Alumina manufacture

Another process for alumina manufacture involves treatment of clay and shale with concentrated sulfuric acid. Hydrochloric acid is added dur-... 

Fig. 6 Honeycomb lightweight structures derived from preceramic paper sheets top - FEM calculation of principal stress (oix) distribution for two different wave positions showing significantly lower tensile stress loading to occur in the right structur model bottom - corrugated stack of alumina manufactured from preceramic paper.

Basic refractories (e.g. chromite, graphite, carbide etc.) These are used in areas where slags and atmosphere are either acidic or basic and are chemically stable to both acids and bases. Alumina Manufactured from burnt bauxite, electro cast bauxite. 

ATH also comes closest to meeting all of the criteria mentioned previously, and this explains its current pre-eminence. It owes its relatively low cost and wide availability to its production on a vast scale as an intermediate in alumina manufacture. The main limitation of ATH is... 

Testing. Chemical analyses are done on all manufactured abrasives, as well as physical tests such as sieve analyses, specific gravity, impact strength, and loose poured density (a rough measure of particle shape). Special abrasives such as sintered sol—gel aluminas require more sophisticated tests such as electron microscope measurement of a-alumina crystal si2e, and indentation microhardness. 

In 1990, appioximately 66,000 metric tons of alumina trihydiate [12252-70-9] AI2O2 3H20, the most widely used flame retardant, was used to inhibit the flammabihty of plastics processed at low temperatures. Alumina trihydrate is manufactured from either bauxite ore or recovered aluminum by either the Bayer or sinter processes (25). In the Bayer process, the bauxite ore is digested in a caustic solution, then filtered to remove siUcate, titanate, and iron impurities. The alumina trihydrate is recovered from the filtered solution by precipitation. In the sinter process the aluminum is leached from the ore using a solution of soda and lime from which pure alumina trihydrate is recovered (see Aluminum compounds). 

Manufacturers of alumina trihydtate include Solem Industries, Aluchem, Alcoa, Custom Grinding Sales, R. J. Marshall, Georgia Marble, and Hitax. 

TrialkylPhosphates. Triethyl phosphate [78-40-0] C H O P, is a colorless Hquid boiling at 209—218°C containing 17 wt % phosphoms. It may be manufactured from diethyl ether and phosphoms pentoxide via a metaphosphate intermediate (63,64). Triethyl phosphate has been used commercially as an additive for polyester laminates and in ceHulosics. In polyester resins, it functions as a viscosity depressant as weH as a flame retardant. The viscosity depressant effect of triethyl phosphate in polyester resins permits high loadings of alumina trihydrate, a fire-retardant smoke-suppressant filler (65,66). 

There are several processes available for the manufacture of cryoHte. The choice is mainly dictated by the cost and quaUty of the available sources of soda, alumina, and fluoriae. Starting materials iaclude sodium aluminate from Bayer s alumina process hydrogen fluoride from kiln gases or aqueous hydrofluoric acid sodium fluoride ammonium bifluoride, fluorosiUcic acid, fluoroboric acid, sodium fluosiUcate, and aluminum fluorosiUcate aluminum oxide, aluminum sulfate, aluminum chloride, alumina hydrate and sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, sodium chloride, and sodium aluminate. 

The manufacture of cryoHte is commonly iategrated with the production of alumina hydrate and aluminum trifluoride. The iatermediate stream of sodium aluminate from the Bayer alumina hydrate process can be used along with aqueous hydrofluoric acid, hydrogen fluoride kiln gases, or hydrogen fluoride-rich effluent from dry-process aluminum trifluoride manufacture. 

Most A1F. and cryoHte producers have their own HF production faciUties. HF vapor is reacted with alumina trihydrate to form A1F. in a fluid-bed reactor. HF is reacted with sodium hydroxide to form sodium fluoride, which is then used to produce cryoHte. Producers who manufacture these products solely for use in the aluminum industry do not generally install Hquid HF storage and handling faciHties, and do not participate in the merchant HF market. 

