Hollow structure particles which contain titanium oxide and silica, in which the crystal type of the titanium oxide is rutile type; a method for producing the hollow structure particles; a white ink which contains these hollow structure particles as a coloring agent; use of the white ink in inkjet recording; and an inkjet recording method which uses the white ink.

A method for preparing ceramsite by using municipal sludge as raw material, including the following specific steps: drying; preparing ingredients including raw sludge, fly ash, kaolinite, steelmaking slag, zeolite, hematite, calcareous shale, waste incineration fly ash, Fe.sub.2O.sub.3, waste glass, calcium carbonate, sodium lauryl sulfate, and sodium benzoate; mixing and stirring uniformly, and putting the stirred materials into a granulating machine for granulation; drying and preheating the material pellets after granulation, and then quickly transferring to a sintering device for first sintering at a low temperature and then sintering at a high temperature; crushing large chunks of the cooled materials; and separating and screening the crushed materials. The method of the present invention reduces the generation of the large chunks of the cooled materials in the obtained ceramsite, thereby reducing the subsequent crushing work and saving energy consumption accordingly.

A method for preparing ceramsite by using municipal sludge as raw material, including the following specific steps: drying; preparing ingredients including raw sludge, fly ash, kaolinite, steelmaking slag, zeolite, hematite, calcareous shale, waste incineration fly ash, Fe.sub.2O.sub.3, waste glass, calcium carbonate, sodium lauryl sulfate, and sodium benzoate; mixing and stirring uniformly, and putting the stirred materials into a granulating machine for granulation; drying and preheating the material pellets after granulation, and then quickly transferring to a sintering device for first sintering at a low temperature and then sintering at a high temperature; crushing large chunks of the cooled materials; and separating and screening the crushed materials. The method of the present invention reduces the generation of the large chunks of the cooled materials in the obtained ceramsite, thereby reducing the subsequent crushing work and saving energy consumption accordingly.

The present disclosure relates to a porous ceramic media that may include a chemical composition, a phase composition, a total open porosity content of at least about 10 vol. % and not greater than about 70 vol. % as a percentage of the total volume of the ceramic media, and a nitric acid resistance parameter of not greater than about 500 ppm. The chemical composition for the porous ceramic media may include SiO.sub.2, Al.sub.2O.sub.3, an alkali component and a secondary metal oxide component selected from the group consisting of an Fe oxide, a Ti oxide, a Ca oxide, a Mg oxide and combinations thereof. The phase composition may include an amorphous silicate, quartz and mullite.

A method for making proppant particles is provided. The method can include providing a slurry of ceramic raw material, the slurry containing a reactant including a polycarboxylic acid, and flowing the slurry through a nozzle in a gas while vibrating the slurry to form droplets. The method can also include receiving the droplets in a vessel containing a liquid having an upper surface in direct contact with the gas, the liquid containing a coagulation agent. The method can further include reacting the reactant with the coagulation agent to cause coagulation of the reactant in the droplets. The droplets can then be transferred from the liquid and dried to form green pellets. The method can include sintering the green pellets in a selected temperature range to form the proppant particles. In one or more exemplary embodiments, the reactant can be or include a PMA:PAA copolymer.

A method for making proppant particles is provided. The method can include providing a slurry of ceramic raw material, the slurry containing a reactant including a polycarboxylic acid, and flowing the slurry through a nozzle in a gas while vibrating the slurry to form droplets. The method can also include receiving the droplets in a vessel containing a liquid having an upper surface in direct contact with the gas, the liquid containing a coagulation agent. The method can further include reacting the reactant with the coagulation agent to cause coagulation of the reactant in the droplets. The droplets can then be transferred from the liquid and dried to form green pellets. The method can include sintering the green pellets in a selected temperature range to form the proppant particles. In one or more exemplary embodiments, the reactant can be or include a PMA:PAA copolymer.

In one embodiment, a method for fabricating a ceramic phase change material capsule includes forming a solid phase change material pellet, coating the pellet with a green ceramic material, and sintering the green ceramic material while on the pellet to form a ceramic outer shell of the capsule.

In one embodiment, a method for fabricating a ceramic phase change material capsule includes forming a solid phase change material pellet, coating the pellet with a green ceramic material, and sintering the green ceramic material while on the pellet to form a ceramic outer shell of the capsule.

A method is presented for producing hollow microspheres of metal oxides (HMOMS) and/or hollow metal silicates microspheres (HMSMS) in a transforming solution. The transforming solution contains an atom M, or an M-ion, or a radical containing M. M in the transforming solution has the thermodynamic ability to replace silicon atoms in hollow silica microspheres (HSMS) and/or hollow glass microspheres (HGMS). The maximum temperature for transformation is set by the chemical physical properties of the transforming solution, and the viscosity of the silica in the walls of the HSMS and/or the glass in the walls of the HGMS. Viscosity, of enough magnitude, helps retain the desired shape of the hollow sphere as it is transformed to HMOMS and/or HMSMS. Non-spherical shapes can be produced by increasing the transformation temperature whereby the viscosity of the walls of the HSMS and/or the HGMS is reduced. Transformation can take place at a single temperature or at several temperatures, each temperature for a separate hold time. Methods are presented for: 1. production of micro composite castings and continuous production of sheets of micro composites, both consisting of hollow spheres in a matrix, 2. harvesting of HMOMS and HMSMS, and 3. specialty castings for anisotropic properties using 3-dimensional printing.

A method is presented for producing hollow microspheres of metal oxides (HMOMS) and/or hollow metal silicates microspheres (HMSMS) in a transforming solution. The transforming solution contains an atom M, or an M-ion, or a radical containing M. M in the transforming solution has the thermodynamic ability to replace silicon atoms in hollow silica microspheres (HSMS) and/or hollow glass microspheres (HGMS). The maximum temperature for transformation is set by the chemical physical properties of the transforming solution, and the viscosity of the silica in the walls of the HSMS and/or the glass in the walls of the HGMS. Viscosity, of enough magnitude, helps retain the desired shape of the hollow sphere as it is transformed to HMOMS and/or HMSMS. Non-spherical shapes can be produced by increasing the transformation temperature whereby the viscosity of the walls of the HSMS and/or the HGMS is reduced. Transformation can take place at a single temperature or at several temperatures, each temperature for a separate hold time. Methods are presented for: 1. production of micro composite castings and continuous production of sheets of micro composites, both consisting of hollow spheres in a matrix, 2. harvesting of HMOMS and HMSMS, and 3. specialty castings for anisotropic properties using 3-dimensional printing.