Knowledge Center

How to Prevent Sedimentation and

Settling During Storage
Posted on April 12, 2019 by Jochum Beetsma

Introduction

Most paints and inks contain solid particles, being pigments and/or fillers. Two instability
problems, flocculation (the gluing together of separated particles) and sedimentation,
can occur with solid particles that have been separated from each other and that are
distributed in a paint or ink. In this article, learn about the basics of sedimentation and
how to prevent it.

Sedimentation defined
Sedimentation is the process of solid particles sinking during storage because of gravity.
In extreme cases, particles can cluster together on the bottom of the can because of
sedimentation. This highly undesired phenomenon, resulting in the formation of a hard or
rubbery sediment, is called settling.
The basics of sedimentation
In general, solid particles in a liquid are
pulled down because of gravitational force.
The cause of this phenomenon is that
many solids have a density that is higher
than the surrounding liquid’s density. The Figure 1. Sedimentation of a solid particle in a liquid
caused by gravity.
process of particles sinking
(sedimentation) causes problems during
storage. The speed of sedimentation is governed by a few properties, shown in Figure 1.

The sedimentation velocity of a solid particle having perfect spherical shape in a

Newtonian liquid, shown in Equation 1, was derived by Sir George Stokes.

In this equation ‘g‘ is the gravitational

acceleration.

The most important factor, governing how Equation 1. The sedimentation velocity of a
spherical particle in a Newtonian liquid.
fast a particle will sink, is the density of the
particle, or, to be more precise, the
difference between the density of the particle and the density of the surrounding liquid
(ρp – ρl).

The second factor is size: big particles sink faster than small particles. The sedimentation
velocity of a spherical particle is proportional to the square of the radius of the particle
(r2).

The third factor is the viscosity of the surrounding liquid (η). A liquid with low viscosity
results in faster sedimentation.

The equation is valid for smooth particles of spherical shape. A fourth factor, governing
how fast a particle sinks, is the shape of the particle.

Preventing sedimentation
In order to understand how sedimentation
can be prevented, take into consideration
that sedimentation is mainly a problem
that occurs during storage of a paint or ink.
During storage, the system stands still and
the main force acting on the system is
gravity. The only way to prevent particles
from sinking is by assuring that a three- Figure 2 – Physical network preventing
sedimentation
dimensional physical network is present in
the system during storage.

The physical network must be strong enough to give the material a so-called yield stress,
also called yield value or yield point. When a material has a yield stress, it implies that
during storage, at low shear stress, the material behaves as an elastic solid. This implies
that the material has an infinite viscosity during storage. The solid particles are ‘frozen-in’
and sedimentation is prevented.

Rheology additives
A physical network can be created in a paint or ink by using a suitable rheology additive,
often referred to as anti-settling agent. The additive is used to prevent sedimentation and
settling. The physical network has to be strong enough to resist the gravitational force
during storage. On the other hand, the network must be weak enough to be broken down
as soon as sufficient shear force is applied. Many rheology additives are developed for a
wide variety of paints and inks.

A few examples of rheology additives, used to prevent sedimentation:

Fumed silica consists of small solid particles that build a physical network in a
material at low shear stress. Many fumed silicas are available, including Aerosil®
products from Evonik.
Certain solid particles with a platelet shape can form a house-of-cards structure in
a paint during storage. Well-known are the smectite clays, like the Bentone®
products from Elementis.
Special polymers, designed for the purpose, can also build a physical network in a
paint or ink, for example: polyurethanes, polyacrylates, modified urea’s and cellulose
ethers.

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Bio-based materials
The interest in bio-based materials for paints and inks increases. Two bio-based
additives that are used to prevent sedimentation during storage of waterbased paints
are of special interest:

Xanthan gum is a high molecular weight polysaccharide that is fully water soluble. A
commercial xanthan gum for waterbased paints is Vanzan® from Vanderbilt
Minerals.
Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) consists of a three-dimensional network of natural
cellulose fibrils1. MFC does not dissolve in water. The cellulose fibrils are present as
finely divided solid cellulose branches suspended in water. The physical network is
obtained via entanglement of the fibrils, in combination with hydrogen bonding, thus
giving a high yield stress in water-based paints. A commercially available MFC
product is Exilva® from Borregaard.

Adding less than 1 percent of a rheology additive will be enough to fully prevent
sedimentation during storage of a paint or ink, provided that the right additive is selected
for the system.

Reference
1. Let’s Get Technical: Best Personal Care Formulation Technology of 2017, George
Deckner, 19 January, 2018.

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Filed Under: Paint & Coatings

About Jochum Beetsma

With over 30 years of experience in the coating and ink industry, Drs. Jochum
Beetsma brings expertise in physical chemistry, raw materials, product
development, innovation implementation and problem solving to his role as a paint
and coatings industry expert at Prospector. As graduated physical chemist and
PDMA-certified New Product Development Professional, Jochum Beetsma authors
in-depth technical articles for Knowledge.ULProspector.com.

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