Inert Alumina Balls

High Purity Alumina for Aggressive Service

SorbiTech Inert Alumina Balls are spheres of high purity aluminium oxide with Al₂O₃ content above 92 percent. The high alumina content delivers two engineering advantages over the standard ceramic clay ball: a higher operating temperature limit, typically above 1,200 °C, and a far greater chemical resistance against hot caustic, hot acid, and Claus tail gas conditions.

The surface is essentially inert, with a BET area below 0.5 m²/g, so the ball carries no parasitic adsorption duty and does not react with the process stream over the campaign life.

Catalyst Bed Support in Refinery Service

The classical application is the bottom support layer in a fixed bed catalytic reactor: hydrotreater, hydrocracker, reformer, isomerisation, or alkylation. The bed support holds the catalyst above the outlet collector, distributes the inlet flow, and tolerates the regeneration cycle that returns the catalyst to fresh activity. SorbiTech specifies the inert alumina ball where the regeneration temperature exceeds the limit of the ceramic clay ball or where the process chemistry is aggressive.

In a Claus tail gas unit the inert alumina sits below the active alumina catalyst and tolerates the hydrogen sulphide and sulphur dioxide environment without degradation, while the active layer carries out the conversion duty.

Thermal Mass and Heat Distribution

The high density of the inert alumina ball (1.50 to 1.70 kg/L) also serves as a thermal mass in regeneration loops, where the ball stores heat during the hot purge and releases it during the cooling step. The thermal mass evens out the temperature gradient through the bed and reduces the heater turn down requirement.

Sizing and Specification

• Top cover layer: 19 to 25 mm balls, 150 to 300 mm depth
• Top transition: 13 mm balls, 100 to 200 mm depth
• Bottom transition: 6 mm balls, 100 to 200 mm depth
• Bottom support: 6 to 25 mm balls graded over the outlet
• Material purity: above 92 percent Al₂O₃, with low iron and silica content

Forms and Supply

Supplied in graded sets to the vessel specification by SorbiTech, with a certificate of analysis per batch covering ball size, bulk density, crush strength, and alumina purity. Standard packaging is 25 kg drums or 500 kg big bags. Available as a standalone support charge or as part of a complete SorbiTech catalyst bed loading delivered with the engineered vessel from SorbiTech. SorbiTech specifies inert alumina balls for refinery catalyst bed support; see the ceramic ball alternative for moderate temperature duty, the parent support media family, and the petrochemicals and refining sector.