A METHOD FOR FORMING STABLE DISPERSIONS OF ALUMINA IN WATER AND THE SO-OBTAINED DISPERSIONS

Abstract: A method is provided for forming stable dispersions of boehmite alumina in water containing a peptizing acid by mixing said alumina with dilute aqueous acid solutions and treating the alumina prior to dispersion by heating at temper­ atures of from about 250°F to 700°F and pressures of from about 10 psig to about 2000 psig in the presence of up to 80 weight percent of water based upon the total alumina for a period of time sufficient to stabilize the alumina to the extent necessary. Stable dispersions for up to 30 days have been obtained in the process of the instant invention.

Description: A METHOD FOR FORMING STABS DISESSIONS OF ARM2nA IN WATER AND THE SO-Q3TAINED DISPERSIONS This invention relates to a method for stabilizing alumina slurries against viscosity increases. More particularly, this invention relates to a method for increasing the life of alumina slurries by heat treating alumina under pressure in the presence of water, then forming alumina slurries using the recovered alumina and normal peptizing agents. Aluminas are utilized commercially by placing such aluminas into dispersions or suspensions (called slurries in the art) through the use of peptizing agents such as an acid. Examples of such acids are hydrochloric acid and nitric acid. Once in a suspension or slurry state, these aluminas are commercially used and widely varying applications such as frictionizing paper surfaces, fiberglass surfaces, and metal surfaces. Alumina is also used as an antistatic and soil protection agent on wool, nylon, and acrylic carpets. Alumina is used as a dispersion agent in rug shampoos as well as an antistatic or anti-soil'agent. Alumina also finds use as binders for vacuum cast alumina silica fibers, as a sintering aid, and for coating ceramic monoliths for use in auto exhaust catalysts. Usually, such aluminas are alpha alumina monohydrate (boehmite) which tend to form more stable colloidal aqueous dispersions with dilute peptizing agents such as acids than do other aluminas such as alpha alumina trihydrates. However, unless stabi lized in some fashion, all alumina slurries tend to very rapidly form thick gellatinous materials (or gels) and thus become unuseable for their commercial applications. It is of great importance to maintain the viscosity lifetime of a prepared alumina slurry at the desired level for as long as possible. Factors effecting the useful lifetime of these slurries are acid concentration, type of acid employed, and type of alumina employed. It has been found that as the alumina concentration increases, the tendency of the dispersion to gel is also increased. An insufficient amount of peptizing agent will lead to only partial dispersion of the alumina. Increasing the amount of peptizing agent will increase the amount of alumina dispersed such that with an optimum amount of acid nearly all of the alumina will be dispersed and the maximum fluid dispersion life will be obtained before gelling occurs. If the amount of peptizing agent is increased above the optimum point, the fluid life of the dispersion decreases and gelling is accelerated. The type of peptizing agent also have an effect upon stabilization life. Peptizing agents used are normally monovalent acid such as nitric, hydrochloric, formic, acetic and so forth. Divalent and trivalent acids lead to non-dispersing flocculants. Generally, dispersions made using the monovalent organic acids have longer fluid life than nitric and hydrochloric acid aluminas. However, the reverse has been found to be true with some boehmite type aluminas wherein non-orgànic acids produce longer dispersion life. In addition, small amounts of salts in the dispersion are reported to increase the thickness of boehmite alumina dispersions significantly, as set forth in Baymal Colloidal Alumina, section 2 "Physical and Chemical Behavior" DuPont Chemical Company product brochure. Addition of colloidal silica is reported to reduce the thickening of colloidal aluminas in Alumina as a Ceramic Material American Chemical Society, 1970, Gitzan page 113. In copending Serial Number 948,124 filed October 10, 1978, alumina slurries or suspensions were taught to be stabilized against viscosity increases by treating with water which had been heated to temperatures of from about 400C to about 1000C, then cooling, decanting the water and recovering a wet cake. Water was then added to the recovered wet cake alumina to obtain a slurry with a desired alumina content and CO2 was sparged through the finished slurry. In copending Serial Number 947,809 filed October 2, 1978, alumina slurries were taught to be stabilized against thickening and gelling by digesting the dried alumina powder in hot water for a time sufficient to stabilize the alumina. The digested alumina was recovered and dispersed in water containing a small amount of peptizing agents. Many of these prior art inventions were useful where alumina slurries are utilized and only a portion of the alumina needed to be truly dispersed, while the balance could be kept mechanically suspended by agitation. All the prior art methods incur one or more undesirable