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Specialty Minerals Precipitated Calcium Carbonate Products for Paperboard Applications

Specialty Minerals Inc. (SMI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Minerals Technologies Inc., provides the technology and products to advance the science of papermaking. By concentrating on precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) for the paper industry, SMI leads the way in new product innovation, implementation of alkaline papermaking, cost reduction through higher filler usage and machine productivity, enhanced paper quality and environmentally-friendly industrial practices.  

SMI’s satellite plant program has reduced papermaking material and processing costs by locating PCC manufacturing plants on site at the paper mill. In addition to freight and inventory economies, all of our PCC products reflect SMI’s commitment to quality and performance and can be tailored to meet the unique needs of a specific application or even the needs of a distinct paperboard within a specific application. We can control processing parameters (degrees of freedom) to customize PCC particle shapes, particle sizes, particle distribution, surface area, and surface chemistry. All of these are designed to optimize individual board performance.

Control over these “five degrees of freedom” allows us to manufacture a wide range of PCC products that are optimized to meet the unique and dynamic needs of almost every board application. We offer distinct families of products targeted toward a primary papermaking need, which allow for optimization within the family to address secondary papermaking requirements. We continue to research alternate PCC morphologies and methods of PCC manufacture in order to generate products with new and exciting benefits.

The following family of PCCs can be used in a wide variety of uncoated and coated paperboard applications including various linerboards, coated containerboard, pre-coated or top-coated bleached paperboard, and white top linerboard.


PCC products for filling uncoated paperboards:

  • Albacar® PCC family of scalenohedral shaped PCC’s is perfect for filling paperboards where maximum light scattering (opacity and brightness) is desired.
  • Megafil® PCC family of prismatic crystals is specially engineered for paperboards with high filler contents. These products provide superior stiffness and strength.


PCC products for pre-coated or top-coated paperboards:

  • Crystalglos™ PCC engineered crystals enhances coated paperboards where higher brightness, improved fiber coverage, and caliper are desired.
  • Opacarb® PCC family of aragonite, or needle-shaped crystals, optimizes the printing performance of coated paperboards by providing smooth and opaque surfaces for clear, sharp color printing.


We continue to research and test new PCCs in our laboratories. Many of these products are designed to meet the changing demands of manufacturers of uncoated and coated papers and paperboards. New generations of high brightness, cost-efficient PCCs are capable of providing very high filler contents to enhance surface properties.

Backed up by multiple state-of-the-art laboratory facilities and access to pilot scale coating machines, we forge partnerships with our paperboard customers to create solutions for paper manufacturing problems. For example, SMI can assist in engineering plant design, optimizing paperboard machine runnability, tackling wet-end chemistry problems, and creating the best cost-performance benefits.

 

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