The Real Importance Of Refining Potassium Titanate
Potassium Titanate is a material that plays a vital role in various processes such as multilayer ceramic capacitors in electronic devices, electrode welding and brake pads, where its heat resistance can prove invaluable.
However, for all this to happen first requires the refining of the substance and its milling to reduce it to optimum particle sizes. This is prefaced by the creation of the titanate by bringing together potassium carbonate with titanium dioxide in a high-temperature environment to generate a reaction.
This is a significant process because it draws the distinction between potassium in its common forms and the useful form that the titanate represents.
Potassium in its natural form is an element (symbol K) and a silvery-coloured metal that becomes white and flaky upon oxygen exposure.
While mildly radioactive and toxic and in larger quantities, it is vital for life in smaller amounts. As an electrolyte that produces positive ions when dissolved in water, it helps with processes such as the maintenance of fluid balance and the efficient function of nerves and muscles as it helps transmit electrical signals within the body.
This is something naturally acquired through food consumption, particularly certain vegetables like bananas, avocados and spinach, as well as fish such as salmon. A good level of consumption has health benefits like protecting against strokes and osteoporosis, but too much can be harmful, especially to the gut.
However, it is the electrical conductive capacity of potassium that makes it useful in other ways when it appears in different forms. That is why it needs to be made into titanate and then ground down to fulfil its use in electronic and thermal devices.
Potassium titanate is, therefore, a prime example of where a common substance needs to be modified, synthesised and then refined to create a particular form that makes it useful in a range of applications.
