SunShot initiative is WinWin for Solar Component Manufacturers!

(Image Courtesy of treehugger.com)

The Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, has recently announce a new government project that will make solar power a feasible alternative to fossil fuels in the near future. This program, rumored to cost around $30 million, will make photovoltaic cells more cost-effective and efficient than they are currently. This will allow more corporations and households to produce the majority of their own power using tax-deductible solar technology. So, for us in the ceramics engineering industry, this means there is a potential up-swing in many of the products that our industry produces that are instrumental in the development of photovoltaic cell technology. A recent article by treehugger.com editorializes,

$27 million in funding is a nice start, and it may sound like a lot - but if we truly want to produce 'moon shot' caliber results (ie, cheap, plentiful clean energy tech un under a decade), Obama's going to have to put his money where his mouth is.

While it is true that the government will need to "put up or shut up" as it were, in order to make the whole project meet its estimations, it's also true that the global ceramic manufacturing community can ultimately benefit from at least the suggestion of this future program. With the way the economic winds are blowing these days, it seems like investing in any component of solar technology is a logical choice; ceramics manufacturers can add this to many other aces in the hole as far as developing client relationships and determining global investment is concerned.

To learn more about the world (and investment opportunities) of industrial ceramics manufacturing, visit Refractron.

To read the full article from treehugger.com, visit: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/02/doe-launches-effort-bring-cost-solar-down-75-2020.php

BGU Has News For You!

(Image Courtesy of paranormal.about.com)

An unstable form of Calcium may finally have been tamed by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU). With the goal of finding higher absorption and retention rates than other biological sources presently used for calcium supplements, researchers at BGU have succeeded - and it's all thanks to crustaceans. By using calcium carbonate, which is a huge component of many ceramics manufacturing processes, researchers have developed a way to reduce the chance for osteoporosis and poor blood-clotting in human beings. According to a recent article from azom.com,

"This type of Amorphous Calcium Carbonate (ACC) consists of unstable, nano-sized particles. Several species of crustaceans, including freshwater crayfish, are capable of stabilizing this mineral form so they can efficiently store and rapidly re-use large calcium quantities..."

Current results show that there is up to a forty percent reduction in absorption and retention rates in this compound versus current calcium sources. Based on this data, there may be a new and feasible source of calcium carbonate on the way in the near future. It will not only save lives, but also likely result in a decrease in costs for ceramics manufacturers across the world.

To learn more about ceramics manufacturing, visit Refractron.

To read the article from AZOM, follow this link: http://www.azom.com/news.asp?NewsID=27993

CC me on Ceramics China: 2011

(Image Courtesy of ceramicschina.com)

The annual Ceramic China expo is coming up again in May, and will be the home to professionals in the ceramic engineering and raw materials communities from across the globe from May 26th to May 29th. As we discussed in an earlier blog, China is currently running the rare earth metals scene, so it should come as no surprise that the country's upcoming expo will involve the top players in the ceramics manufacturing game, the latest news in the industry, and a lot of speculation. To help you wade through what is important versus what is ancillary, the Ceramics Engineering Blog has assembled some of the information that will be very relevant at the expo coming up in May.

According to PRLog.org, Ceramics China 2011 will include:

"Attendance [exceeding] 46,497 from 72 countries and regions in 2010... The total showspace of 67,000 square meters, 4,000 booths and 609 exhibitors from 16 countries including Italy, UK, Korea, Germany, Spain, Thailand, Brazil, Mainland China, Hong Kong & Taiwan..."

Ceramics engineers from across the globe will be converging on the China Import and Export Fair Complex in Guangzhou, China for three days of networking, discussion and debate regarding the future of materials processing not only in China, but across the globe. News regarding the expo and a brief itinerary are already available at the Ceramics China 2011 Expo website, and the venue is still open to all dedicated ceramics engineering professionals who wish to partake in the event, rub elbows with like-minded individuals and learn more about the rapidly-advancing world of ceramics manufacturing.

To learn more about ceramics manufacturing, please feel free to visit us at Refractron.

To learn more about the Ceramics China 2011 expo, visit their homepage at http://www.ceramicschina.com.cn/En/main/

Yttrium-Stabilized Zirconia: A Mouthful at Mach Speed

(Image source: ceramics.org)

A paper published as an "Early View" article by the Journal of the American Society shows that yttrium-stablized zirconia can be sintered to full density in a matter of seconds at 850 degrees Celsius. The key is subjecting the process to a dc electrical field above the critical threshold. Traditional YSZ sintering would require hours at 1450 degrees Celsius. The paper was written by Marco Cologna, Rishi Raj and Boriana Rashkova, who are in the process of testing other materials that they hope to be able to report on to the ceramic manufacturing community soon. An article from ceramics.org covers the story. Here's an excerpt:

"The trio's technique was fairly straightforward. They made dog-biscuit shaped samples from 3 mol% nanograin YSZ. They then sintered samples in a vertical tubular furnace, applying a constant dc voltage, varying temperature and voltage. In the stages of their tests, they encountered a phenomenon I have written about before: accelerated sintering speeds at lower temperatures, dubbed field-assisted sintering or "FAST". In fact Raj, Di Yang and Hans Conrad had recently published another paper about how low (20 V/cm) dc electric dields could speed sintering and slow grain growth."

