How do they process zirconia?

Zirconia, also known as zirconium dioxide, is typically processed using a method called the “powder processing route.” This involves several steps, including:

1. Calcining: Heating zirconium compounds to high temperatures to form zirconium oxide powder.

2. Grinding: Grind the calcined zirconia to achieve the desired particle size and distribution.

3. Shaping: The ground zirconia powder is then shaped into the desired shape, such as pellets, blocks or custom shapes, using techniques such as pressing or casting.

4. Sintering: The shaped zirconia is sintered at high temperature to achieve the final dense crystal structure.

5. Finishing: Sintered zirconia may undergo additional processing steps such as grinding, polishing and machining to achieve the desired surface finish and dimensional accuracy.

This process gives zirconia products high strength, hardness and wear resistance, making them suitable for a variety of applications in industries such as aerospace, medical and engineering.

Zircon is a zirconium silicate mineral that is typically processed using a combination of crushing, grinding, magnetic separation and gravity separation techniques.  After being extracted from the ore, zircon is processed to remove impurities and separate it from other minerals.  This involves crushing the ore to a fine size and then grinding it to further reduce the particle size.  Magnetic separation is then used to remove magnetic minerals, and gravity separation technology is used to separate zircon from other heavy minerals.  The resulting zircon concentrate can be further refined and processed for use in a variety of industrial applications.

The raw materials for the production of zirconium usually include zircon sand (zirconium silicate) and baddeleyite (zirconia).  Zircon sand is the primary source of zirconium and is mined from mineral sand deposits.  Baddeleyite is a naturally occurring form of zirconium oxide and is another source of zirconium.  These raw materials are processed to extract zirconium, which is then used in a variety of industrial applications, including the production of zirconium metal, zirconium oxide (zirconia) and other zirconium compounds.