Aluminum hydroxide flame retardant filler

Aluminum hydroxide: Chemistry Gibbsite has a typical metal hydroxide structure with hydrogen bonds. It is built up of double layers of hydroxyl groups with aluminium ions occupying two-thirds of the octahedral holes between the two layers Aluminium hydroxide is amphoteric. It dissolves in acid, forming Al(H2O)63+ (hexaaquaaluminate) or its hydrolysis products. It also dissolves in strong alkali, forming Al(OH)4- (tetrahydroxoaluminate). Production Virtually all the aluminium hydroxide used commercially is manufactured by the Bayer process which involves dissolving bauxite in sodium hydroxide as the first step. It is marketed as Alu-Tabs. Uses Annual production is some 100 million tonnes, over 90% of which is converted to aluminium oxide (alumina) which is used in the manufacture of aluminium metal. The major other uses of aluminium hydroxide is as a feedstock for the manufacture of other aluminium compounds: specialty calcined aluminas, aluminium supfate, polyaluminium chloride, aluminium chloride, zeolites, sodium aluminate, activated alumina, aluminium nitrate.