Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) products are divided into heavy calcium carbonate and light calcium carbonate. They are important inorganic chemical products, widely used as fillers in plastics, paper, coatings, rubber, toothpaste, etc., due to their low price, abundant raw materials, and non-toxicity.

In the past, calcium carbonate was widely used primarily as a filler to reduce costs, achieving good results. With the continuous advancement of calcium carbonate processing technology, the particle size of calcium carbonate has gradually developed towards ultrafine, with some reaching the nanoscale, and the particle size distribution is becoming narrower. The surface treatment technology and blending technology of calcium carbonate are also continuously improving. Now, calcium carbonate has shifted from being a simple filler to a new type of functional material, with an increasingly broad application field.

The market for low-end calcium carbonate products is highly competitive, with limited profit margins. Therefore, the high-end development of calcium carbonate has become a new trend in the future market. In the high-end market, forms of calcium carbonate include nano calcium carbonate, calcium carbonate whiskers, and paper coating grade double 90 slurry products.

1. Nano Calcium Carbonate

Nano calcium carbonate is a new type of ultrafine inorganic material developed in the 1980s. Due to the ultrafine nature of the particles, its crystal structure and surface electronic structure change, producing effects not found in ordinary calcium carbonate. Nano calcium carbonate typically refers to ultrafine calcium carbonate products with particle sizes between 1-100 nanometers.

In China, there are more than 30 enterprises producing nano calcium carbonate, with a total output of 550,000 tons per year. The current price of nano calcium carbonate is between 2000 and 2500 yuan per ton, with major application markets including high-end plastics, high-end coatings, rubber industry, and feed industry. In the feed industry, nano calcium carbonate can be used as a calcium supplement to increase the calcium content of feed. Additionally, due to its high purity, good whiteness, and fine particle size, it can be used as a substitute for titanium dioxide in cosmetics.

2. Calcium Carbonate Whiskers

Calcium carbonate whiskers can be applied in the same fields as general granular calcium carbonate, light calcium, heavy calcium, and nano calcium carbonate. Under the same conditions, compared to light and heavy calcium, calcium carbonate whiskers not only serve as a filler but also exhibit significant reinforcement and toughening effects, thereby improving the performance of products while reducing manufacturing costs, thus enhancing the cost-performance ratio of products. When used as fillers in rubber and plastics, nano calcium carbonate shows significant reinforcement effects. However, due to the tendency of nano powders to agglomerate, they often exist in products as secondary particles, making it difficult to fully utilize their reinforcement effects. In contrast, calcium carbonate whiskers rely on their high strength and high modulus to produce reinforcement effects in the system, and being micron-sized, they have less agglomeration and are easier to disperse, allowing for more effective reinforcement and toughening effects. Calcium carbonate whiskers are mainly used in enhancing plastics, friction material fillers, and high-end paper fillers.

3. Paper Coating Grade Calcium Carbonate Slurry

Paper coating grade calcium carbonate slurry is a product developed specifically for the application characteristics of the paper industry, usually requiring whiteness above 90 and a D90 particle size of less than 2 micrometers, adhering to the double 90 standard. In fact, the slurries currently available on the market have already reached the double 98 standard.

Currently, a new development trend is emerging in the global calcium carbonate industry, where various specialized calcium carbonate production facilities are forming a satellite industry structure with their downstream major users—such as paper and coatings manufacturers. By producing close to these major users, calcium carbonate can be transported in slurry form through pipelines, eliminating the drying process of calcium carbonate slurry, saving a significant amount of energy, and greatly reducing production costs. The domestic calcium carbonate industry has noticed this international development trend, and some large calcium carbonate enterprises have begun to actively engage with downstream major users, establishing nearby factories to supply slurry materials, significantly increasing the profit value of their products.

The author believes that the calcium carbonate industry is still a sunrise industry. Through continuous improvement and enhancement of production technology, producing high-end calcium carbonate products to gradually replace imports will become a new engine for the development of the calcium carbonate industry.