These lithium compounds play a crucial role in enhancing everyday products, particularly in the glass and ceramics industry: lithium carbonate is essential for manufacturing strong, durable and thermal-resistant glass products such as those found in smartphones, cooktops, buildings and more, while our spodumene is a key component for glass, ceramics and metallurgical applications, helping to increase ceramic body strength, improve coating viscosity, color, strength and luster.
The addition of lithium carbonate and/or spodumene in the manufacturing of glass, enamels and glazes have these advantages:
- lowers firing temperatures and reduces thermal expansion
- increases durability and corrosion resistance
- increases thermal shock resistance
- increases strength of ceramic bodies
- improves viscosity for coating, as well as improving the glaze’s color, strength and luster
Whether lithium carbonate or spodumene is used depends on the specific needs of the application. In lithium carbonate the amount of Lithia is around 40%, whereas Albemarle’s spodumene concentrates contain up to 7.2% lithium oxide (lithia) and has a low impurity profile.