Production of 75–150 µm and <75 µm of cerium dioxide microspheres in high yield and throughput using the internal gelation process

Journal Article · Fri Mar 17 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Annals of Nuclear Energy (Oxford)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2017.03.010· OSTI ID:1408635

Hunt, Rodney D. ^[1]; Collins, Jack L. ^[1]; Johnson, Jared A. ^[1]; Cowell, Brian S. ^[1]

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1. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Hundreds of grams of calcined cerium dioxide (CeO₂) microspheres were produced in this paper using the internal gelation process with a focus on 75–150 µm and <75 µm 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-1-hexanol as the medium for gel formation at 333–338 K. This effort generated over 400 g of 75–150 µm and 300 g of <75 µm CeO₂ microspheres. The typical product yields for the 75–150 µm and <75 µm 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. Finally, as expected, when the <75 µm microspheres were targeted, losses to the system increased significantly.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• Grant/Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1408635
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1397015
• Journal Information: Annals of Nuclear Energy (Oxford), Vol. 105; ISSN 0306-4549
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
cerium oxide spheres
internal gelation