Focus on fillers: Made in Germany

Hoffmann Mineral presents an overview of its mineral fillers portfolio 

The company Hoffmann Mineral is located in South of Germany, in a little town called Neuburg at the Danube. Our raw material is called therefore Neuburg Siliceous Earth. It is a natural combination of corpuscular Neuburg Silica and lamellar kaolinite: a loose mixture impossible to separate by physical methods. As a result of natural aging, the silica portion exhibits a round grain shape and consists of aggregated primary particles of about 200nm diameter. Such a unique structure is responsible for a relatively high specific surface area and oil absorption, which results, besides rheological activity, also in a whole range of application properties.

This special mineral filler can be used in elastomers for the automotive sector, for construction or electrical industry, in thermoplastics as well as in adhesives, reactive resins and sealants. In paints and varnishes the functional filler can be used in metal as well as in wood or plastic coatings. It is suitable for water-based, solvent-based and transparent coatings and also for UV or excimer curing.

The main top products at a glance:

Gloxil WW SL:

Gloxil WW SL is a 15% aqueous silica dispersion modified with specific additives adapted to the matting agent and the intended application. During film formation of dispersions, the inclusion of matting agent particles will, therefore, be improved. As a result, despite and along with a matting action, films with good water resistance and stain resistance will be obtained.

Sillitin grades, for example Sillitin V 88 or Sillitin Z 89:

Sillitin is a natural combination of corpuscular silica and lamellar kaolinite. These two elements together form a loose structure, which offers particular advantages in terms of application possibilities when used as a functional filler. Depending on the demands of colour and particle size distribution, various products are available and can be used in water-based industrial coatings as well as in clear coats for wood coatings.

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Aktisil AM:

Aktisil AM is an activated Sillitin Z 86, produced by modifying the surface with an amino functional group. The by-products split off during the treatment reaction are largely removed during the production process, which firmly attaches the functional group to the filler surface. This helps minimise undesirable side effects, as they are potentially encountered with in-situ mixing (direct addition of additive to the compound).

During curing (hardening) of the paint formulation, the amino groups of Aktisil AM react with appropriate functional groups of the binder or build a strong interaction in the form of hydrogen bridge linkage. This leads for example to epoxy-based coatings with outstanding corrosion resistance properties.

Aktisil MAM:

Aktisil MAM is an activated Sillitin V 88, produced by modifying the surface with a methacrylic functional group. The by-products split off during the treatment reaction are largely removed during the production process which firmly attaches the functional group to the filler surface. This helps minimise undesirable side effects, as they are potentially encountered with in-situ mixing (direct addition of additive to the compound). During curing (hardening) of the paint formulation, the methacryl groups of Aktisil MAM react with the functional groups of the binder, especially in the presence of radicals. This product can be used in in UV curing clear coats for wood with excellent abrasion resistance.

Life cycle assessment:

Hoffmann Mineral sees environmental protection not only as a matter of law and regulations, but considers itself responsible for achieving continuous improvements on its own initiative. Through measures such as production processes with low emissions and cleaning of unavoidable exhaust air streams, minimisation of waste and wastewater volumes as well as an economical use of raw materials and energy, we try to keep the environmental impact as low as possible.

In order to further promote the topic of sustainability, Hoffmann Mineral has therefore obtained life cycle assessments by TÜV Rheinland in accordance with ISO standards 14040:2021 and 14044:2021. This helps to balance the environmental impact of a product and shows where energy and emissions can be further optimised.

The LCA for our products provides a detailed and granular overview of each phase of its life cycle in terms of energy use and emissions, and shows how much energy is consumed in total for individual production steps and packaging.

By obtaining its LCA, Hoffmann Mineral  can also support customers in their sustainability analyses – a great added value for all parties involved and a lever to effectively improve energy-intensive processes and resource consumption throughout the entire supply chain. This also takes into account the fulfilment of global regulatory requirements worldwide and the growing demand for sustainable and optimised products.