The Versatile Calcined Alumina Powder: Essential for Industries
Calcined alumina, also known as alumina powder, refers to aluminum oxide (Al2O3) that has been heat treated at high temperatures to remove chemically and physically bound water and other volatiles from aluminum hydroxide. This thermal treatment process is called calcination. Calcined alumina powder has exceptional properties that make it invaluable for various industrial applications.
What is Calcined Alumina?
Calcined alumina is produced by heating aluminum hydroxide at temperatures between 800 to 1000°C. This dehydration process converts aluminum hydroxide (Al(OH)3) into alphanumeric oxide (Al2O3), also known as alumina. Calcined alumina powders of small, hard, angular particles that range in size from less than 1 micron to over 150 microns depending on the production process. It is a white, odorless powder that is chemically inert and extremely stable at high temperatures.
Properties and Characteristics
Some key properties and characteristics that make calcined alumina powder so widely used include:
- Hardness - Calcined alumina has a Mohs hardness of 9, second only to diamond. This gives it superior wear resistance suitable for abrasive applications.
- Thermal stability - It has a very high melting point of over 2000°C and does not undergo phase changes up to 1000°C. This thermal stability makes it heat resistant.
- Chemical inertness - Alumina is non-reactive toward moisture, acids, alkalis and other common chemicals. This chemical inertness allows its use in harsh, corrosive environments.
- Particle morphology - Calcined alumina particles have very hard, irregular shapes that provide grinding and polishing capabilities superior to spherical particles.
- Purity - The calcination process produces alumina with purity levels over 99%, with negligible amounts of contaminants like iron and silica.
Key Industrial Applications
Due to the exceptional properties above, calcined alumina powder finds wide usage across many industries for the following applications:
Abrasives - As an abrasive, it is used to manufacture grinding wheels, lapping compounds, sandpaper, honing stones, cutlery steels etc. Its hardness makes it suitable for polishing, grinding and honing tough metal surfaces.
Refractories - High-alumina refractory castables use calcined alumina as an aggregate for applications like furnace linings that require resistance to slag corrosion and thermal shock.
Ceramics - It is a primary raw material for technical ceramics, porcelain, pottery, and technical substrates. Calcined alumina helps control sintering, improves strength and resistance to wear and corrosion.
Coatings - As a filler or extender, calcined alumina improves the durability and performance of coating systems for applications in protective paints, rubber, plastics and paper.
Catalysts - Its surface properties and thermal stability enable its use as a support material for catalysts used in petroleum refining and exhaust gas treatment applications.
Others - Additional uses include as an additive in drilling fluids for oil wells, raw material for aluminum metal production, and a filler in cements, plastics and rubber.
Global Market Trends
The global calcined alumina powder market size was valued at USD 5.2 billion in 2019. Key market drivers include rising consumption from the refractory and abrasive sectors coupled with infrastructure growth in developing nations. The refractory segment accounted for over 30% of total demand in 2019 due to usage in ladle linings, roofs and fused cast refractories for iron, steel and cement plants. The abrasive segment also utilizes large volumes for grinding wheels, bonded abrasives, coated abrasives and non-woven abrasives.
Asia Pacific currently dominates calcined alumina powder consumption, led by China, India and Japan. China alone accounts for over 40% of global production capacity due to wide availability of raw materials and a huge refractories industry. However, North America and Europe are mature markets with steady demand projected over the forecast period.
calcined alumina powder has established itself as an essential industrial mineral due to its unique balance of properties like hardness, thermal stability, chemical inertness and purity. Its wide usage across key sectors ensures ongoing demand growth driven by industrialization worldwide.
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