Patent ID: 7442356

Claim:
A process for producing inorganic spheres, comprising: preparing an emulsion by injecting an alkaline aqueous liquid containing an inorganic compound into a laminar flow of an organic liquid containing a surfactant and running at a flow rate of from 0.001 to 2 m/s in a flow path compartmentalized by at least one diaphragm through micropores penetrating through one diaphragm in its thickness direction to form a W/O emulsion containing droplets of the aqueous liquid containing said inorganic compound; separating an organic liquid (A) from the W/O emulsion containing droplets of the aqueous liquid containing said inorganic compound: solidifying said droplets of the aqueous liquid containing said inorganic compound in said W/O emulsion by using an acid to form a liquid containing said inorganic spheres; separating said liquid containing said inorganic spheres into an organic liquid (A′) and said inorganic spheres, and deacidifying the organic liquid (A′) and recycling the organic liquid (A′) to said laminar flow of said organic liquid in said flow path; contacting said organic liquid (A) with an acid, deacidifying said organic liquid (A); and recycling the organic liquid (A) to said laminar flow of said organic liquid in said flow path.