Alcoa has been granted a patent for a method and system to produce ceramic powders with tailored properties. The process involves preheating containers with a carbon-based preform, followed by carbothermic reactions in a reactor to create uniform ceramic powders, including various carbide and nitride particles. GlobalData’s report on Alcoa gives a 360-degree view of the company including its patenting strategy. Buy the report here.
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According to GlobalData’s company profile on Alcoa, Fiber-reinforced material joining techniques was a key innovation area identified from patents. Alcoa's grant share as of July 2024 was 73%. Grant share is based on the ratio of number of grants to total number of patents.
Method for producing tailored ceramic powders
The patent US12043581B2 outlines a method for producing ceramic powder through a carbothermic process. The method begins with preheating at least one container that holds a preform, which consists of a mixture containing a carbon source and either a metal oxide or boric acid. The preform is designed with a gas channel that extends from the top to the bottom, facilitating gas flow during the reaction. Once preheated, the container is moved into a reactor body where the carbothermic reaction occurs, reducing the metal oxide or boric acid to produce ceramic powder. The resulting ceramic powder can include various ceramic particles such as boron carbide, boron nitride, and silicon carbide, among others, while excluding aluminum-containing nitride particles.
Additional claims detail the operational parameters of the method, including the introduction of a sweep gas during the reaction, which can flow through the gas channel of the preform. The reaction time is specified to range from 0.5 to 12 hours, and the design of the reactor body can be vertical or angled. The patent also specifies the area fraction of the gas channel relative to the reactor chamber's cross-sectional area, which can vary between 0.05 to 0.8. Furthermore, the preform may contain titanium dioxide as the metal oxide, with specific weight percentages of titanium dioxide, carbon source, and boric acid outlined. Overall, the patent presents a comprehensive method for efficiently producing ceramic powders with specific material compositions and structural configurations.
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GlobalData Patent Analytics tracks bibliographic data, legal events data, point in time patent ownerships, and backward and forward citations from global patenting offices. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
