MINERAL FILLERS | ADDITIVES
Above: Mining of Lumina’s Greenspar anorthosite mineral filler at the company’s site in Greenland
combination provides an opportunity for improved material handling…In compounding applications, low moisture levels help reduce processing challenges such as off-gassing and die lip buildup,” he added.
Low carbon options Low carbon footprint and cost benefits are claimed by Lumina Sustainable Materials, which mines anorthosite in Greenland for use as a multifunc- tional filler in various thermoplastic and other applications. It has now established a US headquar- ters at Jeffersonville in Indiana. The site includes R&D labs, pilot plant, mineral processing, and masterbatch production. “Lumina is located right on the Ohio River with
rail access to take advantage of the most efficient forms of transportation,” says Brian Hanrahan, president of the company. “Lumina will be working with multiple minerals, including our anorthosite from Greenland, barium sulfate, and ATH. Our masterbatching lines can make 90%+ active masterbatches of almost any additive, including minerals, flame retardants, pigments, carbon black, and other additives. Right now we are scaling up masterbatching and mineral processing while also expanding our existing lab and pilot capabilities.” Hanrahan claims its Greenspar mineral is unique with a chemistry that is different than any other industrial mineral in current use. At the Functional Fillers conference held in the US in May and organized by Film & Sheet Extrusion publisher AMI, he said the mineral has a blocky shape like calcium carbonate but a hardness similar to wollastonite. While many hard minerals are abrasive and can cause wear to processing equipment, he said Greenspar is milled to a small particle size
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Mineral replacement Lumina has found that in polyamide, the additive can replace minerals such as kaolin, mica, or wollastonite, where it offers a less abrasive alterna- tive and a cost saving. “Greenspar has a slight drop in tensile and
flexural strength but a large boost in impact performance,” Hanrahan said. In PVC, Greenspar can provide weatherability
properties similar to a carbon black, but it is white in colour. The company also recently filed a patent on a new FR technology that uses the surface-treated mineral to form a ceramic char layer in the polymer, which helps extinguish fire. Lumina has analysed the mineral’s carbon footprint and says that, in a similar way to calcium carbonate, it is a very low-carbon utilisation mineral. “We see advantages when anorthosite can
replace more heavily processed or treated minerals such as calcined clay. We are also working with a new ATH supply which has a 95% reduction in carbon footprint versus standard precipitated ATH. This new material utilises a natural mineral form of ATH and can be produced with minimal processing and energy,” according to the company.
CLICK ON THE LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION: �
www.hoffmann-mineral.com �
www.imerys.com �
www.hpfminerals.com �
https://ima-europe.eu/ �
www.cficarbonproducts.com �
www.omya.com �
www.incoa.com �
www.luminamaterials.com
October 2023 | FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION 45
IMAGE: LUMINA SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS
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