{"id":20960,"date":"2022-05-05T11:11:10","date_gmt":"2022-05-05T10:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?p=20960"},"modified":"2022-05-09T14:38:59","modified_gmt":"2022-05-09T13:38:59","slug":"ultra-high-purity-alumina-sustainably-manufactured-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/ultra-high-purity-alumina-sustainably-manufactured-canada\/20960\/","title":{"rendered":"Ultra-high purity alumina sustainably manufactured in Canada"},"content":{"rendered":"

Daniele Fregonese, SVP for Sales and Marketing at Advanced Energy Minerals, explains the benefits of the company\u2019s SupALOX\u2122 sustainably manufactured ultra-high purity alumina.<\/h2>\n

Advanced Energy Minerals (AEM)<\/a> manufacture ultra-high purity alumina (HPA) at our full-scale production plant at Cap-Chat, Quebec, Canada, which we market under our SupALOX\u2122<\/a> brand.<\/p>\n

Powered by hydroelectricity, using our patent-protected and proprietary Chlorine Leach – Crystalline Purification (CLCP) production process and utilising a locally sourced feedstock, the Cap-Chat plant has an industry-leading low carbon footprint. It produces nearly zero waste and can deliver up to 99.999% pure alumina (5N HPA) at globally competitive prices. It is particularly well placed to supply North American and European markets.<\/p>\n

We acquired the Cap-Chat plant from Orbite Technologies in 2020. It had previously been built with a design capacity of 1,000 tpa of HPA but encountered engineering shortcomings during commissioning. Having acquired it, we have re-engineered the plant to remove those shortcomings and have subsequently completed the plant\u2019s commissioning successfully.<\/p>\n

The CLCP process was developed at our Technical Development Centre (TDC) in Montreal. Equipped with C$8m worth of advanced laboratory equipment and staffed by highly qualified research engineers and scientists, the TDC gives us a comprehensive, in-house research and development capability to lead our process and product development activities. The process is suitable for manufacturing HPA from a range of aluminous feedstocks and is protected by a range of international patents. The TDC, its know-how and the patents were all acquired as a package with the Cap-Chat plant.<\/p>\n

What are the uses of ultra-high purity alumina?<\/h3>\n

HPA is valued for its excellent properties in terms of chemical stability, very high melting point; high mechanical strength and hardness (particularly as sapphire); and good thermal conductivity but high electrical insulation. It takes on several crystalline structures, such as alpha (\u03b1), beta (\u03b2) and gamma (\u03b3). The specific surface area of \u03b1-HPA is low, and it is very resistant to high temperature and is inert, having almost no catalytic activity. Whereas \u03b3-alumina has excellent dispersion and a higher specific surface area, it is inert and provides high activity. It is more commonly used as a catalyst support and adsorbent.<\/p>\n

\"ultra-high<\/p>\n

HPA is generally marketed in either powder or pellet (compacted powder in a \u2018puck\u2019 shape) form, depending upon the end-use, as each application has different physical and chemical tolerances. The powder has a particle size typically measured in microns (\u03bcm); however, certain ultra-fine powders may be measured in nanometres (nm).<\/p>\n

Pellets (or pucks) are used to manufacture synthetic sapphire and designed to maximise the HPA\u2019s density. The equipment that melts the HPA into sapphire can maximise production volume from a single production run. Purity is also essential because any impurities may impact the transparency or conductivity of the sapphire produced and may also reduce the yield of continuous sapphire crystal. The primary uses for synthetic sapphire are as a substrate in semiconductors, particularly light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and in high-performance optical and photonic applications.<\/p>\n

Powders have a range of uses in advanced ceramic applications (e.g., for additive manufacturing) and have growing uses in high-performance batteries, where HPA is:<\/p>\n