White mineral

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As White minerals achromatic be minerals referred that in contrast to the white pigments found in nature. The most famous representatives are:

  • Mica (aluminum-potassium-silicate)
  • Talc (magnesium silicate)

Depending on the deposit, natural white minerals contain different concentrations of impurities or admixtures ( gangue ) such as B. Metal salts, which affect the whiteness of minerals. A very white mineral is calcite, the rocks can form marble and chalk. Known deposits are for marble : Carrara , for chalk : Champagne ( Omya ) or complaints, for kaolin : China (China clay, kaolin ).

White minerals are mainly used as the main component of coating colors in the paper industry, as fillers in paper pulp and as fillers in paints such as wall paints and plasters . Depending on the desired properties, they are broken, sifted, sieved and / or ground to different degrees (0.5 µm to 3 mm). In the paper industry, preference is given to using wet-ground mineral slurries with a solids content of up to 78% TS and a particle size of less than 0.5 μm.

Some white minerals, such as calcite , quartz or ettringite , are also produced synthetically in industrial processes.

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