limitations. For example, the treatment processes result in a wet cake which is difficult to handle. In addition, considerable amounts of water are required in the treatment process, and if carbon dioxide is used, considerable amounts of carbon dioxide are likewise necessary. The treated alumina from the prior art processes may require filtering and/or washing before being used in the preparation of the dis persion In addition, continuous stirring may be required to keep all the alumina suspended since only a portion may be truly dispersed. Continual bubbling of CO2 through the dispersion or slurry may also be needed. The instant in vention, in contrast, provides a method wherein in the alumina is truly dispersed and no mechanical agitation is required to keep the alumina suspended. In addition, even longer fluid life is obtained than provided by those pro cesses of the prior art. Thus it would be of great benefit to provide a method for obtaining a true alumina dispersion having a long suspension life before gelling. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method for making a true alumina dispersion which has a long fluid life. Other objects. will become apparent to those skilled in this art as the description proceeds. It has been discovered in accordance with the instant invention that stable dispersions of boehmite aluminas in water can be obtained by mixing alumina with dilute aqueous acid solution and treating the alumina prior to dispersion by heating to temperatures of from about 2500F to about 7000F and pressures of from about 10 pounds per square inch gauge (psig) to about 2000 psig in the presence of from about 10 to about 80 weight percent of water, based upon the total alumina, for a period of time sufficient to stabilize the alumina to the extent necessary. The alumina must be free of sulfate and/or other impurities which cause flocculation and precipitation in water dispersions. The present invention affects aluminas itself and not contaminants. In carrying out the process of the instant invention, the time of heating can range from about 5 minutes to about 24 hours, although from about 1 hour to about 8 hours is preferred. The aluminas tested herein are derived from the hydrolysis of aluminum alkoxide, although aluminas from other sources can be used if sulfates and other flocculating contaminates are not contained in the alumina. The preferred method of carrying out the process of the instant invention is to heat the aluminas at temperatures of from about 3000F to about 5000F in the presence of from about 10 to about 30 weight percent water. As this heating in the presence of water is done in the sealed autoclave, an autogeneous pressure will result. Such a pressure is normally quite sufficient for the stabilization of the aluminas described herein. However, extra outside pressure can be added as desired. Normally, however, such pressure is not necessary. Once recovered from the autoclave, alumina is dispersed in an aqueous acid solution containing from about .4 to about 2.0% monovalent acid. These acids can be those well known in the art as represented b nitric, hydrochloric, acetic, formic, and in general, monovalent acids. The aluminas obtained from the process of the instant invention maintain true dispersions for great lengths of time The physical details of the structure alteration in the alumina are not known; however, behavior in dispersions is greatly improved, producing dispersion of vastly increased stabilizer. The instant invention is more concretely described with reference to the examples below wherein all parts and percentages are by weight unless otherwise specified. The examples are provided to illustrate the instant invention and not to limit it. Several experiments were carried out showing the effect of autoclaving time, autoclaving temperature and water content upon the process-of the instant invention. These experiments were generated using from 1000 to 1500 grams of alumina (CATAPAL 'SB', trademark of and sold by Conoco Inc.) which was placed in a 1 gallon autoclave. Distilled water was then added to the autoclave, the amount of water normally being equivalent to about 10 weight percent of the alumina. The autoclave'was sealed and brought to treatment temperature. The rate of the temperature rise was about 100F per minute. At the desired autoclaving temperature, certain periods of time were tested. At the end of the autoclaving period, the autoclave was allowed to cool to 2250F. At 2250F the autoclave was vented to allow the steam to escape to prevent the alumina from picking up moisture and becoming a wet cake. After cooling to room temperature, the alumina was removed from the autoclave as a dry, flowable powder. The dispersions tested in the following examples were prepared by first measuring the autoclave alumina for water content. Normally the water content was from 22.5 to 25 weight percent (typical for CAPATAL 'SB' alumina as manufactured). If the water content was outside the range, the formula concentration was adjusted so that all dispersions would be made on the same basis (each dispersion made at a given concentration would contain the same amount of A12O3). A dispersing solution having the