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 papermaker within a specific application. We can control processing parameters (degrees of freedom) to customize PCC particle shapes, particle sizes and particle size distribution as well as surface area and surface chemistry, all designed to optimize individual paper 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 paper application. We offer distinct families of products targeted toward a primary papermaking need and 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 paper applications including coated and uncoated woodfree papers, coated and uncoated mechanical papers, newsprint, and various linerboards and paperboards.
PCC products for filling uncoated woodfree (freesheet), mechanical (groundwood), supercalendered (SC) and newsprint or directory papers include:
- Albacar® PCC family of scalenohedral shaped PCC’s is perfect for filling papers where maximum light scattering (opacity and brightness) and bulk are desired.
- Albafil® PCC family of prismatic shaped PCC’s is ideal for improving machine runnabilty and sheet closure while enhancing scattering with reduced strength loss.
- Megafil® PCC family of prismatic crystals is specially engineered for papers with high filler contents. These products provide superior stiffness and strength.
- Velacarb® PCC is a unique mineral filler specifically designed for uncoated mechanical (groundwood) papers such as supercalendered (SC), newsprint and directory grades. Velacarb® PCC improves sheet opacity, brightness, smoothness and print quality.
PCC products for coated woodfree (freesheet) and coated mechanical (groundwood) papers:
- Albaglos® PCC family of prismatic crystals enhances coated papers where higher brightness and gloss is desired.
- Opacarb® PCC family of aragonite, or needle shaped crystals, optimizes the printing performance of coated papers by providing smooth and opaque surfaces for clear, sharp color printing.
We continue to research and test new PCCs from our laboratories. Many of these products are designed to meet the changing demands of manufacturers of uncoated and coated papers and paperboards. New generation of high brightness, cost-efficient PCCs are capable of providing very high filler contents or enhanced surface properties.
In addition to offering the paper industry high quality, effective PCC pigments, SMI has the technical know-how and expertise to implement PCC technology within the paper mill. Our AT® and Dual Flow® PCC technologies are unique for incorporating PCC within the paper sheet.
Backed-up by multiple state-of-the-art laboratory facilities and access to pilot-scale coating machines, we forge partnerships with our paper customers that help create solutions to paper manufacturing problems. For example, SMI can assist in engineering plant design, optimizing paper machine runnability, tackling wet-end chemistry problems, and creating the best cost-performance benefits.
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