Oji Paper Co., Ltd.

Masasuke Watanabe

Osamu Kitao

Masashi Matsuda

Motohide Wada

Hitoshi Okada

Process for producing silica particles suitable for use as filler for paper

The present invention relates to a process for easily and efficiently producing silica particles having a narrow particle size distribution and a high porosity from inexpensive starting materials such as sodium silicate. The silica particles of the present invention can be obtained in the form of a slurry containing them by (1) forming a slurry by mixing first particles difficultly soluble in an alkali and soluble in an acid, with an aqueous alkali silicate solution to form a first slurry containing the first particles, (2) neutralizing the first slurry with a mineral acid to prepare a second slurry containing second particles wherein silica is deposited on the first particles, and (3) adding a mineral acid to the second slurry to dissolve the first particles from the second particles, to prepare a third slurry containing silica particles. When the silica particles of the present invention are used as a filler even in a small amount for paper making, the resultant papers have excellent brightness, opacity, opacity-after-printing, etc.

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Kawasaki, Japan

Masasuke Watanabe