With many radical advances taking place in the field of ceramics engineering since the end of the century, it should come as no surprise that a leap-forward in sintering technology is nigh on the horizon. While the process has not been perfected yet, and the reports are only preliminary at this point, those in our industry would do well to look forward to a more detailed report coming from this team in the coming months.

To learn more about ceramics engineering, check out Refractron:

www.refractron.com

To read the article from ceramics.org, following this link:

http://ceramics.org/ceramictechtoday/materials-innovations/sintering-in-a-flash-researchers-show-its-possible-to-do-it-in-seconds-with-nanograin-ysz-heat-and-dc-electric-field/

In Honor of C. Jeffrey Brinker

(Image Source: The National Center for Design of Biomimetic Semiconductors)

At the Materials Science and Technology 2010 Conference & Exhibition, there will be a symposium organized to commemorate the work of C. Jeffrey Brinkley, who recently won the 2010 Robert B. Sosman award. According to the American Ceramic Society webpage, the Robert B. Sosman award is the highest recognition of scientific accomplishment given by the Basic Science Division and is given in recognition of outstanding achievement in basic science of an area that result in a significant impact on the field of ceramics. The awardee presents a plenary lecture at the ACerS Annual Meeting, and receives a certificate commemorating the event and a piece of glassware. The lecture is given each year by the awardee who has been deemed by the award committee to have made the most significant contribution to the field of ceramics.

According to the MS&T '10 website, "For his work, [Brinkley] is recognized around the world as a foremost expert in the field. He has contributed to our fundamental understanding of sol-gel processing, including kinetics of reactions, kinetics of growth and fractal structure of the solider clusters formed in solution, and the pore structure, surface chemistry, and densification behavior of the dried gel. The symposium will focus on sol-gel science and applications. The talks in this half-day symposium will be by invitation only and will feature recent investigations on the chemistry of sol-gel processing, fundamental behavior of hels, and recent materials developed by this technique."

So this week, the Ceramic Engineering Blog honors C. Jeffrey Brinkley for his advancements in sol-gel technology and his dedication to the field of ceramics engineering.

To learn more about ceramics engineering, check out Refractron:

www.refractron.com

To read the article regarding the MS&T '10 conference, click here:

http://matscitech.org/program/technical-program/ceramic-and-glass-materials/

And to visit the ACerS site to learn more about their awards and commendations, hit this link:

http://ceramics.org/acers-community/award-winners-resources/

Getting to Know your Magnets - The Design of Product Purity

(Image Source: Mark Weiss, thisoldhouse.com)

A recent special report from ceramicindustry.com discusses the importance of purity in a ceramics manufacturing process. It is likely that some contaminates, ferrous metals and others, may sometimes end up in a process where they have the potential to jeopardize the homogeny of a substance or damage machinery. As a result, the use of high-power magnetic separators must be employed to ensure the purity of your process. The article discusses the different types of magnets and metal detectors that can be employed and is a good read for anyone in the ceramics manufacturing industry. Here's an excerpt:

"Magnetic separators are classified as type A, B or C, in accordance with the type of magnetic circuit used. Processing lines are generally designated into the main areas (applications): primary, secondary and finishing. The size of the tramp metal to be removed determines whether a type A, B or C circuit is used. Type A is recommended for small fragments, while types B and C are recommended for larger tramp metals."

The article goes on to discuss the relationship between sensitivity and stability during the metal removal process, and explains precisely how these machines work. If you're in the ceramics manufacturing industry and you're not sure what the difference between these types of magnetic separators are, or are not sure how they work, the article is definitely a good read. In order to keep our products and processes free of unwanted contaminates, the use of metal detection and elimination is instrumental.

To learn more about ceramics engineering, visit Refractron:

www.refractron.com

To read the article from ceramicindustry.com, follow this link:

http://www.ceramicindustry.com/Articles/Feature_Article/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000892771

Growing Concerns Over Rare Earth Metals...

(Image Source: Missouri State University)

A recent article from the New York Times discusses the escalating problems that the United States and other nations of the world are having with maintaining a steady supply of rare earth metals. The article calls the situation a Chinese "hammerlock" that may sway the tides of import and export for several countries around the world for years to come. According to the article, 99 percent of two important elements: dysprosium and terbium come from China, who has recently put even tighter limits on the amount of these elements that can be exported, as China's own requirements for the elements has steadily increased over the last three years. The article explains it this way:

"In each of the last three years, China has reduced the amount of rare earths that can be exported. This year's export quotas are on track to be the smallest yet. But what is really starting to alarm Western governments and multinationals alike is the possibility that exports will be further restricted. Chinese officials will almost certainly be pressed to address the issue at a conference Thursday in Beijing. What they say could influence whether Australian regulators next week approve a deal by a Chinese company to acquire a majority stake in Australia's main rare-earth mine."

The article lists the commonly accepted price for the rare earth terbium at around 150$ pound on average. The reason that this information should alarm ceramics engineers is because we are in a constantly evolving industry. At some point, restrictions regarding materials will begin to affect us, whether it be restrictions with the number of chemicals we ourselves can export due to the global marketplace reaching a standstill or our inability to get a new element that it is discovered greatly benefits the ceramic industry. At one point, the idea of mixing diamonds with ceramic materials may have seemed silly, but today we have Diacer. It is likely that this international escalation will not stop with just terbium and dysprosium.

To learn more about ceramics engineering, visit Refractron:

www.refractron.com

And to read the article in the New York Times, follow this link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/business/global/01minerals.html