Fig.  2. Different schemes of addition of starting materials in precipitation process

Advantages and disadvantages: The main advantages of the precipitation process is the possibility of creating pure and homogenous material. However the major disadvantages include necessity of the product separation after precipitation and generation of the large volume of salt containing solutions. There is also difficulty in maintaining a constant product quality throughout the whole precipitation process if the precipitation is carried out discontinuously.

Process parameters

In addition to the process variations discussed above there are many other parameters that affect the final product properties as shown in Fig.2. The properties of the final product that are affected include phase formation, chemical composition, purity, particle size, surface area, pore size and pore volumes. It is necessary to optimize the parameters to produce desired products.

Fig. 3. Parameters affecting the properties of the precipitate