Method and apparatus for controlling the size of powder produced by the Armstrong process

A method of controlling the size of powder produced from the reduction of a halide vapor by a liquid alkali metal or a liquid alkaline earth metal or mixtures thereof to produce a slurry of a powder and salt in excess liquid alkali or alkaline earth metal or mixtures thereof, comprising establishing a reaction zone by introducing a halide vapor into a first stream of liquid alkali and/or alkaline earth metal causing an exothermic reaction, the reaction zone including vapor of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal or mixtures thereof and vapor of the salt produced by the exothermic reaction, controlling one or both of the temperature of the reaction products in the reaction zone and the time during which the reaction products are maintained in the reaction zone to vary the size of the powder and thereafter introducing the reaction products into a second stream of liquid alkali and/or alkaline earth metal, whereby increasing the temperature of the reactants in the reaction zone and/or the length of time of the reactants in the reaction zone increases the size of the powder within the range of from about 0.1 micron to about 20 microns, a reactive gas in addition to the halide being reduced is present in the reaction zone to increase the temperature of the contents thereof.

A method of controlling the size of powder produced from the reduction of a halide vapor by a liquid alkali metal or a liquid alkaline earth metal or mixtures thereof to produce a slurry of a powder and salt in excess liquid alkali or alkaline earth metal or mixtures thereof, comprising establishing a reaction zone by introducing a halide vapor into a first stream of liquid alkali and/or alkaline earth metal causing an exothermic reaction, the reaction zone including vapor of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal or mixtures thereof and vapor of the salt produced by the exothermic reaction, controlling one or both of the temperature of the reaction products in the reaction zone and the time during which the reaction products are maintained in the reaction zone to vary the size of the powder and thereafter introducing the reaction products into a second stream of liquid alkali and/or alkaline earth metal, whereby increasing the temperature of the reactants in the reaction zone and/or the length of time of the reactants in the reaction zone increases the size of the powder within the range of from about 0.1 micron to about 20 microns, the boiling point of the salt in the reaction zone is controlled to determine the maximum temperature of the contents in the reaction zone and to vary the size of the metal powder.

The method of 22 claim, wherein the reactive gas is a halide or mixture thereof.

A method of controlling the size of metal powder produced from the reduction of a halide vapor by a liquid alkali metal or a liquid alkaline earth metal or mixtures thereof to produce a slurry of a metal powder and salt in excess liquid alkali and/or alkaline earth metal or mixtures thereof, comprising establishing a reaction zone by introducing a halide vapor into a liquid alkali or alkaline earth metal, introducing reactive halide gas in addition to the halide being reduced into the reaction zone causing an exothermic reaction to increase the temperature in the reaction zone, the reaction zone including vapor of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal or mixtures thereof and vapor of the salt produced by the exothermic reaction, controlling the boiling point of the salt in the reaction zone and optionally the time during which the reaction products are maintained in the reaction zone and optionally the volume percent of vapor of the alkali metal or the alkaline earth metal to vary the size of the metal powder, whereby increasing the temperature of the reactants in the reaction zone and/or the length of time of the reactants in the reaction zone and/or decreasing the volume percent of the metal vapor in the reaction zone increases the size of the metal powder within the range of from about 0.1 micron to about 20 microns.