Free online seminar:  "How about more thickener?"

“How about more thickener? Or just a better technique?” is the title of the latest lecture in Dr Hans-Joachim Jacob’s popular online seminar series on May 27th.

Thickeners are used everywhere, in lacquers and paints, in detergents and cosmetics, in food products, de-icing liquids for aircraft and even in effective firefighting water for bushfires. Most are difficult to mix in, because they get sticky and lumpy.

But why should you need more thickener? If you use the right equipment, you really don’t need extra thickener in your product, and more thickener is seldom positive for your product quality and acceptance. Nevertheless, it is common practice when using organic thickeners to use up to 25% more than would be necessary for the specific viscosity build-up. This is due to the fact that thickeners form agglomerates when added into liquids that have to be destroyed. Gel that is already hydrated is irreversibly destroyed during that subsequent dispersing process. In order to still achieve the desired viscosity, more thickener is usually used than required.

It is different with inorganic thickeners, for example with layered silicates. Here, you also have to use more than necessary, but for a different reason. These thickeners cannot be completely de-laminated by normal dispersing.

If using the right machine, you really don’t need extra thickener. The Conti-TDS offers a process that disperses both inorganic and organic thickeners immediately and colloidally on first contact with the liquid, making it possible to reach the maximum possible — without additional dispersing or ageing time — while already hydrated gels are not destroyed under ongoing shear. The thickener concentration can even be significantly reduced. The investment in this kind of machine is often paid back in under a year, purely through the raw material savings and a more effective process.

Now you no longer have any problems with sticky or lumpy powders and do not need to use more thickener than necessary — learn more in the online seminar by Ystral process and application engineer Dr. Hans-Joachim Jacob on 27 May.

REGISTER HERE FOR FREE.