Quartz

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Product Benefits
Technical Details

Quartz (silica, SiO2) is the core mineral within the Sibelco group and can be found in a broad number of applications, such as glass, ceramics and coatings. Quartz can be characterised by:

 

  • Relatively high Mohs hardness of 7
  • Low electrical conductivity
  • Easy to wet
  • High inertness in various media
  • Shape (depending on the source, quartz particles can have an angular or more rounded shape).

 

Note when using quartz:

depending on the particle size distribution of the product, it can be labelled (STOT RE 2 or STOT RE 1). For more detailed information, visit  www.safesilica.eu.

 

Basic properties

Property Value Unit
Moisture [%]
pH 7 [-]
Hardness (Mohs) 7 [-]
Refractive index 1.55 [-]
Colour (D65/ 10°) L* 93 – 96 [-]
L.O.I. < 0.3 [%]
Density 2.65 [kg/ dm3]

 

Product overview

Coarse
product Grade D50 Grade D50 D90 OA
[µm] [µm] [µm] [g/ 100 g]
Silica sand M31 370 M6 30 95 16.5
M32 260 M10 23 60 17.5
M34 170 M300 17 40 19
M400 12 26 20
M500 4 10 23
M600 4 9 24
M800 1.8 4.1 32

Production locations Silica Sand

 

 

Silverbond is the brand name for Sibelco’s silica products.

 

Benefits

 

  • Dirt pick-up resistance: the presence of quartz improves the coating’s resistance to dirt (from the atmosphere, for example).
  • Ease of tinting: due to the combination of refractive index, brightness and colour, paints containing fine quartz flour provide excellent reproducible colour results when working with tinting systems.
  • Texture effect: the use of coarse quartz grades provide texture to coating surface.
  • Tint retention: paints including fine quartz flour show improved tint retention over other minerals when subjected to natural weathering.
  • UV resistance and weatherability: due to its inertness, quartz supports good UV and weatherability performance to exterior architectural coatings.
  • Block resistance: with its non-stick properties, the use of quartz allows faster stacking of coated substrates without them sticking together.
  • Burnish resistance: due to its hardness of 7 on Mohs scale, quartz provides good burnish resistance (low tendency to become glossy when rubbed).
  • Gloss control: the gloss level of an interior coating can be regulated by selecting the appropriate grade of quartz.
  • Scrub resistance: due to its hardness of 7 on Mohs scale, quartz improves the wet-scrub resistance of interior decorative paints.
  • Stain resistance: quartz acts as a supporting mineral filler in stain resistant coatings.
  • Abrasion and scratch resistance: due to its fairly high hardness of 7 on Mohs scale, quartz provides abrasion and scratch resistance to the coating.
  • Chemical resistance: due to its inert nature, quartz provides good chemical resistance compared to conventional fillers.
  • Clarity: due to its fairly low refractive index, fine quartz grades become transparent when combined with certain binder systems.
  • UV-curing compatibility: being transparent for UV radiation, fine quartz grades do not block the curing mechanism.
  • Skid resistance: coarse quartz grades will give a roughness to the substrate, making it less slippery in general as well as under wet conditions, and provides better visibility in wet conditions.
  • IR reflection: quartz contributes to the IR reflection of roof coatings.
  • Pore and grain filling properties (sealer): with low impact on the viscosity, quartz can be used as a mineral filler in sealers to give them more body.

 

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