Fillers are very widely used in the plastics industry, and their growth rates currently exceed those of the resins themselves. They can sometimes reduce costs, and often improve performance; the use of fillers enables commodity thermoplastics, such as polypropylene, to achieve cheaply the same levels of performance that would otherwise require much more expensive engineering plastics.This report discusses the solid particulate and fibrous fillers used in plastics. All the leading mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, china clay, feldspar, silica, talc and wollastonite are covered. Loose, chopped glass fibres (as opposed to mat, fabric and continuous roving) are classified as fillers, together with solid glass and polymer beads, glass and metallic flakes, and hollow microspheres. Carbon-based fillers (including various plant-based materials) are covered more briefly, and there is a survey of agrowaste and related materials. The current favourable emphasis on renewable resources is likely to change the filler business in the long term, and organic fillers are already being recognised for their weight saving potential.

The report mentions the scope for new business arising from technical progress with novel speciality fillers, including nanofillers, designed to impart desirable properties. The main factors determining trends in usage of fillers as a whole are presented, and factors specific to a given material are mentioned. The European consumption of resins is discussed and comments are made on the environmental and legislative influences likely to affect future consumption of fillers and resins, with specific reference to PVC. Attention is concentrated mainly on Western and to a lesser extent Eastern Europe, but mention is also made of North American and Asia/Pacific companies and markets. The information presented is based mainly on an analysis of the most recent technical and commercial literature in the extensive Rapra database, which is acknowledged as the worlds leading source of industrially relevant published information on the polymer industry. The contents benefit from information obtained through postal surveys and telephone interviews with representatives of leading filler companies, as well as information from trade federations, conferences, company brochures and websites, and other Internet sources.

About the author:

Geoffrey Pritchard worked for 28 years at Kingston Polytechnic/University, eventually becoming Head of the School of Applied Chemistry. During this time he developed Kingstons research and consultancy in the field of fibre reinforced plastics and particulate filled resins, working with defence and industry collaborators to determine the chemical resistance and durability of these materials, and also taught polymer science.

Since 1995, he has been an independent consultant and plastics industry analyst. He edits the Rapra newsletter Focus on Plastics Additives, and the Rapra research journal Polymers and Polymer Composites. He has been editor or principal co-author of nine books on polymer technology, including most recently Plastics Additives - an A-Z Reference (Kluwer) and Reinforced Plastics Durability (Woodhead).