3A SUPERSIV®

Molecular Sieves are a series of chemical substances that can differentially absorb some molecules and not others, thereby having the effect of “sieving out” one specific type of molecule, from a mixture of many different molecules.

It’s important to note that whilst it is convenient to use the term ‘Molecular Sieves’, it is not a very accurate scientific name for these products, as there can be significant physical / chemical differences between products that are referred to as ‘Molecular Sieves’. For example, Zeolite Molecular Sieves and Carbon Molecular Sieves have entirely different chemical make-ups, and crystal structures.

People tend to use the term “Molecular Sieves”, because it is convenient, and this is fine… just so long as you know that they’re not all one single family of chemical products. An analogy might be someone who uses the term “Zoo Animals”. In many circumstances, this might be the appropriate term to use, but one should just note that this is not a scientific collective term, as different types of ‘Zoo Animals’ that are in the exact same Zoo, can have very few similarities to other animals on show.

Zeolite Molecular Sieve is a term used for a specific subset of Molecular Sieves, namely the Alumino-Silicate forms. Other varieties of Molecular Sieves include; Carbon Molecular Sieve and Alumino-Phosphate Molecular Sieve.

This is great question, and a query that we are asked about every week. Fortunately the answer is simple – the choice between Zeolite Molecular Sieve Powder and Paste normally comes down to the size of the company using it, and the machinery that they have in their production facilities.

Zeolite Molecular Sieve paste is the ideal choice for smaller SME companies, with perhaps 2 or 3 staff and no access to machinery that allows them to disperse fine powders evenly into liquids. If this sounds like your company, then you should definitely consider using 3A SUPERSIV Paste; which a pre-blended mix of 3A SUPERESIV Powder, and high-quality Virgin Castor Oil. The mix ratio between these two components is 50:50.

Zeolite Molecular Sieve powder is the better choice for larger more established companies, that do possess the necessary machinery required for blending fine powders into liquids. If such blending machinery is available then 3A SUPERSIV Powder (see details here) becomes the obvious choice, as its cost (per Kg of finished formula) is much lower than that of the pre-blended paste. For this reason, one should think of 3A SUPERSIV Paste as a ‘convenience’ product, used primarily by start-up polymer manufacturers.

• In French, Molecular Sieves are called: “Tamis Moleculaire”.
• In German, Molecular Sieves are called: “Molekularsieb” or “Molsieb”.
• In Spanish, Molecular Sieves are called: “Tamiz Molecular”.
• In Polish, Molecular Sieves are called: “Sita Molekularne”.
• In Italian, Molecular Sieves are called: “Setacci Molecolari”.
• In Portuguese, Molecular Sieves are called: “Peneira Molecular”.
• In Turkish, Molecular Sieves are called: “Nem Tutucu”.
• In Dutch, Molecular Sieves are called: “Moleculaire Zeef”.
• In Swedish, Molecular Sieves are called: “Molekylsikt”.
• In Catalan, Molecular Sieves are called: “Tamís Molecular”.
• In Indonesia, Molecular Sieves are called: “Saringan Molekuler”.
• In Hebrew, Molecular Sieves are called: “מסננת מולקולרית”.