Vapour-phase iron powders look good for specialist uses

Abstract

A team from the Metal processing Research Center at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology in Seoul developed a method for preparing iron powders by hydrogen reduction of ferrous chloride vapor, especially from the view point of kinetics. A rate equation describing the reduction rate was developed using the assumption of 1st-order reaction for reactants of hydrogen and ferrous chloride vapors. It was suggested that to improve the performance, the reduction rate can be increased with increase in reaction temperature upto 1173 K as well as with increase in both ferrous chloride and hydrogen partial pressure. The results show that higher reaction temperature may produce larger particles due to an increase in the probability of collision.