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[December 2001]
Altair Files Patent for Process for Nano-Sized Materials
Altair Nanotechnologies Inc (Reno, NV, USA) has filed a patent covering its process for making nano-sized stabilised zirconia. Stabilised zirconia is one of the dominant materials used today in thermal spray coatings. These coatings protect metals subjected to corrosion caused by intense heat or extreme conditions and are applicable for power generation products and jet engines.
The company currently sells its nanostructured thermal spray products to Inframat Corporation, a thermal spray technology, development and production company, and to F W Gartner Thermal Spray, a nationally recognised supplier of high quality thermal spray services. Thermal spray services represent a $1.3 billion industry.
"Nanosized materials such as our stabilised zirconia have demonstrated improved performance over micron-sized materials used in most commercially available thermal spray products," commented Altair President Kenneth Lyon. "Our process provides the benefits of economics, scalability and control of the particle size used in the production of stabilised zirconia."
Products covered by the patent application include zirconia stabilised by a variety of materials including calcium, magnesium, yttrium and rare earth oxides in a wide variety of compositions.
Altair's nano-sized stabilised zirconia is also a major component in the development of the company's solid fuel cell core (SOFC) programme. SOFC applications have been attracting world-wide attention due to their high energy conversion efficiency and their improved performance with regard to pollution and use of natural resources including fossil fuels.
Altair believes that it will have its working SOFC fuel cell power unit available by the end of the first quarter in 2002.
ENDS