Future development direction and technological breakthrough of white corundum micropowder
Walking into a precision manufacturing workshop in Shenzhen, Li Gong was worried about the microscope – a batch of ceramic substrates used for lithography machine lenses had nano-level scratches on their surfaces. After replacing the newly developed low-sodium white corundum micropowder polishing liquid with a manufacturer, the scratches disappeared miraculously. “This powder is like it has eyes, and it only ‘bites’ the bumps without hurting the substrate!” He couldn’t help but slap his head and admire. This scene reflects the technological transformation that the white corundum micropowder industry is undergoing. The once dusty “industrial teeth” are transforming into “nano scalpels” for high-end manufacturing.
1. Current industry pain points: The micro powder industry at the crossroads of transformation
The global white corundum micro powder market seems to be booming – China, as the largest producer, accounts for more than 60% of global production, and the market size will exceed 10 billion in 2022227. But when you walk into the factory area in Gongyi, Henan, the bosses shake their heads at the inventory: “Low-priced goods can’t be sold, and high-end goods can’t be made.” This reveals two major dilemmas in the industry:
Low-end overcapacity: Traditional micro powder products are seriously homogenized, caught in a price war vortex, and the profit margin has fallen below 10%
High-end supply is insufficient: Semiconductor-grade micro powder still relies on imports, and a certain international manufacturer’s 99.99% purity product is sold at a price of up to 500,000 yuan per ton, which is 8 times that of domestic products
What’s more serious is that the environmental protection curse is getting tighter and tighter. Last year, an old factory in Zibo, Shandong was fined 1.8 million for exceeding the standard of calcining kiln exhaust gas. The boss smiled bitterly: “Environmental protection costs eat up profits, but if you don’t install new equipment, you have to close down!” 8 When downstream customers began to require carbon footprint certificates, the era of extensive production has entered the countdown.
2. Technological breakthroughs: Four battles are underway
(1) Nanoscale preparation: the battle to turn “micro powder” into “fine powder”
Particle size competition: Leading companies have achieved mass production of micro powders below 200 nanometers, which is only one circle larger than the new coronavirus (about 100 nanometers).
Dispersion technology breakthrough: Hanshou Jincheng Company’s patented hydraulic sedimentation classification process solves the problem of particle agglomeration by adding a composite dispersant, compressing the particle size dispersion of the same batch of products from ±30% to within ±5%.
Morphology control: Sphericalization allows micro powder rolling friction to replace sliding friction, and the polishing damage rate drops by 70%.6. An engineer from a Japanese company described it as: “It’s like replacing gravel with glass beads, and the probability of scratches naturally plummets.”
(2) Low sodium revolution: Purity determines value
The semiconductor industry hates sodium ions – a sodium contamination the size of a grain of salt can destroy an entire wafer. Low-sodium white corundum powder (Na2O content ≤ 0.02%) has become a hot commodity:
Arc melting technology upgrade: Inert gas protection melting is adopted, and the sodium volatilization rate is increased by 40%
Raw material substitution plan: Kaolin is used to replace bauxite, and the sodium content is naturally reduced by more than 60%
Although the price of this type of product is 3 times higher than that of ordinary powder, it is in short supply. The low-sodium line just put into production in a factory in Jiangxi has orders until 2026.
(3) Green manufacturing: wisdom forced by environmental protection
Raw material recycling: Waste grinding wheel recycling technology can increase the recycling rate of waste powder to 85%, reducing the cost by 4,000 yuan per ton
Process revolution: Dry powder making process completely replaces wet method, and wastewater discharge is reduced to zero. Henan enterprises introduced waste heat recovery system, and energy consumption dropped by 35%
Solid waste transformation: A factory in Liaocheng, Shandong Province turned waste slag into fireproof building materials, which actually generated 2 million yuan in revenue each year. The boss joked: “Before, environmental protection was a way to buy safety, but now it is a new way to make money.”
(4) Intelligent production: data-driven precision leap
In the digital workshop of Zhengzhou Xinli, the large screen shows the particle size distribution curve of the micropowder in real time. “The AI sorting system can dynamically adjust the airflow parameters, so that the product qualification rate soars from 82% to 98%.” The technical director pointed to the running equipment and said 6. The online monitoring of the laser particle size analyzer combined with the machine learning algorithm can achieve second-level feedback on quality fluctuations, completely saying goodbye to the traditional “post-inspection” mode.
3. Future battlefield: a gorgeous transformation from grinding wheels to chips
The next “golden track” of white corundum micropowder is opening up:
Semiconductor packaging: used for silicon wafer thinning and polishing, with an annual global demand growth rate of more than 25%
New energy field: as a lithium battery separator coating material, improving heat resistance and ion conductivity
Biomedical: Nano-polishing of dental ceramic restorations, with an accuracy requirement of 0.1 micron
The evolution of white corundum micropowder is a microcosm of China’s manufacturing upgrade. When the old factory in Zibo used 3D printing to rebuild the flow field of the calcining kiln, and when the team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences cultivated single-crystal alumina microspheres in the laboratory, the outcome of this “micrometer war” was no longer determined by current production capacity, but by who could define the cornerstone of future manufacturing with nanometer precision.
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