Thixotropic organoclay additive for highly viscous systems

摘要

Improved organophilic clay gellants for highly viscous systems such as asphalt and creosote can be prepared by a process wherein the smectite-type clay is gently dried and/or subjected to minimum or no grinding. The organophilic clay agent may be used to thicken a variety of organic compositions including pitch and heavy resins. In a preferred aspect, the organophilic clay gellant can be directly added to asphalt systems in order to efficiently and effectively modify the viscosity thereof without the use of either a polar activator as a dispersion agent or a preactivation agent.