PM Review reports on the changing landscape of carbonyl iron and nickel powder production
May 3, 2017
Commercial applications of discrete carbonyl nickel powder
PM Review has published an in-depth look at the present state of carbonyl iron and nickel powder production. Included in the magazine’s Spring Issue (Vol. 6 No. 1), Jun Shu and Lou Koehler’s ten-page report describes the production processes and looks at the changing global landscape of carbonyl metal powder production.
Carbonyl nickel powders are widely used in Powder Metallurgy, battery and fuel cell electrodes, hardmetal binders, welding rods, high-temperature filters, conducting additives, electronic materials, anti-seize lubricants, chemicals and catalysts. Typical applications of carbonyl iron powders include Metal Injection Moulding (MIM), magnetic cores, hardmetal binders, radar absorption materials, magneto-rheological fluids for shock/vibration damping, precision polishing, industrial diamond synthesis and health supplements.
According to the report, much of the global production of carbonyl metal powder was until recently centred on manufacturers in Europe and North America – however, the last ten years has seen a rapid increase in the volume of both carbonyl nickel and carbonyl iron powders produced in China, with Jinchuan becoming one of the three main producers globally.
Meanwhile, global carbonyl nickel powder production capacity has reached around 37,000 metric tons per year, with the main producers being Vale in Canada and Wales, China’s Jinchuan and Norilsk in Russia. Carbonyl iron powder production capacity is reported to be around 29,000 metric tons per year, with BASF being the largest manufacturer. However, nearly half of the current carbonyl iron powder capacity is represented by recent additions from China.
