The study on the preparation methods and the fluidity of large rare earth oxide particles

In this work large CeO2 particles were prepared using H2C2O4 and NH4HCO3 as precipitators. The effects of feeding mode and speed, stirring speed, aging time, precipitate and calcination temperature and precipitation method on physicochemical properties of CeO2 were studied when the precipitator was H2C2O4. By the NH4HCO3 precipitation method, the effects of adding inoculating crystals and additives on particle size, loose density and fluidity of CeO2 were investigated. Under optimized conditions, large CeO2 particles with high loose density and good fluidity of can be prepared by either H2C2O4 or NH4HCO3 precipitation method. SEM also investigates the morphology of the particles prepared by both methods. The results show that physicochemical properties of CeO2 particles prepared by the NH4HCO3 precipitation method are not as good as those of CeO2 particles prepared by the H2C2O4 precipitation method. However, both methods are suitable for industrial production due to their simple processes, low equipment investment and ease for industrial development. Our results show that large rare earth particle can be prepared by the optimized conventional methods. This study provided a useful method to prepare of large rare earth particles.