Qingdao, China — AKW material equipment technical team has recently completed a customized metallic silicon powder granulation test for a European customer. Using the AKW 10L laboratory-scale small granulator, the full batch operation from raw material feeding, intensive mixing, powder granulation to finished granule discharging is completed within 10 minutes. Stable metallic silicon granules were produced successfully, providing reliable lab data for formula scale-up and industrial production line selection.

Fine metallic silicon powder suffers heavy dusting, low bulk density and high silicon loss when fed into high-temperature furnaces. Granulated metallic silicon granules are widely applied in refractory materials, steel deoxidation, aluminum alloy smelting, organosilicon synthesis and silicon nitride ceramics, which are key R&D topics for European new material, metallurgy and refractory manufacturers.

The European customer carried out this lab test to quickly evaluate granulation formula, granule strength and particle size distribution at lab scale, locking process parameters in advance and reducing risks during pilot scale-up.

The AKW 10L integrated lab granulator combines feeding, high-shear mixing, powder granulation and fast discharging in one unit. It avoids repeated material transfer, reduces powder loss and cross-contamination. The complete batch cycle only takes 10 minutes. Operators can adjust rotor speed, binder spray rate and granulation duration flexibly to precisely control sphericity, particle size and compressive strength of silicon granules, ideal for new material research and formula iteration.

AKW Technical Engineer: “The European customer focused on granule strength, low impurity control and process scalability. AKW lab granulator supports fast parallel formula tests with repeatable data, helping translate lab results to full-scale granulation production and shorten new material development timeline.”

Key Test Parameters

• Equipment: AKW 10L Laboratory Intensive Mixer Granulator
• Raw material: Metallic silicon powder
• Process sequence: Raw material feeding → intensive mixing → powder granulation → finished product discharging
• Total batch time: 10 minutes
• Typical applications: Antioxidant for refractory castables, steel deoxidizer, aluminum alloy additive, organosilicon fluidized bed feedstock, precursor for Si₃N₄ ceramics
• Customer region: Europe new material enterprise

Customer Benefits

1. Greatly cut fine metallic silicon dust and explosion hazard, easier storage and sea export shipment.
2. Prevent fine powder from being blown away by furnace gas, improve silicon yield rate in metallurgy and fluidized bed.
3. Fast formula screening at lab scale, data can be scaled up to pilot production and reduce investment risk.
4. All-in-one mixing & granulation, less material transfer and lower impurity contamination risk.

FAQ

Q: Can AKW 10L lab granulator handle metallic silicon powder granulation? A: Yes. AKW 10L lab intensive granulator is designed for powder R&D. It supports wet granulation for metallic silicon, mineral powder, ceramic powder. One full batch finishes within 10 minutes for quick binder formula, granule strength and particle size tests.

Q: What are applications of granulated metallic silicon? A: Granulated metallic silicon granules are used in refractory castables, steel deoxidation, aluminum alloy melting, organosilicon synthesis and silicon nitride ceramics. Compared with raw fine silicon powder, granules feature better flowability, less dust and higher feeding yield.

Q: Why do European customers prefer lab-scale granulation trials first? A: European metallurgy and refractory firms follow lab-pilot-production development workflow. Small tests on AKW lab granulator help verify granule strength, impurity and sintering performance before large industrial investment.

AKW lab granulator series serves material R&D clients worldwide. Custom granulation trials are available for metallic silicon, silica fume, refractory powder, lithium anode powder and mineral powder, supporting customers from Europe, Southeast Asia and Middle East. Contact AKW engineering team for silicon granule samples, process proposals and equipment specifications.