Atomized aluminum powder has a granular or spherical shape in the form of particles, while powders or pastes, which are obtained by mechanical punching or grinding with balls, are flattened plates.
Atomized Aluminum Powder
Aluminum powder is produced by feeding pure molten aluminum metal into a jet of compressed gas and turning it into small droplets, which are then solidified and collected. The powders collected in this way are subsequently sorted according to size, specification and application. The particle size range of a product made in this way can be controlled to some extent by varying the nozzle orifice, air pressure, and other factors. A wide range of particle sizes is available from 5 to 1000 microns. The characteristic that distinguishes alumininium paste and powder Malaysia from aluminum in bulk is its very high surface area to mass ratio. The production of aluminum metal from oxide is energy intensive. The reverse reaction, oxidation of fine aluminum powder, is exothermic, and because of the large surface area, the reaction is fast. Consequently, aluminum powder is used in explosives for both peaceful and military purposes. Aluminum powder combined with oxygen is used to launch rockets.
Aluminum powder
It is produced by dry grinding with pulverized aluminum balls in an inert atmosphere or by removing the solvent from the pulverized aluminum after wet grinding under controlled conditions. Typically, this is an average particle size of 6 to 35 microns, smaller sizes are generally more hazardous according to British Aluminum Industry Fact Sheet 16: Aluminum Powder and Paste Application 2. Depending on the application, some powders may be ‘stabilized »A coating to limit reactivity.
Aluminum paste
It is made from aluminum foil or aluminum powder, depending on the end use, by grinding with balls in a white spirit solvent with the presence of a lubricant. Grinding parameters determine the nature of the product, but usually these will be two-dimensional flakes having an average size of 8 to 35 microns in diameter (the third dimension is very small, 0.1-0.5 microns). Dry grinding in the presence of an inert gas is used for special purposes. Most of the paste is made from 99.5 – 99.7% aluminum. The solvent component is usually white spirits and / or naphtha, but specialty products are available with other solvents depending on the application, such as isopropyl alcohol, ethyl acetate, xylene, etc. For more articles like this one, click here.