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Bell Group is an international specialist in the processing and refining of chromium metal products for distribution worldwide. The subsidiary Bell Metals, based in Suffolk, can supply around 250t of high-purity electrolytic chromium metal and several hundred tonnes of aluminothermic metal annually to international markets.
Products include welding-grade powder, super-alloy lumpy material; high Purity low impurity Briquettes; high-purity material for specialty coatings; grades range from 98.0% to 99.99% Cr.
Chromium metal is offered using three different production methods:
- aluminothermic chromium metal as lump or powder
- electrolytic chromium metal as flake or powder
- degassed chromium briquettes 99.85% Cr min.
Grades range from 98.0% to 99.99% Cr and the grades of specific aluminothermic and electrolytic products are given in Table 1 and Table 2.
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Table 1: Bell Group: Typical specifications for aluminothermic chromium metal (%)
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Lump
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Powder
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AT100X
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AT350X
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AT2000X
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ATP99XS
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ATP99X
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ATP98X
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Cr min |
99.2
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99.15
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99
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99.1
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99
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98
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Cr typical
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99.35
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99.3
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99.1
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99.3
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99.2
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98.5
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Source: Company website
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Table 2: Bell Group: Typical specifications for electrolytic chromium metal (%)
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Broken cathode flake
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Powder
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EC100X
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EC4000X
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ECP100X
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ECP1000X
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ECP4000X
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Cr min
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99.97
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99.50
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99.97
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99.80
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99.50
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Cr typical
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99.98
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99.65
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99.98
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99.90
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99.65
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Source: Company website
Some high-purity degassed flake is sold directly to customers with their own powder production equipment. The remainder is then milled in a patented process to yield high-purity chromium metal powder. The powder grades 99.5-99.99% Cr and is produced in a range of sizes from 6 mesh (3.35mm) to 325 mesh (<45 micron).
Electrolytic materials are mainly supplied for the production of pure chromium and chromium alloy targets in Japan, Germany and the USA. The HP Chromium is applied as thin-film coatings in the manufacture of a wide range of products including semiconductors, liquid crystal displays, hard disk drives, low emissivity glass and car mirrors.
The production of briquettes began in 2004. They are a high-purity product, typically grading 99.85% Cr with ultra-low traces of impurities.
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