RE: Emergent TiO2 technologies6 Jul 2025 14:57
Continuation:
The main problem with titanium is the strength of that bond with oxygen; it costs a lot in terms of energy to separate the Ti from the O2 in that TiO2 [Titanium dioxide] molecule. The currently favoured method for industrial scale Ti metal production is the energy intensive and therefore very costly Kroll process, involving a reaction of carbon and chlorine with TiO2 oxide ore to produce oxygen free titanium tetrachloride [TiCl4] which is then reduced with magnesium to produce high purity metallic Ti. However, this metallic titanium still retains around 500 ppm [parts per million, mass] of oxygen which is fine for most structural application of titanium for which the upper limit is around 1000ppm, but may be critical for more specialised applications.
However this recent [June 2024] research based on use of yttrium, which bonds strongly with oxygen, and fluorine, to produce yttrium oxyfluoride, in a specially designed cold-crucible,induction melting furnace, has been demonstrated to produce titanium metal with an average oxygen content of less than 200 ppm and as low as 110 ppm. This methodology has been incorporated into a conceptual smelting process employing an industrial-scale plasma arc furnace, in which titanium ore, or TiO2, is processed with a reductant [scrap aluminium and magnesium] plus a flux [calcium oxide], then subjected to the deoxidation process using yttrium [or an equivalent] and casting as low-oxygen titanium ingots.
The following quotes from the June 2024 published research findings emphasis the potential significance of these developments.
“In the future, this method has the potential to become a new technique for producing Ti, thereby offering an alternative to the Kroll process, the current standard for Ti mass production. “
“If high-purity metallic Ti can be directly produced utilizing abundant Ti ores and Al scrap, the potential for cost-effective mass production of Ti arises. This would open the door to the widespread utilization of Ti products. The findings of the current work can develop the process technology to transform Ti into a widely used base metal, thereby facilitating its broad adoption across various sectors of society. “
It would not surprise me if EEE are already in communication with the Japanese commercial holders of the patents to this technology, presumed to be registered by the Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo. The high grade, low contaminant, TiO2 from Pitfield is probably the ideal resource for such a process.
AGEOS
NB 10 green boxes already today, so this will soon be buried I presume.