desired acid concentration was measured by volume and the alumina was poured into the acid solution. During this addition, the alumina was continuously stirred with a low shear mixer. Mixing was continued for 24 hours after alumina was added to the solution. Viscosity and pH were measured at the end of the mixing period. All dispersions were checked visually every day to see if such dispersions were still fluid. At the end of 30 days the amount of alumina actually dispersed was determined by decanting the dispersion from the sediment of the alumina which had settled to the bottom of the container. This determination could not be made for dispersions that had gelled. Example 1 shows the effect of autoclaving time upon the process of the instant invention. Example 1 Samples of boehmite alumina (CATAPAL 'SB') were autoclaved at 2500F for varying periods of time. The autoclave charge consisted of alumina and distilled water equal to 10% of the weight of alumina. After autoclaving, the alumina was dispersed at a 42% concentration level in 1.4 weight percent nitric acid solution. Table 1 contains a summary of the test results. Table 1 Autoclave Time (hrs.) 0 2 6 24 Dispersion Data 1 hr. pH - 4.0 4.1 3.0 viscosity (cps) gel 1102 1060 55 3 hrs. pH - - 4.2 3.5 viscosity (cps) - gel 8200 120 Viscosity measurements were made using a Brookfield viscometer. The data indicates that at constant temperature the increasing autoclave time increases dispersion stability. The effect of the amount of water used was tested in Example 2. Example 2 Examples of CATAPAL were autoclaved as described in Example 1 except the ratio of water to alumina was varied. Test dispersions were made from the autoclave treated alumina. Test results showed that increasing the amount of water improved the dispersion stability of the alumina. However, the treated alumina resulting from higher water contents (above 30% water) appears lumpy or clay-like. This consistency made subsequent handling of the treated alumina more difficult although stable dispersions resulted. Table 2 Water (as wt% of alumina) 10 20 40 80 Dispersion Data: 1 hr. pH 4.0 3.8 3.9 3.9 Viscosity (cps) 1102 800 20 25 3 hr. pH - 3.8 4.1 4.0 viscosity (cps ) gel 2200 25 25 The effect of autoclaving temperature was set forth in Example 3. Example 3 Experimental runs were carried out as set forth in the previous examples except that all runs were made for 3 hours and the temperature was varied over the range of 250 to 5000F using 10 weight percent water. Test dispersions of the treated alumina were dispersed in acid solution. Results of the test are set forth in Table 3. Table 3 Temperature of Run (OF) 250 300 350 400 450 500 Dispersion Data: 1 hr. pH 4.0 3.0 2.1 1.7 1.5 1.3 Viscosity (cps) 180 78 65 168 gel gel 3 hrs. pH 4.1 3.1 2.1 1.7(1) Viscosity (cps) 532 212 65 3140 The data of Example 3 shows that increasing autoclave temperature improves dispersion stability up to a point. However, once that point is reached, it appears that dispersion ability is detrimentally effected. All dispersions carried out have shown that there is an optimum acid level which will result in nearly all alumina being dispersed and remaining dispersed for some period of time. At the concentration levels tested (42 weight percent alumina) it has been found that when the acid level is below the optimum, less alumina will be dispersed (more will settle out). if the acid level is increased above optimum, fluid. life of the dispersion decreases. Samples of the aluminas autoclaved at 450 and 500"F were dispersed in acid solutions of various concentrations. In all dispersions tested, the amount of nondispersed alumina was very small (about 5% of the alumina) but was noted to be getting larger at the lowest acid concentration tested. Results of these dispersions are shown in Figures 1 and 2, which plot viscosity vs log time for aluminas autoclaved at 450 and 5500F respectively. It was observed that alumina autoclaved in the above experiments did not appear to be receiving uniform heat treatment. This was observed since alumina samples from the same autoclave experiment have different dispersion behaviors unless the alumina was uniformly blended before dispersion testing. Cause of this non-uniformity is believed to be due to poor heat transfer of alumina powder, allowing some alumina to receive more heat treatment than alumina at other positions of the autoclave. Therefore, a new agitator was designed so that the powder would receive more mixing action during autoclaving. After installation of the agitator, all material received more consistant heat treatment. Example 4 After the improved agitation, a new set of autoclave runs in dispersions were initiated. Autoclave temperatures of 250 and 300 oF and -dispersion concentrations of 10 to 30 weight percent alumina were tested. Tests were carried out as described in Example 1. Samples were collected and tested every 7 days. These tests showed that for given acid concentrations, the amount of alumina that will disperse is enhanced by increasing autoclave treatment temperatures. The data also showed the fluid life of the dispersions is greatly improved by autoclave treatment, particularly for higher alumina