• Ceramic Applications & Industries Served
  • Porous Ceramics
    • Filtration
    • Diffusion, Sparging, & Aeration
    • Wicking & Dispersion
    • Fluid Bed, Pneumatic Handling
    • Desiccant Filter Cores
  • Structural Ceramics
    • Wear Components for Petrochemical
    • Corrosion Resistant Valve Parts
    • Zirconia Ceramic Balls
• Ceramic Materials
  • Structural Zirconia
    • Magnesia Partially Stabilized Zirconia (Mg-PSZ)
    • Yttria Tetragonal Zirconia Polycrystal (Y-TZP)
  • Porous Ceramics
    • Aluminum Oxide
    • Silicon Carbide

Porous Ceramic Applications, Specifications & Properties

Porous ceramics are used for:

• Vacuum Chucks
• Filters
• Diffusers
• Air Bearings
  
• Permeable Substrates
  
• Dispersion Media
  
• Ash Handling
  
• Wicking Media
  
• Fluidized Bed Plates
• Specialty Spargers
  
• Breathers - Vents
  

Applications
Porous ceramics are used where uniform controlled pore size is required in chemical process, semiconductor, pharmaceutical and manufacturing applications.

Material
These rugged, specialty, porous ceramic components are manufactured by fusing aluminum oxide grains using a porcelain bond to form a strong, uniformly porous and
homogeneous structure.

Composition:

• Al2O3     86%
  
• SiO2       10%
  
• Other       4%
  

Standard Shapes

Tubes: ½”, ¾”, 1 ½”, 2 ½”, 4 ¼” Diameters up to 48” Long

Plates: 12” Square x 1” Thick, 8” x 12” x up to 1 ½” Thick

Discs: 2” OD x ¼” TK, 4” OD x ½” TK, 7” OD x ½” TK, 9” OD x ¾” TK, 14” OD x 1 ½”TK, 20” OD x 2” TK

(Other custom shapes available on request.)

Porosity
40-50% (active pores)

Density
2.1-2.2 grams/cm3

Mean Pore Size in Microns

• Monolith Grades AF 6 microns to AF 90 microns
• Membrane Grades MeAF0.25 Microns to MeAF6 microns
  
• Custom grades available upon request
  

Maximum Temperature
Up to 1400° F for porous ceramic, limited only by sealants, gaskets and/or hardware
materials.

Corrosion Resistance
Porous ceramics are resistant to most acids, except for Hydrofluoric Acid and Phosphoric Acid. In alkaline solutions, porous ceramics are resistant up to pH9. It is also resistant to organic solvents. The sealants, gaskets and/or hardware materials used, may be the limiting factor in certain fluids.

Cleanability
Porous ceramic is cleanable by a variety of methods, depending on type of contaminant to be removed. Methods include spraying, brushing, backwashing, oven firing, dilute acid cleaning, solvent cleaning, steam cleaning and ultrasonic cleaning.

Flexural Strength (M.O.R.)
1500 – 4500 psi (depending on pore size)

Thermal Expansion (C.T.E.)
7 x 10-6/ °C

Thermal Conductivity
0.1 W/cm-K

Resistivity
1 x 10 +14 ohms/cm @ 20 °C
2.8 x 10 +14 ohms/cm @ 500 °C

Other Refractron Technologies
Corporation Capabilities
Porous ceramics can be used for a variety of applications where a uniform, controlled
porosity is required. Refractron produces porous ceramic for use as diffusers, ink pads, liquid dispersion rolls, adsorbent filters, dryer cores, plus structural ceramic
components in Zirconia for wear and corrosion applications.