Production of Ba2AlNbO6 Ceramics and Study of their Stability in Crude Petroleum for the Conservation of Metallic Sensing Elements Used in Petroleum Extraction

In the present work niobium based complex cubic perovskite oxide Ba2AlNbO6 ceramics were produced, characterized and their stability in crude petroleum environment was studied for inert ceramic embedding used in petroleum extraction. Ba2AlNbO6 ceramic powder was prepared by means of thermo-mechanical processing. Structural characteristics of calcined material were investigated by powder X - ray diffractometry, which presented a single phase complex cubic perovskite structure with lattice parameter a = 8.3418 Å. Compacted Ba2AlNbO6 ceramics were sintered at 1150ºC during 72 hours in ambient atmosphere. The microstructure of the sintered ceramics was studied by scanning electron microscopy and mechanical behavior was studied by Vicker's micro-hardness testing. The sintered ceramics were submerged in crude petroleum for 60 days. The ceramics were taken out from petroleum periodically and subjected to structural, microstructural and mechanical characterizations. The results showed that the ceramics submerged in crude petroleum did not suffer any change at any stage of submersion. These characteristics make this material suitable for inert ceramic embedding for sensors used in petroleum extraction.