Metal Soaps (Calcium and Zinc Stearate)

Soaps are compounds of metals with fatty acids derived from vegetable oils or animal tallow, the most common acid used being stearic acid, which contains mostly C16 and C18 chains in its industrial form. The main metals used are sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc and aluminium.

eChem is part of the Faci group, which makes stearates based on all the above-mentioned metals. These are valuable for their lubricity and water-repellency, properties which are derived from the long carbon-chains of the fatty acids. Calcium and zinc soaps are available as aqueous dispersions formulated for various specific applications, from our plants in the UK, USA, Italy, Spain and Singapore.

Typical markets for stearate dispersions include: - as lubricants in paper coatings to prevent dusting and fold-cracking; - as water-repellents or anti-efflorescent additives in concrete; - as anti-tack agents in the manufacture and processing of rubber.

Powder-form Ca and Zn stearates are also widely used in the plastics industry as lubricants and components of heat stabilizers, especially for PVC, and in many other industries as lubricants or anti-caking agents, and these are manufactured on our plants in Italy, Spain, the UK, Singapore and China.

The specific benefits of dispersions as opposed to powder-form stearates are that there are no dusty powders to handle, the products easy to disperse into water-based systems, and critical product quality parameters can often be more accurately controlled.

The Faci group has many years of experience in making high quality stearate dispersions for all industries, and can tailor product properties to individual customer requirements in order to achieve the maximum performance in the specific end-use application. Our main standard grades are:

Calcium Stearate

CD 211 a 50% dispersion suitable for a wide range of industries, including rubber processing, construction and abrasives;
CD 220 a 50% dispersion particularly suitable for use in concrete admixtures.
CD 215K a 50% dispersion with kosher and halal certification, suitable for food applications.
For powder grades, please see the main Faci website at: http://www.faci.it.

Zinc Stearate

EC 994C a 40% dispersion suitable for abrasives and other applications, with good stability against settling.
For powder grades, please see the main Faci website at: http://www.faci.it.