Use Fumed Silica as Anti-sedimentation Agents

Europe's largest economy, Germany, recently activated an emergency plan to manage gas supplies that the natural gas could be rationed if supplies are disrupted or disrupted by a stand-off over Russian demands to pay for fuel in rubles.  

German Vice-Chancellor, minister of economy and climate protection, said Germany's gas supplies were secure for now, but he urged consumers and businesses to reduce consumption, saying "every kilowatt of electricity counts." 

Germany's gas network regulator can ration gas if supplies run short. Plants would be the first to be affected. Special treatment will be provided to private families, hospitals, and other important institutions.  

Half of Germany's 41.5 million households use natural gas for heating, and industry consumption accounts for a third of the country's 100 billion cubic meters of gas demand in 2021.  

The price of many energy and commodities like the fumed silica could be affected.

Fumed silica is a kind of inorganic nanomaterial with a small particle size, large specific surface area, and high surface activity.
 
It is mainly used as a rheological auxiliary agent in paint and coating, which can effectively prevent flow hanging and thick edges in the construction process and improve construction efficiency.
In addition, silica in the coating is also used as an anti-sedimentation and dispersant aid, can effectively prevent the sedimentation of the pigment delamination, improve the coating weather resistance, scratch resistance, and the bonding strength between the coating and the substrate. 
 
Fumed silica is an ideal anti-sedimentation agent, its hydrogen bond structure is very stable and uniform, and it is a three-dimensional network structure, which is very effective to prevent the precipitation of pigment in the coating system. Especially for the color paste system, the appropriate amount will greatly improve the stability of color paste, and can reduce the amount of wetting dispersant, to improve the applicability of color paste and reduce the influence of color paste on the coating system. At the same time, the anti-sedimentation effect of fumed silica is very beneficial to the storage of coatings, especially some pigments such as metal powder and thin sections, which are easy to precipitate and cannot be completely suspended, the use of fumed silica can ensure that its dispersion does not precipitate. 


 
The precipitation of fumed silica is very beneficial for coating storage and transportation. For some pigments, such as metal powder and thin film, it is easy to precipitate and cannot be effectively suspended. The use of fumed silica can ensure that the mixture is uniform and does not cause sedimentation. In absolute non-polar liquid phase, such as hydrocarbons (hydrocarbons) without hydrogen bond (chemical structure such as R-H) bonding ability, halogenated hydrocarbon (halogen and hydrocarbon electrophilic addition or substitution reaction) solvent, the viscosity recovery time is only a fraction of a second;  Thixotropic recovery in polar liquids, such as hydrogen-bonded amines (R-NH3), alcohols (R-OH), carboxylic acids (R-COOH), aldehydes (R-CHO), and dialcohols (such as Ho-Rh2-OH, where R- is a saturated alkyl group), can take up to several months, depending on the amount of fumed silica added and the uniformity of mixing. The fumed silica is pre-dispersed and added to the finished paint. Usually, a high-speed dispersing machine or three-roller machine is used to improve the dispersion effect. If the dispersion is not good, the paint film will have particles, affecting gloss and aesthetics. 
 
In addition, as an anti-sedimentation agent, fumed silica is added to coppery acrylic resin conductive coating. The test proves that it can make the thermoplastic acrylic resin thixotropic and prevent the deposition of filler particles, but if the addition amount is too much, the coating becomes a gel state, the conductivity of the coating would be reduced. 
 
In the powder system, because of the small particle size and high surface energy, silica can be adsorbed on the surface of the coating powder, and form a surface layer on the surface of the powder to improve the dispersion of the powder. In the same coating system, the addition of fumed silica can obviously shorten the dispersion time and improve the production efficiency. 
 
The addition of fumed silica in wall coating can effectively prevent coating from hanging, improve the flatness of the construction surface, and also greatly improve the washing resistance and aging time of exterior wall coating. The bonding strength of coating film and the wall is also greatly improved, the hardness of coating film is significantly increased, and the surface self-cleaning ability is also improved. 
 
The adsorption of fumed silica on the surface of powder coating can form a movable layer and produce a "ball bearing" effect, which can prevent the powder coating from absorbing moisture and agglomerating and improve the fluidity of powder coating. 
 
The main function of floor paint is the rheological control, improving the weatherability and scratch-resistance of floor paint, and improving the leveling performance of the coating. 
 
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The United States urges the U.N. Security Council to impose additional sanctions on North Korea in response to its latest ballistic missile launch, including a ban on tobacco and oil exports to North Korea and a blacklist of the Lazarus hacking group.  

The United States circulated the draft to the 15 members of the Security Council this week. It was not immediately clear if or when a vote would take place. A resolution requires nine "yes" votes and no vetoes from Russia, China, France, Britain, or the United States.  

Russia and China have already voiced opposition to tightening sanctions in response to Pyongyang's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile last month -- the first since 2017.  

U.S. and South Korean officials and analysts also say there are growing indications that North Korea may soon conduct its first nuclear weapons test since 2017, too.  

The U.S. -drafted U.N. resolution would expand the ban on ballistic missile launches to include cruise missiles or "any other delivery system capable of delivering a nuclear weapon."  

The deal would halve crude oil exports to North Korea to 2 million barrels a year and refined oil exports to 250,000 barrels a year. The resolution also seeks to ban North Korea's export of "fossil fuels, mineral oils, and their distilled fumed silica are estimated to be influenced by international political situation changes.

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