Production of niobium powder by magnesiothermic reduction of niobium oxides in a cyclone reactor

In the last years, a variety of processes respectively process steps have been investigated for the production of niobium powder. This is due to the fact that niobium capacitors could be a viable alternative to tantalum capacitors from a performance, availability, and price point of view. The reduction of niobium pentoxide by magnesium results in fine powders with high specific surface area but has the disadvantages of a very exothermic nature and the formation of magnesium niobate. It is shown in this work that the application of a continuously operating cyclone reactor and the use of niobium(IV) oxide as raw material solve these problems. A good control of the highly exothermic reaction within the cyclone reactor was achieved in the cyclone reactor by the ratio between gas flow rate and powder flow rate as well as by a proper preheating of the gas.