Kaolin Processing
Kaolin is a mineral that is nearly white in color and is used primarily to add brightness, smoothness and gloss to products such as paper, paint, toothpaste, cosmetics, porcelain and more. New uses for kaolin continue to be discovered, ensuring sustained, long-term demand for this mineral.
Although kaolin deposits can be found across the globe from China to the UK, US and Brazil, natural deposits with ideal “whiteness” characteristics are rare. In order to achieve the brightness or “whiteness” demanded by downstream industries, kaolin producers must use either flotation or selective flocculation to remove color-causing minerals which are often iron- or titanium-based from deposits. Other impurities such as carbonates and sands are common and can be removed with adequate sizing and washing.
Kaolin is often mined many miles away from the processing plant, making the movement of this mineral through pipelines costly in energy and throughput. As with most mining applications, a large part of the processing water used is recycled water, thus requiring that a certain quality of water be obtained prior to reusing.
At ArrMaz, we produce process chemicals such as flotation collectors and frothers developed specifically for kaolin processing to float undesired minerals and produce the brightness or “whiteness” the market demands. High-grade cationic and anionic collectors are custom blended for specific use at each plant. ArrMaz dispersants, rheology modifiers, and flocculants are also used to achieve the desired rheological specification our customers need.
