Aluminum Trihydrate (ATH) — Industrial Uses, Applications and Buying Guide
Direct Answer
Aluminum trihydrate (ATH) is a mineral flame retardant and smoke suppressant. It releases water at about 200 °C, cooling and diluting the flame — which is why it is loaded at 40–65% in cable compounds, composites and solid surface.
That decomposition temperature is the whole selection story. ATH suits PVC, polyolefin cable compounds, unsaturated polyester SMC/BMC, acrylic solid surface and coatings, all of which process below roughly 200 °C. Above that, the mineral starts releasing water in the extruder and foams the compound; for engineering polymers processed hotter, magnesium hydroxide is the correct alternative. Particle size and surface treatment then decide viscosity and mechanical retention at the high loadings flame retardancy requires: coarse ground grades for cost-driven filled systems, fine precipitated grades for cable and translucent solid surface.
1. What Is This Material?
Aluminum Trihydrate (ATH) (Al(OH)₃ — flame-retardant and smoke-suppressant filler) is a bulk industrial raw material used across multiple manufacturing sectors. This page explains it as part of an ecosystem — how it fits into products, processes, and Allzone's related catalog — not as an isolated chemical entry.
2. What Problem Does It Solve?
Industrial buyers reach for Aluminum Trihydrate to solve one of a small set of recurring manufacturing problems (opacity, lubrication, filler cost, pH adjustment, flame retardancy, cleaning, viscosity, or line changeover, depending on the material). The correct grade depends on the exact problem, not the material name alone.
3. Which Industries Use It?
- Plastics
- Cables & wires
- Coatings
- Composites (SMC/BMC)
- Solid surface
4. Which Manufacturing Processes Use It?
- Compounding
- Cable insulation and jacketing
- Composite molding
- Coating dispersion
5. Which Products Commonly Contain It?
- Low-smoke halogen-free cable
- Cast solid-surface counters
- Reinforced composites
- Flame-retardant coatings
6. Which Allzone Products Are Related?
Under the Product Bridge rule, this page links into the wider Knowledge Graph rather than living in isolation:
If a related Allzone product exists in the catalog, the buyer's next natural step is that product page; otherwise the reader is guided to the closest related Masterbatch, polymer, or application article.
7. When Is This NOT the Correct Material to Investigate?
the process temperature exceeds ATH decomposition (>~200 °C sustained). Magnesium hydroxide (MDH) or halogenated / phosphorus systems are then reviewed instead.
Naming the wrong-fit case is deliberate: it enforces Zero Dead-End Pages v1.0 and protects the buyer from ordering the wrong grade.
8. RFQ Mini Technical Specification
Under Raw Material Ecosystem v1.
- Grade — precipitated or ground
- D50 (µm)
- Surface treatment — uncoated, silane, stearate
- End-use — cable, composite, coating, solid surface
- Regulatory requirements — RoHS, REACH, UL, cable standards
- Annual volume (MT/year)
- Packaging
- Delivery region
Continue Your Path
- Prepare specifications → use the RFQ checklist above
- Submit RFQ → /quote
*Allzone supplies industrial raw materials and Masterbatch across North America. *