersibility, optical rotation and fluidity.

3. Barium sulfate can improve the glossiness, fluidity, filling ability and compatibility with various pigments when used in unpainted powder coatings.

4. In the application of pigments, barium sulfate is used as a gasket of titanium dioxide and pigments in plastics, which can reduce the amount of pigments added and save about 10% of the cost. Light reflection can keep the complete color of pigments.

5. Titanium dioxide or pigment particles in coatings can not be completely dispersed. The aggregation of particles results in the decrease of scattering rate and covering power, which makes these titanium dioxide aggregates a great waste. MICROBARI submicron barium sulfate has an average particle size of about 1.3um, which is about twice the average particle size of titanium dioxide (about 0.3um). With the addition of MICROBARI submicron barium sulfate, the aggregated titanium dioxide particles can be separated by its mesoscopic microcrystalline particles. Each submicron barium sulfate particle has sufficient surface energy and can adsorb 4-10 titanium around it. White powder particles can effectively realize space separation, so that the scattering rate of each titanium white particle can be maximized. The application of MICROBARI submicron barium sulfate as a physical pigment in high-end products such as thin spray powder coatings, electrophoretic coatings and high gloss coatings can make your products more competitive in technology and price.

6. Barium sulfate as filler in silicone rubber and rubber mixtures can increase the hardness of silicone rubber and reduce its elasticity.

7. In the application of printing ink, barium sulfate is suitable for high quality printing ink because of its low abrasion, high gloss and color stability, low cohesion and fluidity.

8. Barium sulfate is used to produce paper. Its glossiness and fluidity can be increased by introducing barium sulfate, such as art paper and medium white transparent colored paper. The part of titanium dioxide can be replaced by double barium sulfate without losing its glossiness.

9. Barium sulfate is especially suitable for elastomers. It does not contain any heavy metal contamination or rubber poisonous gas. Therefore, it is especially suitable for food and medicines, and can provide its stability and anti-aging properties.

8. In the application of thermoplastic plastics, the thermal conductivity and fluidity of barium sulfate can reduce its injection forming time. Barium sulfate can be used as nucleating agent to improve its strength and thermal stability.

Generally speaking, barium sulfate is widely used in coatings as physical pigments. It plays an important role in improving the thickness, wear resistance, water resistance, heat resistance, surface hardness and impact resistance of coatings. As a gasket for titanium dioxide and pigments in plastics, the amount of pigments added can be reduced and the cost can be saved by about 10%. Barium sulfate can achieve 80% filling rate of its weight. It can effectively insulate noise and murmur when used in drainage pipes, speakers and audio. Barium sulfate N can increase weight when used in curtains. It can provide high gloss, good color, scratch resistance and good dimensional stability for household appliances shell.