Method for production of porous ceramic material

A method of producing a porous ceramics material, comprising

• step (A):
• a step of preparing a slurry by dispersing a ceramics raw material in a medium,
• step (B):
• a step of filling the slurry in a container, and inserting the container in a given direction and at an insert speed into a cooling medium having a temperature not higher than the freezing point of the slurry such that the slurry freezes unidirectionally at a crystal growth speed from one end side,
• step (C):
• a step of drying the frozen slurry to give a green body, and
• step (D):
• a step of firing the green body,
• wherein
• the ceramics is a calcium phosphate-based ceramics,
• the porous ceramics material has unidirectionally penetrating continuous pores and a pore volume ratio of pores having a pore size of not less than 30 relative to total pore volume of 30%-99%,
• the medium in the slurry is water,
• the insert speed of the container is controlled in step (B) such that the crystal growth speed due to freezing of the medium in the slurry and the insert speed of the container into the cooling medium are within the range of 50-150% of each other, and
• the insert speed of the container into the cooling medium in step (B) is 10-50 mm/h.