CHARACTERIZATION OF ALUMINA MICROSPHERES PRODUCED BY COMBUSTION TORCH REMELTING

SILIN, NICOLÁS; FERNANDEZ ZUVICH, AFRA; SOLDATI, ANALÍA LETICIA; BEVILACQUA, ARTURO

LATIN AMERICAN APPLIED RESEARCH

PLAPIQUI(UNS-CONICET)

Lugar: Bahia Blanca; Año: 2023 vol. 53 p. 335 - 340

0327-0793

The present work investigates the thermal treatment of alumina powder with a purposebuilt oxygen-Liquefied Petroleum Gas torch, pursuing a low-cost alumina microsphere productionprocess. In this dry process, irregularly shaped alumina particles are re-melted, acquiring a spherical shape due to surface tension. Microspheres were produced starting from two different alumina powders, both having a granule size of approximately 80 μm. Two different starting materials with different porosity were tested. In both cases the resulting microspheres present similar surface texture and the predominant crystalline phase is α-alumina. Microspheres on the surface with minor presence of γ- alumina. In contrast, microspheres larger than 103 μm present a smoother surface with rhombohedral grains and no significant presence of γ-alumina.