Zirconium silicate, also known as zirconium orthosilicate or zircon, is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (ZrSiO4). Zirconium silicate is usually colorless, but impurities cause different colors. This compound is insoluble in water, acids, alkalis and aqua regia. To buy zirconium silicate 5 micron from Italy, contact Beh Nejad Holding

Zirconium silicate occurs in nature as the mineral zircon. Zircon is a mineral belonging to the group of non-silicates and is a transparent or opaque mineral that crystallizes in the tetragonal system. Zirconium silicate can be produced by combining SiO2 and ZrO2 in an electric arc furnace or by reacting a zirconium salt with sodium silicate in an aqueous solution 

What is zirconium silicate

Zirconium silicate or zircon is a common product of the mining and processing of heavy mineral sand deposits.Mainly mined in Australia and South Africa, zircon can be used as coarse sand or ground into a fine powder. Its properties have led to its use in many everyday products, including ceramic tiles and medical implants, as well as major industrial applications

Zircon can be processed to create zirconia by melting sand at very high temperatures to form molten zirconia, also called zirconium oxide (ZrO2). Zirconium, another derivative of zircon, is the chemical element Zr in the periodic table. which exists in the form of silver gray metal. As the 18th most abundant element in the earth's crust, it usually exists in the mineral zircon in the form of silicate and rarely in the mineral beldite in the form of oxide. Zircon has a theoretical content of 67% zirconia and 32% silica and can usually contain small percentages of hafnium in the range of 0.2 to 4%.Types of zirconium silicate

Zircon powder is produced by grinding zircon sand, usually in ball mills in dry or slurry form. It is used in a variety of applications including ceramics, casting mold lining, ceramic shells for investment casting, refractories, friction products, insulating fibers and glass. Depending on the application, there are different specifications for particle size, typically 200 mesh ( 75 micrometers) and mesh 3225 (45 micrometers). Zirconium powder is packed in large bags or paper bags or delivered in tankers (as powder or slurry / loose)

Zircon powder is used in ceramic, glass, refractory and plastic glazing industries. Adding a small amount of zircon can help improve the mechanical strength of glass and create alkali resistance against glass fibers used in glass reinforced concrete.Zirconium powder can also be used as a refractory compound for glaze furnaces, as a fine compound in compressed zirconium refractory forms, and as a filler in epoxy resins. Milled zircon, "zirconium powder", is also used in refractory and friction products

Physical and chemical properties of zirconium silicate

Zircon is very stable (refractory, hard, dense). Large amounts of zircon are used in the tile industry, sanitary ware and dishes (to make glazes opaque). Zircon sand (which is milled to produce zirconium silicate powders) is the main source of ZrO2 zirconia production

The individual angular zircon particles are very hard and refractory and surprisingly do not dissolve easily in the glaze melt, even if ground to very small particle sizes. The refractive index of zircon is high (especially in micronized zircon, size less than 5 microns).However, some sources have cited zircon as a source of SiO2 in the glaze (meaning it decomposes)

This view is acceptable because smaller amounts of zircon do not make glazes opaque, in fact they are added intentionally to increase the refractive index to encourage high clarity and gloss. This means that when the percentage is low, it dissolves and when it is high, it becomes opaque. Interestingly, it dissolves so well at low percentages that it sometimes adds to the clarity of glazes (because it has a high refractive index)

Applications of zirconium silicate

Laser firing of zircon as a ceramic material used for shell and core casting is an attractive alternative to the conventional and time-consuming method of producing these shells from wax

This compound has recently received attention due to its outstanding properties as a dielectric.It is thermally stable with Si and is a good barrier against oxygen diffusion. Thin layers of this composition have been deposited by sputtering and ALD atomic layer deposition. The optimization of the ALD process for the deposition of zircon films with the combination of ZrCl4 precursor and TBOS was shown. Zirconium silicate (ZrSiO4) is one of the most important compounds obtained from zirconia sands. Baddeleyite is a natural form of zirconia (ZrO2)

Zircon is usually used in glazes for matting (turning a clear glaze into an opaque one). The silicate or zirconium form does not have opaque glazes (like pure zirconium oxide, which is actually zirconium dioxide). The exact amount required of this material varies between different types of glaze. 10-12% is normal, but up to 20% may be required to make some clear glazes opaque. Upon reaching the saturation point, crystallization begins and is more effective at low temperatures. Tin oxide can be a more effective opacifier than zircon.It is better to know

As a glaze opacifier, the white color produced by zirconium silicate is often characterized as "toilet bowl white". In contrast, tin oxide can produce a mostly blue-white color, but tin may change color (towards pink) if chromium is present in the furnace atmosphere. If the white shade is too much, it can be strengthened by moving part of the matting load to the tin or adding a small amount of color (for example, blue, brown, gray)

The low expansion of zircon reduces the electricity in the glazes. In an unglazed glaze, the presence of sufficient zircon can reduce the thermal expansion to the point where there is a risk of chipping (the glaze formulation may need to be adjusted to accommodate, eg more zircon will reduce the thermal expansion of the glaze) .It is better to exclude zirconium material chemistry from participation in glaze chemistry calculations and treat it simply as an additive (then consider its effect on glaze properties on a physical rather than a chemical level)

The molten zircon hardens the glaze (increases the surface tension) and this often needs to be considered (even if it is chemically shown to be fluid enough). Glazes lacking melt fluidity can experience problems with creep, blistering and pinholing, as they are less able to cure disorders

Due to its high thermal stability, zircon is used in the manufacture of high-tech refractories, porcelain bodies, veneers and materials, even artificial teeth. Calcined alumina is an alternative for making super refractories, but it has much higher thermal expansion and higher thermal conductivity.Buying and selling price of zirconium silicate

Zircon has become so expensive that major producers have considered or are already diluting their products with other materials (such as kaolin). So if your glaze is not as opaque as it used to be, that's normal. Also, use caution when pre-testing zircon materials, as their quality varies. For this reason, some companies market their materials as "substitutes for zirconium"

The most important market for volume production of zircon is the ceramic industry. In this section, the main application of zircon is as a matting (or whitening) body and ceramic surface. As a fine zircon powder, it can be used directly in the ceramic mixture to increase the whiteness of the entire ceramic body, or used in waves to produce a white, opaque layer that hides the color of the body.It is used as a raw material in ceramic glazes to increase transparency or in compounds used to produce glossy, matte, and white glazes. When used in surface glazes, zircon significantly increases resistance to wear and chemical attack

The features that make zircon a suitable opacifier are its high refractive index. Milled zircon grains scatter visible light, making the ceramic appear white, glossy, and opaque. There are many different types of zirconium opacifiers, including 10 µm, 5 µm and 1 µm products with D50s ranging from 2 µm to 1 µm. To buy zirconium 5 micron from Italy, contact Beh Nejad Holding.This holding is the only importer of 5 micron Italian zirconium in Iran and you can also benefit from the after-sales services of this holding while delivering zirconium on time