Study of Emulsions in Molten Salts. III. The Concentration, Stability and Particle-Size Distribution of Dispersed Lithium in Molten Lithium Chloride

Abstract The concentration, stability and particle-size distribution of lithium dispersed in molten lithium chloride were investigated. The maximum content of dispersed lithium obtained by spontaneous emulsification was 4.8×10−3 mol/g at 678 °C. The concentration of dispersed lithium somewhat increased with the amounts of lithium oxide and nitride added to the molten salt by the mechanical agitation of the lithium–lithium chloride solution. The concentration was about 1.7 times that obtained by spontaneous emulsification except when a large amount of lithium nitride was added. Dispersed lithium in lithium chloride was shown to be fairly stable in the liquid state, as well as against the solidification of molten lithium chloride. The particle-size distribution of dispersed lithium was obtained by means of a scanning electron microscope. The sizes of the lithium particles dispersed in lithium chloride were shown to be mostly between 0.3 and 0.9 μ.