Imperial Chemical Industries Limited

Tioxide Specialties Limited

Keele University

Kevin Kendall

James D Birchall

Anthony J Howard

Neil M Alford

James H Raistrick

John H Bateson

Leslie W Lord

William J Clegg

David T Williams

Solid oxide fuel cell structures

Process for producing a layered ceramic product which includes sintering layers of sinterable particulate ceramic material while in face-to-face contact. Before such contact, the surface of at least one of the layers is modified to provide a zone of weakness between the layers. This zone acts to deflect a crack propagating across the layers thereby increasing the work required to break the product. The product may also have improved fracture toughness.

Process for producing layered ceramic product

A process for the production of a shaped article of a ceramic material in which a composition comprising particulate ceramic material and a liquid medium is shaped, the liquid medium is removed from the shaped composition, and the composition is heated to sinter the particles of ceramic material in which the composition is subjected to high shear mixing such that in the shaped article which is produced the mean maximum size of flaw is less than 25 microns. Also, a shaped article of sintered particulate ceramic material in which the mean maximum size of flaw is less than 25 microns and in which the minimum dimension of the shaped article is in excess of 0.1 mm.

Article of ceramic material and production thereof

A composite membrane comprising one or more domains of an electrolyte material and one or more domains of an electronically conducting interconnect material, said electrolyte domain(s) and said interconnect domain(s) traversing the thickness of the membrane so that the membrane comprises contact surfaces for the or each electrolyte domain and the or each interconnect domain on both major faces thereof. Also claimed is an electrochemical cell comprising the composite membrane and having one or more anodes arranged on one major face and one or more cathodes arranged on the other major face of the membrane.

Composite membrarnes and electrochemical cells containing them

A process for producing a dried particulate ceramic material in which a cake comprising a dispersion of at least 25% by volume of particulate ceramic material in a liquid medium is subjected to rapid drying. Also, a dried particulate ceramic material which may be dispersed in a liquid medium to form a dispersion containing at most only a small proportion of aggregates of the primary particles of the ceramic material.

Particulate ceramics materials and production thereof

Reforming a hydrocarbon, or hydrocarbon derivative, feedstock with steam and/or carbon dioxide using saddle shaped units made of a low silica calcium aluminate cement composition as the catalyst support. The support preferably has a surface area of at least 0.5 m.sup.2 g.sup.-1 and a pore volume of at least 0.1 cm.sup.3 g.sup.-1.

Catalyst and catalytic process

Composition comprising ceramic particles

A cementitious composition comprising hydraulic cement, not more than 25% of water by weight of the composition, and water soluble or dispersible (co)polymer in a proportion of 1 to 15% by weight of the hydraulic cement in the composition, the cement and (co)polymer being selected such that a test composition comprising 100 parts by weight of cement, 5 parts by weight of (co)polymer, and 16 parts by weight of water when extruded in a capillary rheometer undergoes an increase of at least 25% in shear stress when a ten-fold increase in the shear rate of the test composition from the capillary of the rheometer is effected. Also a cementitious product produced by setting of the composition. The (co)polymer is preferably a partially hydrolyzed poly (vinyl acetate). The cementitious product may have a flexural strength in excess of 100 MPa.

Cement composition and product

Cementitious composition and cement produced therefrom

A cementitious product produced by setting of a composition comprising a mixture of at least one hydraulic cement and water not more than 2% of the total volume of the product comprising pores of maximum dimension exceeding 100 microns and preferably not more than 2% of the total volume comprising pores exceeding 15 microns in maximum dimension, the product preferably having a flexural strength of at least 40 MPa.

Cementitious product

A hydraulic cement characterized by the particle size distribution of the hydraulic cement being multi-modal, preferably bimodal or trimodal, and in which preferably there are present two or more distinct bands or modes of particle sizes and in which the total weight of particles of intermediate size does not exceed 20% of the total weight of the particles in the bands or modes adjacent thereto, and a cement composition comprising the hydraulic cement and not greater than 25% of water by weight of the hydraulic cement.

Hydraulic cement composition

A hydraulic cement composition comprising a mixture of at least one particulate hydraulic cement and water in which the weight average mean particle size of the particles of the cement is less than 20 microns and in which the proportion of water is not greater than 30% by weight of the hydraulic cement in the composition, the cement being preferably substantially free of particles having a size above 20 microns and the proportion of water being preferably not greater than 20% by weight.

Growing community of inventors

Runcorn, United Kingdom

Kevin Kendall