Claims
- 1. A method of converting porous microscopic alumina particles into ultra-fine microscopic alumina particles, the method comprising:
- (a) introducing an alkali metal into the pores of porous microscopic alumina particles; and
- (b) immersing the alkali metal treated porous microscopic alumina particles in a water-containing liquid, thereby rapidly generating hydrogen in the pores of the porous microscopic alumina particles, and thereby fracturing the porous microscopic alumina particles into ultra-fine microscopic alumina particles.
- 2. The method as described in claim 1 wherein the alkali metal is lithium.
- 3. The method as described in claim 2 wherein the lithium is contained in a lithium organic vehicle.
- 4. The method as described in claim 3 wherein the lithium organic vehicle is n-butyllithium in hexane.
- 5. The method as described in claim 1 wherein the alkali metal is selected from the group consisting of lithium vapour and molten lithium.
- 6. The method as described in claim 1 including subjecting the alumina to vigorous agitation during the alkali metal introduction step.
- 7. The method as defined in claim 1 including subjecting the alumina to ultra-sonic agitation during the alkali metal introduction step.
- 8. The method as defined in claim 1 including immersing ultra-fine microscopic alumina particles in water.
- 9. The method as described in claim 1 wherein the water-containing liquid is water.
- 10. The method as described in claim 1 wherein the size of the microscopic alumina particles is in the range of about 1 to about 10 microns.
- 11. The method as described in claim 1 or 10 wherein the size of the ultra-fine microscopic alumina particles is in the range of about 1 to about 10 nanometers.
- 12. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the ultra-fine microscopic alumina particles absorb a greater amount of CO.sub.2 than the porous microscopic alumina particles.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/242,963, filed on Sept. 9, 1988 abandoned.
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Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
242963 |
Sep 1988 |
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