Final Project Of Zirconium oxide Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Final Project Of Zirconium oxide - Research Paper Example The flow chart shown below shows the process of Zirconium oxide production. The main raw material in the production of the nuclear-grade zirconium oxide is the zircon mineral (ZrSiO4) naturally occurring as zirconium sand. The zirconium sand consists of zirconium and hafnium whose properties are almost similar. Special separation techniques of precipitation, filtration and calcination are applied to separate the two products (Dhanaraj & Govindhan 444). The production of zirconium oxide is broken down into three simple steps; extraction of zirconium sand, removal of wastes (including hafnium) and conversion of the resulting compound into the finished product (zirconium oxide free from hafnium). The separation of zirconium and hafnium occurs at temperature ranges of 650-700 degree Celsius (Dhanaraj & Govindhan 444). The zirconium sand is mixed with K2SiF6. This converts the metal into K2ZrF6 which is soluble in water and K2HfF6. A sequential process of crystallization eliminates hafnium. The process results into pure form of K2ZrF6 which is ammonized to produce zirconium oxide. The production of 1kg of zirconia requires 0.7 kg of the zirconium metal that has to be extracted from the zirconium sand (Dhanaraj & Govindhan 444). The by-products obtained from the process of zirconia extraction are washed away in water to the sea. These elements are not harmful to the environment. The other byproducts are sold for utilization in other industries like the refineries of magnesium. The final stage of zirconium oxidation into zirconia requires the use of steam. This is carried out at high temperatures (Dhanaraj & Govindhan 444). The oxidation process is exothermic and yields substantial amounts of hydrogen. The equation for oxidation of zirconium is as shown. The production of zirconia utilizes energy in many forms. Electricity is used to heat up the reactors where separation of zirconium