barium sulfate manufacturer

Nowadays, natural barium sulfate and precipitated barium sulfate are common mineral fillers in the market. Among them, natural barium sulfate is made directly from physically processed barite powder and precipitated barium sulfate is made from chemical precipitation. So what is the difference between these two?

1. Production process.

(1) Natural barium sulfate is raw barite mineral processed by crushing, washing, and grinding, which is a purely physical process. The raw barite is crushed in the mine and then cleaned with washing equipment to remove the deposits on the surface. Finally, it is ground by a mill into an ultra-fine powder of a specified size according to the customer's requirements.

(2) precipitated barium sulfate is chemically produced. The reaction is to mix barium sulfide solution with sodium sulfate solution to remove calcium and magnesium and then chemically react at 80°C to produce a precipitate. Then the barium sulfate precipitate is treated by filtration, water washing, and acid washing, and its pH is controlled between 5 and 6. Finally, the precipitate is filtered, dried, and crushed in another round to make industrial-precipitated barium sulfate powder. Precipitated barium sulfate can also be obtained by mixing barium yellow brine with sodium sulfate solution.

2. Barium sulfate content.

Limited by the quality of the barite ore source, the barium sulfate content of natural barium sulfate is very unstable, generally below 85% due to impurities in the mineral.

However, this is not the case for precipitated barium sulfate. After the extraction and precipitation, the reaction removes various impurities, and the barium sulfate content can reach 99%. This makes precipitated barium sulfate an ideal filler for refining chemicals, such as high-performance water-based coatings, automotive coatings, electronic inks, etc.

3. The difference in particle size.

In the powder-filling industry, a unit called "AIM" is used to measure the particle fineness of a product; the higher the AIM value, the smaller the particle size. Nowadays, there is 300 mesh to 12500 mesh barium sulfate in the market, of which 300 mesh is mainly natural barium sulfate, while the precipitated barium sulfate is generally above 10000 mesh.

4. Downstream application.

Natural barium sulfate is usually used for downstream products that do not require high purity and whiteness, ultra-fine particle sizes, excellent dispersibility, or high oil absorption, such as general paints and plastics.

Precipitated barium sulfate can be used in medium and high-end applications, such as high-performance water-based coatings, automotive coatings, electronic inks, engineering plastics, etc.

5. Market price.

As seen from the production process, there is a big difference in both production cost and output. The production process of natural barium sulfate is simple, and the output is large, so the price is relatively low.

Precipitated barium sulfate is produced through complex processes such as calcination, synthesis, extraction, precipitation, and drying, which requires a lot of electricity, coal, sodium sulfide, and barite consumption. So its daily output is limited, and its cost is much higher than that of natural barium sulfate.

The above is about the difference between natural barium sulfate and precipitated barium sulfate. If you need more detailed information, welcome to contact us!