Production of 75-150 mu m and < 75 mu m of cerium dioxide microspheres in high yield and throughput using the internal gelation process

摘要

Hundreds of grams of calcined cerium dioxide (CeO2) microspheres were produced using the internal gelation process with a focus on 75-150 mu m and <75 mu m diameter sizes. To achieve these small sizes, a modified internal gelation system was employed, which utilized a two-fluid nozzle, two static mixers for turbulent flow, and 2-ethyl-l-hexanol as the medium for gel formation at 333-338 K. This effort generated over 400 g of 75-150 mu m and 300 g of <75 mu m CeO2 microspheres. The typical product yields for the 75-150 mu m and <75 mu m microspheres that were collected and processed were 72 and 99%, respectively, with a typical throughput of 66-73 g of CeO2 microspheres per test, which could generate a maximum of 78.6 g of CeO2. The higher yield of very small cerium spheres led to challenges and modifications, which are discussed in detail. As expected, when the <75 mu m microspheres were targeted, losses to the system increased significantly. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.