Improvement on fluidization and reduction of ultrafine CuO powders with the assistance of iron microspheres

Fluidization and reduction behaviors of ultrafine CuO powders with the assistance of iron microspheres are investigated. The ultrafine CuO powders that belong to Group C particles are difficult to fluidize due to the strong interactions between particles. However, robust fluidization is achieved with the addition of iron microspheres and the Cu products after the reduction reaction can be completely separated by using a magnetic field. Furthermore, the difference of improvement on fluidization with the assistance of iron microspheres between cold state and reaction state at high temperatures is revealed in the view of interactions between particles. This approach to enhance fluidization during reaction and simplify separation after reaction could be applied to the reaction of other Group C powders.