Microcrystalline α-Al

1. Method for the production of sintered microcrystalline shaped bodies comprising abrasive grains consisting essentially of α-Al 2 O 3 , said bodies have a hardness HV 0.2 greater than or equal to 15 Gpa, a density a median primary crystal size of 0.5 to 0.6 μm greater than or equal to 95% of the theoretical density, and an Al 2 O 3 content of not less than 98 weight percent, comprising the steps of:

providing an α-Al 2 O 3 powder with a median particle size d 50 of less than 2 μm;

wet grinding the α-Al 2 O 3 powder to a product having maximum particle size d 99 of less than 1 μm;

forming a mixture by spray drying the product and subsequently admixing the dried product with at least one binder and at least one solvent;

processing the mixture into an extrudable mass;

extruding the extrudable mass to an extrudate;

processing the extrudate into shaped extruded bodies; and

sintering the shaped extruded bodies within a temperature range of 1,300° C. and 1,650° C.

2. Method according to claim 1 , wherein triturators, ball triturators or vibration mills are used for the wet grinding.

3. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one binder is selected from the group consisting of methyl cellulose, polyvinyl butyrate, emulsified acrylate, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, polyacrylate starch, silicate binders and lignin sulfonate.

4. Method according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of adding to the mixture at least one auxiliary material selected from the group consisting of dispersing agents, lubricants and softeners.

5. Method according to claim 4 , wherein the dispersing agents comprise at least one material selected from the group consisting of ammonium polyacrylate, sodium silicate, Manhattan fish oil, polyethylene imine, sodium lignin sulfonate and alginate.

6. Method according to claim 4 , wherein the lubricants comprise at least one material selected from the group consisting of ammonium stearate, wax emulsion oleic acid, Manhattan fish oil, stearic acid, palmitic acid, linoleic acid, myristic acid and/or lauric acid.

7. Method according to claim 4 , wherein the softeners comprise at least one material selected from the group consisting of glycerin, polyethylene glycol, octyl phthalate and ethylene glycol.

8. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one solvent comprises at least one inorganic or organic solvent selected from the group consisting of water, toluol, benzol, isopropanol, acetone, xylene, hydrocarbons, hexane, heptane, octane, nonane, chlorinated hydrocarbons trichloroethane, tetrachloromethane, chloroform and methylene chloride.

9. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the extrudable mass is extruded in machine selected from the group consisting of a kneader with a delivery screw, a single-screw extruder, a compounder, an expansion extruder, a twin-screw extruder, a piston press and a planetary extruder.

10. Method according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of ventilating the mass to be extruded prior to the extrusion step.

11. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the extruding the extrudable mass further comprises drying the extrudate to green bodies with a moisture contents of less than 20 weight percent.

12. Method according to claim 1 wherein the processing of the extrudate comprises drying the extrudate to green bodies within a temperature range between 150° and 800° C. and crushing the green bodies to obtain the shaped extruded bodies.

13. Method according to claim 11 wherein the processing into shaped extruded bodies includes crushing the green bodies to a granulate of a target length with a granulating unit.

14. Method according to claim 13 , wherein the granulating unit comprises rotating blades, cross cutters or longitudinal cutters.

15. Method according to claim 12 , wherein the crushing step is achieved through use of a comminution aggregate.

16. Method according to claim 15 , wherein the comminution aggregate is selected from the group consisting of cutting mills, beater mills and cylinders.

17. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the shaped bodies are sintered at temperatures between 1,300° C. and 1,500° C.

18. Method for the production of sintered microcrystalline shaped bodies comprising the steps of:

providing an α-Al 2 O 3 powder with a median particle size d 50 of less than 2 μm;

wet grinding the α-Al 2 O 3 powder to a product having maximum particle size d 99 of less than 1 μm;

forming a mixture by spray drying the product followed by admixing the dried product with at least one binder and at least one solvent;

processing the mixture into an extrudable mass;

extruding the extrudable mass to an extrudate and drying the extrudate to green bodies with a moisture content of less than 20 weight percent; and

processing the green bodies into shaped bodies; and

sintering the shaped bodies within a temperature range of 1,300° C. and 1,650° C.;

wherein the sintered shaped bodies comprise α-Al 2 O 3 , said bodies have a hardness HV 0.2 greater than or equal to 15 Gpa, a density a median primary crystal size of 0.5 to 0.6 μm of greater than or equal to 95% of the theoretical density, and an Al 2 O 3 content of not less than 98 weight percent, and the shaped body is a solid body or a hollow body in the shape of a rod, a cylinder, a polygon, a star or a rod with a wave-shaped surface;

wherein a ratio of the maximal diameter of the shaped body to the length of the shaped body lies between 0.1/1 and 20/1.