Objective
The general aim of this work is to convert selected (mainly Spanish) natural clay minerals into reactive premullite, mullite and Sialon sinterable powders, particularly suited for advanced ceramics applications. Starting from low cost raw materials, this research intends to achieve a satisfactory purification degree by thermal treatment in order to transform that purified material into good reactive premullite and mullite powders, in a flexible process which allows the use of mineral feeds with different degrees of homogeneity. It is finally intended to obtain Sialon powders by carbothermal gas solid nitridation of the premullite, in the best conditions to ensure the reproducibility of results.
During the first two years of the research, most of the scheduled tasks have been performed at laboratory scale.
Planned tasks such as thermal and chemical treatments to prepare premullites with different aluminium oxide/silicon oxide ratios, reduction of impurities of the kaolins, preparation and characterisation of mullite and premullite powders, synthesis of sialon powders from premullites and sintering and properties of the resulting mullite and sialon powders were studied.
The manufacture of suitable premullites at 1-5 kg scale from adequate natural raw materials (kaolins) and their subsequent transformation into good quality high surface area beta-sialon and mullites seems feasible.
However, it seems advisable to place all the emphasis on the mullite dimension of the project aimed at preparing very reactive premullite and mullite powders.
Fields of science
Topic(s)
Data not availableCall for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
28001 Madrid
Spain