Market Opportunities and Challenges of Barium Titanate Powder Amid the AI Boom

Core Bottlenecks Restricting Domestic Production of Barium Titanate MLCC Powder

(1) Pain Points in the Grinding Stage

1. Severe particle agglomeration: Nano barium titanate has a large specific surface area, and van der Waals forces readily trigger hard agglomeration during grinding, worsening powder flowability and increasing porosity of sintered ceramics.
2. Uneven particle size distribution: Fluctuations in the rotational speed and media ratio of traditional sand mills widen the particle size span factor (ideal value < 1.2), resulting in inconsistent dielectric performance of MLCCs.
3. Risk of impurity contamination: Wear of grinding media and equipment surfaces easily introduces metallic impurities. Excess Fe²⁺, for instance, will degrade the insulation performance of MLCCs.
4. Conflict between energy consumption and efficiency: Conventional equipment requires over 8 hours of grinding to reach D50 = 100 nm, consuming massive energy and risking crystal phase transformation of barium titanate, which reduces its dielectric constant.

(2) Challenges in the Drying Stage

1. Thermal susceptibility defects: Barium titanate tends to undergo crystal transformation when drying temperature exceeds 200 °C, leading to higher dielectric loss.
2. Poor particle size control: Standard spray dryers feature a wide droplet size distribution (±10%), resulting in uneven powder particle sizes after drying and impairing uniformity during MLCC lamination molding.
3. Wall adhesion and contamination: Wet powder sticks to tower walls and forms secondary agglomerates. If the equipment is made of ordinary stainless steel, the leaching rate of Fe and Ni ions can reach 0.05%, lowering powder purity.
4. Insufficient sphericity: Traditional processes fail to achieve high spherical granulation (sphericity < 70%), leading to sintered MLCC compactness below 95% and unstable electrical performance.

Longxin Intelligent Full-Chain Solution: Disruptive Innovation Covering Grinding to Drying

Turbine Pin-Type Nano Dual-Power Sand Mill: Revolutionary Breakthrough in Grinding Technology

1. Dual-Power Feeding & Silicon Carbide Grinding Chamber

   A combined screw pump and peristaltic pump feeding system delivers precise flow control from 50 to 1000 L/h, compatible with slurries of various solid contents. The grinding chamber lined with silicon carbide features over 10 times higher wear resistance and superior thermal conductivity compared with conventional stainless steel. It stabilizes chamber temperature within a narrow range and eliminates crystal phase transformation of barium titanate caused by overheating.

   The hybrid turbine-pin disperser generates 3D turbulent flow. Raw powder with D50 = 5 μm can be refined to a smaller D50 with a low particle size span factor after treatment.
2. Screenless Centrifugal Separation Technology

   The self-developed screenless centrifugal separator is equipped with an independent drive motor adjustable from 5,000 to 12,000 rpm. During operation, centrifugal force from the disperser pushes 99% of zirconia grinding beads toward the chamber periphery to flow alongside materials and reduce collision wear. The high-speed rotating separator generates centrifugal force exceeding pump pressure to retain zirconia beads inside the chamber, while materials flow out through the separator center. Separation efficiency hits 99.9% with minimal bead wear, completely solving screen clogging issues.
3. Intelligent Control System

   Integrated PLC algorithms monitor multiple parameters in real time and automatically optimize grinding strategies. Variable frequency drive technology cuts energy consumption and boosts grinding efficiency, shortening processing cycles compared with traditional equipment.

Centrifugal Airflow Multi-Purpose Spray Dryer: Precision Control for Drying and Granulation

1. Dual-Mode Atomization System

• Centrifugal atomization unit: The high-speed gear-boosted atomizer achieves a disc linear velocity of 220 m/s with adjustable rotational speed for accurate droplet size control. The patented vortex liquid distribution plate (Patent No. ZL 2021 2 2093525.2) prevents nozzle blockage and delivers high-sphericity spherical granulation.
• Airflow atomization unit: Two-fluid atomizing nozzles paired with compressed air can atomize high-viscosity slurries. Multiple spray guns can be installed to expand production capacity when a single nozzle cannot meet output demands, catering to micro-nano powder manufacturing.
  Switching between the two modes can be completed within 30 minutes to satisfy diverse process requirements for MLCC formulation powder.

2. High-Purity & Uniformity Assurance Technology

   All material contact components adopt mirror-polished 316L stainless steel (low Ra value) and zirconia ceramics. An annular air curtain inside the drying tower avoids wall adhesion and secondary agglomeration, delivering powder purity above 99%.

   A multi-stage hot air distributor paired with a PID temperature control system maintains precise temperature gradients inside the tower. Optimized mixing modes of hot air and liquid droplets accommodate the thermal sensitivity of barium titanate precursors.
3. Automation & Intelligent Upgrades

   An AI model built on thousands of experimental datasets automatically recommends optimal drying parameters (inlet air temperature: 150–300 °C, outlet air temperature: 80–120 °C) and dynamically adjusts settings in real time. Built-in IoT modules support remote equipment monitoring, shorten fault early warning response time and improve maintenance efficiency.

    

   

Value of Technological Innovation: Core Engine for Domestic Substitution

1. Superior performance indicators: Uniform particle size, high sphericity, high dielectric constant and low dielectric loss, reaching the top-tier level of equivalent products worldwide.
2. Distinct cost advantages: Reduced overall energy consumption, lower production cost per ton of powder and higher MLCC manufacturing yield.
3. Expanded production capacity: A single intelligent production line delivers high annual output, double the capacity of traditional lines, helping electronic ceramic material manufacturers gain access to major supply chains.