Cementstone is an impure (usually argillaceous) limestone, possessing the ideal balance of siUca, alumina, and calcium carbonate for Portiand cement (qv) manufacture. When calcined it produces a hydrauHc cementing material. 

Silica and Alumina. The manufacture of Pordand cement is predicated on the reaction of lime with siUca and alumina to form tricalcium sihcate [12168-85-3] and aluminate. However, under certain ambient conditions of compaction with sustained optimum moisture content, lime reacts very slowly to form complex mono- and dicalcium siUcates, ie, cementitious compounds (9,10). If such a moist, compact mixture of lime and siUca is subjected to steam and pressure in an autoclave, the lime—silica reaction is greatiy accelerated, and when sand and aggregate is added, materials of concrete-like hardness are produced. Limestone does not react with siUca and alumina under any circumstances, unless it is first calcined to lime, as in the case of hydrauhc lime or cement manufacture. 

Portland Cement Manufacture. The second greatest use of limestone is as raw material in the manufacture of Pordand cement (10). The average limestone factor per ton of Pordand cement is 1.0—1.1 t of pulverized limestone. The limestone, calcined to lime in the cement rotary kiln, combines with siUca and alumina to form tricalcium siUcate and tricalcium aluminate and other lesser cementing compounds (see Cement). Most cement companies operate captive limestone quarries. 

Flint clays and other related rocks are another potential lithium source. These are high alumina clays that are composed largely of we11-crysta11i2ed kaolinite [1318-74-1] and are used for the manufacture of refractories (qv). The lithium content ranges from <100 to 5000 ppm. Deposits occur in many states, including Missouri, Peimsylvania, and Ohio. Lithium (at ca 1.3%) is present in a chlorite mineral that is similar to cookeite [1302-92-7]. High lithium contents may be the reason why some deposits are unsatisfactory for refractory use. 

Anhydrous aluminum chloride, AIQ, is manufactured primarily by reaction of chlorine [7782-50-5] vapor with molten aluminum and used mainly as a catalyst in organic chemistry ie, in Friedel-Crafts reactions (qv) and in proprietary steps in the production of titanium dioxine [13463-67-7] Ti02, pigment. Its manufacture by carbochlorination of alumina or clay is less energy-intensive and is the preferred route for a few producers (19). 

Another cosmetic appHcation of aluminum compounds is as lakes for Hpstick manufacture (21). A water-soluble dye can become a Hpstick ingredient if combined with compounds that are colorless and insoluble. The result, caHed a lake, is insoluble in both oil and water. Some dyes are laked with alumina others are dissolved in water and treated with solutions that precipitate Al(OH)2 with the dye molecules occluded in the precipitate. These... 

Rehydration Bonded Alumina. Rehydration bonded aluminas are agglomerates of activated alumina, which derive their strength from the rehydration bonding mechanism. Because more processing steps are involved in the manufacture, they are generally more expensive than activated aluminum hydroxides. On the other hand, rehydration bonded aluminas can be produced in a wider range of particle shape, surface area, and pore size distribution. 

The gel-based products have traditionally been the most expensive and highest performance activated alumina products. They have very good mechanical properties, high surface area, and their purity and ganima-aluniina stmcture make them somewhat resistant to thermal degradation. On the other hand, they are the most difficult to manufacture and disposal of by-product salts can present an environmental problem. 

Shaped products used for adsorbent purposes are generally less sophisticated and therefore less expensive than catalytic products. In 1985, it was reported that 10,000 t/yr of activated alumina adsorbents were produced in the United States. North American producers of Bayer process-based activated aluminas include Alcoa, La Roche (formerly Kaiser Chemicals), Discovery, and Alcan. Gel-based activated aluminas are produced by La Roche, Vista, and several of the major catalyst manufacturers. In Europe, principal sources of supply are Rhc ne-Poulenc and Condea. 

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