Hey all, a contract we are trying to secure at work will produce about 5-8K lbs/year of zirconia stabilized with either calcia (CaO) or yttria (Y2O3). It will be -60 mesh. I know it has applications in investment casting of cobalt alloys (we have a customer using it as the aggregate in their shells for F75. Stellites). I was thinking that maybe it’s worth grinding to 1200 mesh and leaching with acid to get a white product that might make a nice reflective coating? any thoughts? Seems a pity to just landfill it...
Considering the stuff sell for $6 a kilogram for the mineral sand version, it would be worth some cash to pottery people and for abrasives.
We have used it to make molds for tin. That is the media in our foundry in a box school demo. Unless they have changed it...that is what we used during experimenting and building it. Worked well.
