Kaolin, Performance Attributes of

Flash vs. Commodity Calcination

Methods
in Coatings Systems

What is calcined Kaolin?

Commercial grades of Kaolin are generally either available as one of four forms:

Air floated

Water Washed

Calcined

Surface Modified

Calcination: in the simplest sense, water washed grades, chosen to achieve a

desired finished product requirement, are ground, heat treated at temperatures near
or above 650C, and ground again to reduce fused particles formed during the
calcination. Calcining methods can be either flash with pneumatically conveyed feed
material experiencing a residence time measured in seconds, but at elevated
temperatures, or by soak methods which take as much as twenty or thirty minutes to
complete. Soak calciners can be of either vertical or rotary design, as opposed to
flash calcinations' pneumatic conveyance, are consistent in terms of being gravity
fed.

Calcination Process
Conventional Calcination
Flash Calcination

Calcined Kaolin Process

Feed stock for calcination comes from water

washing process.
Conventional calciners are large multi-hearth
furnaces or kilns, fired typically between
1400F (760C) and 2000F (1100C).
Kaolin is introduced into the furnace and the
crystalline bound water of hydration (14% by
weight) is driven off. Impurities not able to be
removed in the water washing process are
oxidized.

A vertical
calciner.

Clay is
gravity fed.

Residence
time 20-30
minutes.

Calcined Kaolin Process

The calcination procedure is tightly monitored

through advanced technology and process
controls, optimizing consistency.
After calcination, Kaolin is cooled, and milled
to reduce aggregates formed during the
calcination process.
Characteristics such as oil demand,
brightness, and opacity are dramatically
increased through calcination.

Calciner discharge, >650 C

Conventionally
calcined Kaolin
clay (ICEBERG)

Flash Calcination Process

Flash calcination is a process that introduces

water washed Kaolin to a hot gas stream for
a few seconds.
Crystalline bound water of hydration is
removed rapidly, expanding the kaolin
platelet and creating an amorphous particle
containing nanometer sized internal air voids.
The result of flash calcination is a unique
particle structure and different physical form
from conventional calcined Kaolins.

Opacity is derived
from the internal
voids which cannot
be wet out in a
resin system.
Hiding power and
tint strength is
dramatically
improved over
conventional
calcined Kaolins.

Flash calcination (OPTIWHITE)

Conventional versus Flash Calcined

Conventional

Brightness 86-95
Oil absorption 50-100+
Good abrasion and scrub
resistance in paints
Good dry hiding above CPVC
Moderate wet hiding
Much improved electrical
properties vs. hydrous
feedstock
Very low solubility/reactivity
Very inert (essential in
pharmaceutical rubber)
Low LOI (loss on ignition)

Flash

Brightness range 83-91

Oil absorption 55-80
Very good abrasion and scrub
resistance
Very good dry and wet hiding
power (opacity)
Improved flattening and touch
up properties
Particle size distribution to
achieve excellent tint strength
Very reactive in cement mixes
Excellent electrical attributes in
PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride
compounds)
Excellent TiO2 Extender

Wet and Dry Opacity

Demonstration

Conventional versus Flash Calcined

Two paints were made up with no TiO2 or

other extenders.

One paint contained only conventionally

calcined clay, the other flash calcined clay.

The drawdowns display the contribution to

opacity when comparing only the calcined
clays.

Iceberg

Optiwhite

Lot 901-069

Lot 601-1311

E
Lbs/100 GAL

Water
Nuosept 95
250 HBR
AMP-95
Tamol 731
KTPP
CO-630
Ethylene Glycol
Texanol
Colloid 643
Flash Calcined
Conventional calcined
UCAR 379

522.0
0.5
8.0
3.0
8.0
2.0
2.0
15.0
12.0
4.0
----100.0
240.0

B
(Grams/Liter)

625.0
0.6
9.6
3.6
9.6
2.4
2.4
18.0
14.4
4.8
----119.7
287.4

(%)

Lbs/100 GAL

57.0%
0.05%
0.87%
0.33%
0.87%
0.22%
0.22%
1.64%
1.31%
0.44%
----10.91%
26.19%

515.0
0.5
8.0
3.0
8.0
2.0
2.0
15.0
12.0
4.0
100.0
----240.0

EVALUATION RESULTS
Hiding, 3 Mil Bird Blade on 2C Opacity Chart
Reflectance
0.863
Contrast Ratio
0.105

0.857
0.208

Angular Sheen
85 Degree
60 Degree

3.2
3.1

1.7
3.1

Tint Strength
Reflectance

0.559

0.559

Application Properties: Brushout/Touchup on Sealed/Unsealed Wallboard

Viscosity
98

95

Lab Color
L
a
b

94.46
-0.95
5.23

94.95
-0.98
5.39

(Gram/Liter)

616.6
0.6
9.6
3.6
9.6
2.4
2.4
18.0
14.4
4.8
119.7
----287.4

(%)

56.62%
0.05%
0.88%
0.33%
0.88%
0.22%
0.22%
1.65%
1.32%
0.44%
11.0%
----26.39%

The contrast
ratio showed
a significant
improvement
with the flash
calcined
Kaolin.

Conventional versus Flash Calcined

An extenders contribution to wet opacity can

be measured by wetting it out in mineral oil.

After being
allowed to
dry, drops of
mineral oil
were placed
on the film.
The oil was
then spread
across.

The flash
calcined clay
exhibited
much better
wet hiding
than the
conventional
calcined clay.