Molten salt synthesis of lithium meta-aluminate powder

Claim 1

A process for producing lithium meta-aluminate powder which consists essentially of forming a mixture of a particulate lithium salt reactant selected from the group consisting of lithium hydorxide, lithium nitrate, lithium carbonate and mixtures thereof in at least stoichiometric amount of particulate precursors for said lithium salt reactant, a particulate aluminum salt reactant selected from the group consisting of aluminum hydroxide, alpha-alumina, gamma-alumina and mixtures thereof in at least stoichiometric amount of particulate precursors for said aluminum salt reactant, and an alkali chloride salt selected from the group consisting of sodium chloride, potassium chloride, lithium chloride and mixtures thereof, said alkali chloride salt being used in an amount of at least about 20% by weight of the total amount of said reactants and said chloride salt, heating said mixture to a reaction temperature at least sufficient to melt said chloride salt, said precursors decomposing completely at or below said reaction temperature to form said reactant and by-product gas, said salt in molten form being a solvent for said reactants, maintaining said reaction temperature dissolving and reacting said reactants in said molten salt and precipitating said lithium meta-aluminate, and recovering said precipitated lithium meta-aluminate by dissolving said chloride salt and separating said precipitated lithium meta-aluminate from the resulting salt solution.