PQ Corporation manufactures sodium silicate and potassium silicate products that can be used as adhesives in several applications, such as those involving paper, wood, and fabrics. Soluble silicates in aqueous solutions have physical and chemical properties that are useful in adhesive applications. Liquid silicates are inexpensive, readily available, and convenient. When applied as a thin layer on or between surfaces of other materials, the silicate solution dries to form a tough, tightly adhering inorganic bond or film which can exhibit the following characteristics:
Low cost
Non-flammable
Resistant to temperatures up to 3,000°F
Odorless and non-toxic
Bondable to metals, particles (e.g., refractory materials), fibrous materials (e.g., paper, fiberglass), glass, ceramics
Strong and rigid
Because of the low cost and versatile properties of PQ® sodium and potassium silicates as coatings and binders, they are useful in a broad range of applications. PQ's latest development, PREXSIL™ sodium silicate, serves to extend phenol-formaldehyde resins in adhesives for plywood. PREXSIL replaces up to 25% of the phenolic resin in the adhesive formulation with no sacrifice in final bond quality and delivers significant cost savings.