A method for preparing a refractory from a secondary aluminum dross, the secondary aluminum dross including silica and alumina, and the refractory including a basic magnesium-aluminum refractory or an acidic magnesium-aluminum-silicon refractory; when the secondary aluminum dross includes less than 5% by mass of silica, the refractory is the basic magnesium-aluminum refractory, and the method includes: subjecting a secondary aluminum dross powder, an aluminum source, a magnesium source and a magnesia-alumina spinel seed crystal to first mixing, and subjecting a resulting first mixture to one-step sintering to obtain the basic magnesium-aluminum refractory; when the secondary aluminum dross includes not less than 5% by mass of silica, the refractory is the acidic magnesium-aluminum-silicon refractory, and the method includes: subjecting a secondary aluminum dross powder, a silicon source, and a magnesium source to second mixing, and subjecting a resulting second mixture to one-step sintering to obtain the acidic magnesium-aluminum-silicon refractory.

The present invention relates to a method for preparing a ceramic powder from a bone of a bird's beak, a method for preparing biomedical or industrial ceramic materials by using the ceramic powder derived from a bone of a bird's beak, and a biomedical or industrial ceramic material prepared by the method thereof. The use of the present ceramic powder for manufacturing biomedical or industrial ceramic materials is safer than the use of the ceramic powder derived from allogenic bone or xenogeneic bone. In addition, the ceramic powder of the present invention can be prepared on a mass production basis. Furthermore, the ceramic material prepared using the ceramic powder of the present invention is more biocompatible than that prepared using artificially synthetic ceramic.

A method and apparatus for additive manufacturing is provided whereby a curtain of powder is provided adjacent a vertically oriented build plate, and a laser melts or sinters the powder over a region of the build plate. The curtain of powder is moved relative to the build plate to maintain the same distance between the curtain and the previously deposited layer, and the process repeated to provide a three dimensional structure on the build plate.

A functional ceramic material made from a raw material mixture which includes 0.1-0.5 wt % iron powder, 20-25 wt % bentonite, and a remainder of sludge (based on dry weight) which contains bacteria. To make the functional ceramic material, the raw material mixture is calcined at low temperature and anaerobic conditions. Use of the material for purifying a medium is also provided.

Ceramic particles for use in a solar power tower and methods for making and using the ceramic particles are disclosed. The ceramic particle can include a sintered ceramic material formed from a mixture of a ceramic raw material and a darkening component comprising MnO as Mn.sup.2+. The ceramic particle can have a size from about 8 mesh to about 170 mesh and a density of less than 4 g/cc.

An apparatus includes a reactor vessel containing a carbonaceous bed and having means for establishing an elevated temperature within the carbonaceous bed; and the reactor vessel also having one or more feed material inlets above the carbonaceous bed for depositing process material from outside the vessel onto the carbonaceous bed, one or more gas exhaust ports above the bed for exit of gaseous products from the vessel, and one or more slag ports at the bottom of the carbonaceous bed for exit of molten and vitreous material from the vessel; wherein the carbonaceous bed comprises bricks that contain carbon and are of varied size and shape of which at least 25% of the total carbon content of the bed comprises spent pot liner material from aluminum processing, and wherein the bricks further comprise at least one of: Portland cement, potassium silicate cement, or aluminum silicate cement.

Provided is a petroleum fracturing proppant prepared from flyash and waste ceramics, the petroleum fracturing proppant being prepared from the following components: 40 wt. %-90 wt. % of main material, the main material being flyash and waste ceramics; 1 wt. %-40 wt. % of auxiliary material, the auxiliary material being potassium feldspar powder and manganese ore powder; and the sum of the main material and the auxiliary material is 100%. The present invention employs low-cost flyash and waste ceramics as raw material, and the petroleum fracturing proppant prepared under a low temperature has low apparent density and strong crushing resistance, and is also low cost and reduces energy consumption.

The disclosure herein includes methods of preparing ceramic beads, useful as proppant materials, by mixing ceramic precursors, such as slag, fly ash, or aluminum dross, forming bead precursors from the mixture, and heating the bead precursors to drive a chemical reaction between the ceramic precursors to form the ceramic beads. The resultant ceramic beads may be generally spherical particles that are characterized by diameters of about 0.1 to 2 mm, a diametral strength of at least about 100 MPa, and a specific gravity of about 1.0 to 3.0. A coating process may optionally be used to increase a diametral strength of a proppant material. A sieving process may optionally be used to obtain a smaller range of sizes of proppant materials.

A device and method of reclaiming refractory material from a lining of a refractory includes assembling a first refractory component of the lining with a first refractory product, and assembling a second refractory component of the working lining with a second refractory product different from the first refractory product, the second refractory product including magnetic material dispersed therein. Upon the lining reaching a service life, the lining is demolished to produce a mixture of the first refractory component pieces and the second refractory component pieces. Magnetic separation is performed on the mixture to separate the second refractory component pieces from the first refractory component pieces.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide: a flake-like composition that enables effective use of the waste discharged from a coal-fueled thermal power plant; and a method for producing said flake-like composition. This flake-like composition is characterized by containing, as a raw material, waste discharged from a coal-fueled thermal power plant.