Patent ID: 7351272

Claim:
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.