Wollastonite powder is a single-chain silicate mineral. It is widely used in ceramics, paints and coatings, plastics and rubber, chemical industry, papermaking, welding rods, and metallurgy.
The current demand situation and export background of wollastonite powder:
The global market for wollastonite powder continues to grow strongly, driven by the rising demand in the fields of plastic reinforcement, ceramic production, architectural coatings, and automotive composites. As a high-performance and environmentally friendly mineral filler, wollastonite not only enhances hardness, thermal stability, and dimensional stability but also reduces production costs.
China remains the world's largest producer and exporter of wollastonite powder, with exports to Vietnam, Russia, Mexico, Turkey, and Europe steadily increasing. Ultrafine grade (1250–3000 mesh), surface-modified wollastonite, and products with a high aspect ratio are becoming increasingly popular in high-end applications.
Production process:
The raw wollastonite ore is first hand-picked or optically selected to remove waste rocks, surrounding rocks, and obvious impurities.Then, it is coarsely crushed by a crusher and finely crushed to 15–50mm by an impact crusher or cone crusher to meet the requirements of the grinding mill. The purified particles are evenly fed into the mill by a quantitative feeder. The grinding is done by a Raymond mill or pendulum mill, with roller pressing and grinding, which is highly efficient. For finer particle size and narrower distribution, ultra-fine ring roller mills, vertical mills, or jet mills are used. The ground powder is sent to the classifier by a fan. The qualified fine powder is collected, and the coarse powder is returned for re-grinding.
Main application fields:
Wollastonite powder, due to its high whiteness, needle-like structure under the microscope, chemical stability, low oil absorption value, insulation, and heat resistance, is an excellent inorganic filler and functional powder. It is mainly used in the following major fields:
- 1. Plastic industry: It improves the hardness, rigidity, dimensional stability, and heat resistance of plastics. It enhances surface gloss and reduces shrinkage. Commonly used in: PP, PE, PA, ABS, PVC sheets, pipes, and injection molded parts.
- 2. Ceramic industry: It reduces firing temperature and shortens firing time. It improves the strength, whiteness, and density of ceramics. It is used in: tableware ceramics, building ceramics, sanitary ceramics, and electrical ceramics.
- 3. Rubber industry: It serves as a reinforcing filler, replacing part of silica and carbon black. It enhances tensile strength, tear strength, and wear resistance. It is used in: rubber tubes, conveyor belts, seals, and shoe soles.
- 4. Other high-end applications: Adhesives and sealants: It improves strength and reduces costs. Welding rod coating: It stabilizes the arc, deoxidizes, and improves formation. Environmental protection and metallurgy: Flux and desulfurizer.
