AEROSIL® fumed silica and SIPERNAT® specialty silica

Liquid formulations of agrochemical products occupy an important share in the pesticides market. These formulations are developed to improve safe handling of the active ingredients. Precise dosing of liquids into powder blends is often a challenge especially when the liquids are highly viscous or sticky. SIPERNAT^® specialty silica converts additives or actives that usually appear as liquid or pasty substance into free flowing powders. 

In contrast to this AEROSIL^® fumed silica acts as rheology modifier for liquid pesticide formulations. Insoluble active ingredients in liquid pesticide formulations show settling effects and reduced efficiency. By stabilization of active ingredients in liquid formulation and adjustment of viscosity by forming a three dimensional network of fumed silica links, AEROSIL^® fumed silica alleviates these effects.

Solid agrochemical formulations such as crop protection- (herbicide, insecticide, fungicide) and seed treatment-formulations (insecticide, fungicide, biocide) have been known for many years in the industry. Powdered ingredients employed are often highly cohesive and/or too sticky for proper processing. AEROSIL^® fumed silica and SIPERNAT^® precipitated silica are used in solid formulations as flow aid, anti-caking aid, milling aid and as carrier for liquid active ingredients. The fumed and the precipitated silica products improve the free flow and caking properties of wettable powders (WP), granules (GR), water dispersible granules (WG), granulated fertilizer and seed treatment formulations by reduction of van der Waal’s forces and moisture films between the particles. They also improve drying of the coated seeds and their free flow properties. Furthermore, AEROSIL^® fumed silica and SIPERNAT^® specialty silica improve storage, enable better drilling and higher harvest rates of high value seed.