Product Applications
We produce secondary aluminum foil granules that can be direct replacements for primary aluminum and are customizable to your needs
How Are Aluminum Granules Used?
The high-energy value inherent in aluminum makes it particularly attractive for exothermic applications. Aluminum foil granules’ physical characteristic includes a high surface-area-to-weight ratio, offering additional essential reactivity benefits for exothermic uses. There are a variety of uses for aluminum granules:
- Aluminum foil granules make excellent natural binders and provide important benefits to the master alloy industry when producing briquetted minerals.
- Other products are designed for industrial explosives, steel, chemical, ferro alloy, thermite, refractory, epoxy filler, abrasive and drain cleaner industries.
Aluminum Granules Applications
Our high-tech manufacturing processes produce secondary aluminum foil granules proven to be highly competitive as direct replacements for traditionally accepted forms of primary aluminum in many market sectors.
Exothermic
Generally, our aluminum granule products provide specific physical and chemical characteristics. Many applications are exothermic (i.e., the aluminum granule is consumed while producing heat).
The rate at which the exothermic reaction occurs is critical. This rate of reaction, or burn rate, is a function of the surface area-to-weight ratio. By employing thin gauge foil (0.000XX”) and controlling granule particle sizing, and then blending into homogeneous products, our aluminum granules offer a variety of cost-effective specification exothermic fuels.
Alternatives such as atomized aluminum powder typically are more expensive and require finer particles to achieve equivalent rates of reaction. It is generally accepted that finer particles of aluminum can increase handling hazards.
Our products offer important chemical characteristics as well. Aluminum foil is a high-purity alloy. Our rigid quality system assures high-purity specifications with a complete representation of trace elements.
Industrial Explosives
The use of aluminum as a fuel in blasting agents such as ANFO, water gels, and emulsions is considered a cost-effective choice for increasing energy, rock fragmentation, and the expansion of bore hole patterns.
U.S. Granules has a distinguished history of customizing aluminum granule products for the reactivity, density, energy, and safety requirements of the industrial explosives industry.
Ferro Alloys and Thermite
Several aluminum foil granule products are used in the aluminothermic production of ferro alloys. By customizing our products, we are able to meet many of the quality, reactivity, economic, and safety objectives of ferro alloy producers.
Other aluminothermic uses of our aluminum granules include the thermite reduction of iron oxide for the repair of rails and steel ingot molds.
Master Alloys
The inherent physical and chemical properties of our aluminum foil granules make them a logical choice for master alloy producers in their briquetting processes. Our aluminum granules are malleable — their soft texture and irregular shape provide maximum binding characteristics for briquetting purposes.
Since the aluminum is dissolved or otherwise consumed when the master alloy product is used, the contamination of “artificial” binders can be eliminated or greatly reduced.
Chemical
Our highest-purity aluminum granules are used in a variety of chemical industry applications such as:
- Production of aluminum alkyl catalysts
- Production of ethylbenzene for styrene monomer production
- Primary reactant for aluminum chloride production
Steel
Clean Steel Applications
U.S. Granules produces a variety of briquetted and granule products, which include aluminum granules and proprietary blends of minerals used as slag deoxidizers in steel mills. Our technical engineers have made substantial contributions to the evolution of this technology. The use of our granule products as a natural binder for slag deoxidizer briquettes is an important benefit since artificial binders add undesirable fuming and contamination.
Killed Steel Applications
Briquetted aluminum granules are attracting more attention for killing or deoxidizing steel. As an alternative to Grade 1 aluminum shot, our AK briquettes provide higher purity and more rapid dissolution at competitive prices.
Unmatched Quality Control
At U.S. Granules Corporation, all of our products are subject to a rigid certification process. We are particularly adept at harmonizing your QC requirements into our system, utilizing an entire system that is integrated and uncompromising. We operate a fully equipped laboratory and quality control system to assure our products meet specifications.