concentrations (30% and higher). Finally, the data showed the dispersions made from autoclave treated alumina which gelled were thixotropic; that is, with the application of shear, they again became fluid. This is in distinct contrast to typical boehmite aluminas which have formed gels which remain in such a state even with agitation. The results of these experiments showing non-autoclaved alumina autoclaved for 3 hours at 2500F and alumina autoclaved 3 hours at 300OF are shown in Tables 4, 5, and 6, respectively. Table 4 Alumina Treatment Not Autoclaved Percent Concen Nitric of tration Viscosity Acid Alumina of Final after Concen- Dispersed Dispersion 30 days tration ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ (%) (cps) A. 10% Alumina in Acid Solution Mixture 0.2 60 6.0 0.4 93 9.3 0.6 98 9.8 0.8 96 9.6 520 B. 15% Alumina in Acid Solution Mixture 0.2 23 3.5 - 0.4 82 12.4 0.6 93 13.9 0.8 96 14.5 C. 20% Alumina in Acid Solution Mixture 0.2 16 3.2 0.4 42 8.4 0.6 85 19.0 10,000 0.8 93 18.6 1.0 93 18.7 410 D. 30% Alumina in Acid Solution Mixture 0.6 (5) - gel 0.8 (5) - gel 1.0 (5) - gel 1.2 (5) - gel 1.4 (5) - gel Table 5 Alumina Treatment Autoclaved 3 Hours at 25()0F Percent Concen of tration Viscosity Nitric Alumina of Final after Acid Dispersed Dispersion 30 Days Concen- (%) (cps) tration (Wt %) ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ A. 10% Alumina in Acid Solution Mixture 0.2 73.7 7.3 0.4 98 9.8 0.6 98 9.8 0.8 B. 15% Alumina in Acid Solution Mixture 0.2 89 13.4 0.4 97 14.6 0.6 98 14.6 75 0.8 C. 20% Alumina in Acid Solution Mixture 0.2 66 13.2 0.4 95 18.9 0.6 98 19.6 - * 0.8 100 20 > 10,000 D. 30% Alumina in Acid Solution Mixture 0.6 72 21.6 930 0.8 93 27.9 250 * 1.0 10,000+ * 1.2 gel (41 day) 1.4 * Thixotropic Table 6 Alumina Treatment Autoclaved 3 Hours at 3000F Percent Concen Nitric of tration Viscosity Acid Alumina of Final after Concen- Dispersed Dispersion 30 Days tration (% (cps) (Wt %) A. 10% Alumina in Acid Solution Mixture 0.2 89 8.9 0.4 99 9.9 0.6 97 9.7 0.8 B. 15% Alumina in Acid Solution Mixture 0.2 96 14.4 0.4 99 14.9 0.6 99 14.9 60 C. 20% Alumina in Acid Solution Mixture 0.2 0.4 89 17.7 0.6 97 19.4 - * 0.8 99 19.9 375 * 1.0 100 20.0 10,000+ D. 30% Alumina in Acid Solution Mixture 0.6 0.8 93 28 - * 1.0 98 29.5 10,000+ * 1.2 gel ( 2 days) * 1.4 - - gel (1 1/2 hrs) * Thixotropic In these tables percent of alumina dispersed is that alumina in the dispersion which did not settle out. Concentration of final dispersion is that alumina in the final dispersion after setting unstirred for 30 days. A dash in the viscosity column indicates that the viscosity was below measurable limit, that is, water thin. In Table 4 some samples gelled in less than 1 day when 30% alumina was used and the amount of alumina dispersed could not be determined. In Tables 5 and 6, those numbers marked with an asterisk indicate thixotropic dispersions. Thus the instant invention provides a vastly improved method for stabilizing alumina dispersions for greatly increased lengths of time while allowing the alumina to be easily handled, constant attention is not required except in the case of thixotropic dispersions which can be easily converted to fluid dispersions under agitation. The alumina obtained is in the form of a dry powder, is easily handled, the pre-treatment is simple and does not require exotic equipment. While certain embodiments and details have been shown for the purpose of illustrating this invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in this art that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. We claim:

Claims: 1. A method òur forming stable dispersions of alumina in water by mixing alumina with dilute aqueous acid solution, comprising treating the alumina prior to forming the dispersion by heating to temperatures of from about 2500F to about 7000F in the presence of about 10 to bout 80 weight percent water based upon the weight of total alumina present for a period of time sufficient to stabilize the alumina to the extent necessary. 2. A method as described in claim 1 wherein the heating is carried out in a closed autoclave which is allowed to come to autogeneous pressure. 3. A method as described in claim 2 wherein the pressure ranges from about 10 psig to about 2,000 psig. 4. A method as described in claim 1 wherein the time of heating ranges from about 5 minutes to about 24 hours. 5. A method as described in claim 2 wherein the alumina is obtained from the hydrolysis of aluminum alkoxides. 6. A method as described in claim 5 wherein the alumina is heated at temperatures of from about 3000F to about 5000F in the presence of about 10 to about 30 weight percent water. 7. A method as described in claim 5 wherein the alumina is dispersed in an aqueous acid solution containing from about .4 to about 2.0% monovalent acid by weight based upon the total dispersion weight. 8. A method as described in claim 7 wherein the acid is selected from the group consisting of nitric, hydrochloric, acetic, formic. 9. A stable alumina dispersion obtained from the process of claim 1.

Inventors: DECKER JR., LEWIS BERNARD, OBERLANDER, RICHARD KENT
Applicants: CONOCO INC.
Application year: 1980
Main classification: C01F7
IPC codes: C01F7