Patent ID: 7807729
Filing Date: 2010-10-05
Classification: B01J,C08J,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A method of producing heat-expanded microspheres, which comprises the steps of: providing a plurality of heat-expandable microspheres, each heat-expandable microsphere comprising a shell of thermoplastic resin, and a blowing agent encapsulated therein having a boiling point not higher than the softening point of the thermoplastic resin, and the plurality of heat-expandable microsphere having an average particle size from 1 to 100 μm; feeding a gas fluid containing the plurality of heat-expandable microspheres through a gas-introducing tube which has a dispersion nozzle on an outlet thereof, the dispersion nozzle being fixed inside a conduit with a hot gas flow flowing through the conduit, and then jetting the gas fluid from the dispersion nozzle; colliding the gas fluid with a collision plate fixed on a downstream portion of the dispersion nozzle in order to disperse the plurality of heat-expandable microspheres in the hot gas flow; and heating the plurality of dispersed heat-expandable microspheres in the hot gas flow at a temperature not lower than the expansion initiating temperature of the plurality of heat-expandable microspheres and thus expanding the same.