Methods of reducing explosion hazards for aluminum powders, dusts, and pastes

Several methods are considered for improving the safety of aluminum powders by removing the dust from them: elimination of fractions smaller than 100 or 50 mu m from the polydispersed powder; a microencapsulation or granulation of finele powders by introducing organic binders that evaporate readily on heating; preliminary tabletting by the manufacturer (sometimes, one can use pressed or pressed and sintered blanks); or introducing organic liquids or aqueous solutions of inhibitors inert with respect to the aluminum that eliminate the formation of dust and which evaporate readily in the subsequent processing without substantially altering the powder composition.