Synthesis of alumina with coarse particle by precipitating aluminum ammonium sulfate solution with ammonia

•Process of precipitating aluminum ammonium sulfate solution with ammonia was studied.•The uniformity PSD and coarse particle size of boehmite were synthesized.•Particle size distribution (PSD) of boehmite has little variation after calcining.•Crystal growth mechanism of boehmite is different obviously with that of gibbsite.•Crystal growth of boehmite mainly depending on self-organizing.

The uniformity particle size distribution (PSD) and coarse particle size of alumina were synthesized by precipitating aluminum ammonium sulfate solution with ammonia. The effect of temperature and ammonia concentration on precipitation products was studied by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), laser particle size analyze and fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The results show that the particle size distribution of the precipitations is greatly affected by temperature and ammonia concentration. The precipitation product belongs to boehmite and its particle size has little variation after calcining. The optimal precipitation condition is 7.0 mol L−1 ammonia at 90 °C. Under the optimal precipitation condition, the D10, D50, and D90 of the precipitation particles are 12.54 μm, 41.28 μm, and 78.19 μm, respectively.

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