At a groundbreaking conference on Nanotechnology held in South Africa on 19-20 April 2005, the Plasma Group of Peldev made several announcements regarding their technologies, capabilities and products.
 
Zircon Beneficiation
 
South Africa produces 350 000 tons/a of zircon (ZrSiO4), approximately 40% of the global demand. Very little is beneficiated locally and the majority is exported with little or no value addition.
 
Zircon is a very inert material and traditionally needs to undergo a high temperature alkaline melting processes to extract the valuable zirconia products from it. By using in-flight, non-transfer arc plasma technology, the zircon can be dissociated and made accessible for easy chemical processing. By using specialized plasma technology, such as the newly developed V-type plasmatrons, nano-zirconia products are manufactured in-situ in the plasma reactor.
 
Doped-Zircon Pigments
 
A unique, patented process for the manufacturing of inorganic doped-zircon pigments has been developed. This cost-effective process entails the dissociation of zircon through a high temperature non-transfer arc plasma to form a chemically reactive, plasma dissociated zircon (PDZ), which is suitable for use directly as feed stock for the manufacturing of Pr-yellow, V-blue and iron-coral zircon pigments. These pigments have been tested by various pigment manufacturers and by an independent international research laboratory. The results compare very favorably with the best pigments commercially available.
 
Superior Zircon opacifier
 
A patented process has been developed to upgrade an inferior grade of zircon to a superior opacifier for ceramic applications by means of a calcining process in the presence of selected mineralizers. This process results in a substantial improvement in the opacifying properties of an inferior grade of zircon compared to that of prime grade zircon that is currently being used commercially in the ceramic industry.
 
Nano Materials
 
Nano-titania (TiO2) is now used extensively in sunscreens, cosmetic products, pharmaceuticals, and in paints. The titania materials can now be manufactured by means of a high temperature plasma torch, using titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) as feedstock.
 
The plasma process is environmental friendly, in the sense that zero effluent is produced as all the chloride is recovered as chlorine gas which is recycled to the chlorination process to produce TiCl4 from illmenite or rutile sand. The particle size of the plasma titania is sub-micron and the plasma parameters can be manipulated to produce nano-titania.
 
Pyrogenic silica, or fumed silica, with special properties like high specific surface area, nano particle size, hydrophobic or hydrophilic in nature, is synthesized in a plasma reactor from silicon tetrachloride (SiCl4). SiCl4 is a byproduct emanating from the carbo-chlorination of zircon sand. With the plasma process, this waste product is transformed into a high value product that is used in specialized silicon polymers, pharmaceuticals, food, etc.
 
Other nano particle size products can also be manufactured by utilizing plasma technology. These include nano alumina, nano zinc oxide, carbides, borides and nitrides.