Effect of tetrabutyl titanate on the sintering of natural magnesia

Tetrabutyl titanate was added to magnesite as a sintering aid to increase the densification of sintered magnesia. The influence of the additive on both the decomposition process of magnesite and the sintering process of light-burnt magnesia were investigated and the mechanism was discussed. The research results showed that the sintering of natural magnesia could be obviously improved by adding tetrabutyl titanate. The mechanisms leading to this improvement could be considered to be the formation of compounds with low melting point at the grain boundaries and between particles, and reduction of residua of the CO 32- functional group in the crystal lattice of magnesia. © 2013 Expert Fachmedien GmbH.