Apparatus and method for expanding thermally expandable thermoplastic microspheres to expanded thermoplastic microspheres

1. An apparatus for expanding thermally expandable thermoplastic microspheres, the apparatus comprising:

a heating zone being capable of withstanding a pressure of at least 4 bars, the heating zone having an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe,

a pump for feeding a slurry of thermally expandable thermoplastic microspheres into the heating zone and capable of generating a pressure of at least 4 bars in the heating zone;

a means for heating the slurry of thermally expandable thermoplastic microspheres in the heating zone to a temperature of at least 60° C. without direct contact of the slurry to any fluid heat transfer medium; and

a distribution pipe having an inlet and an outlet, wherein the outlet pipe is attached to the distribution pipe between the inlet and the outlet of the distribution pipe.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the outlet pipe has a constant internal diameter.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the outlet pipe increases in internal diameter such that an end section to an opening of the outlet pipe increases in an internal diameter to at least twice the internal diameter of the outlet pipe.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the distribution pipe comprises at least one mixing/separating element within, or combinations thereof downstream from the attachment of the outlet pipe to the distribution pipe.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the at least one mixing/separating element is selected from a rotating mixer, a static mixer, a rotating knife, a steam dividing unit or a sieve.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the means for heating the slurry is at least one electric heating element, a heat exchanger or an electromagnetic radiation source.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a pulsation damper positioned between the pump and the heating zone.

8. A method for expanding thermally expandable thermoplastic microspheres comprising the steps:

providing a slurry of thermally expandable thermoplastic microspheres into a heating zone,

heating the slurry of thermally expandable thermoplastic microspheres in the heating zone to a temperature of at least 60° C. and generating a pressure of at least 4 bars, wherein the heating is achieved without any direct contact of the slurry with any fluid heat transfer medium,

maintaining the pressure within the heating zone such that the thermally expandable thermoplastic microspheres do not fully expand; and

withdrawing the slurry from the heating zone through an outlet pipe and then through a distribution pipe, wherein the outlet pipe is attached to the distribution pipe between an inlet and an outlet of the distribution pipe, and into a zone with a lower pressure to fully expand the thermally expandable thermoplastic microspheres.

9. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the outlet pipe is used with a constant internal diameter.

10. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the outlet pipe is used which increases in internal diameter such that an end section to an opening of the outlet pipe increases in an internal diameter to at least twice the internal diameter of the outlet pipe.

11. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the distribution pipe comprises at least one mixing/separating element within, or combinations thereof downstream from the attachment of the of the outlet pipe with the distribution pipe.

12. The method according to claim 8 further comprising adding a cooling media via the inlet, wherein the cooling media is any one of a gas, a liquid or particulates or any combination thereof, selected from air, water, nitrogen gas, chalk particles, calcium carbonate particles, silica particles, clay particles and TiO 2 particles.

13. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the pressure in the heating zone is maintained from between 4 to 50 bars.

14. The method according claim 8 , wherein the slurry of expandable microspheres is heated in the heating zone to a temperature from at least 60 to 250° C.

15. The method according to claim 8 , wherein a content of thermally expandable thermoplastic microspheres in the slurry of thermally expandable thermoplastic microspheres is between 5 to 50 wt %.

16. The method according to claim 8 , wherein a carrier liquid in the slurry of thermally expandable thermoplastic microspheres is a water based liquid or an oil based liquid.

17. The method according to claim 8 , wherein heating the slurry of thermally expandable thermoplastic microspheres is carried out by at least one of an electric heating element, a heat exchanger or an electromagnetic radiation source.