Producing titanium, a highly valued metal known for its strength-to-weight ratio and corrosion resistance, is a complex and energy-intensive process primarily due to its high reactivity. 1 Unlike many other common metals that can be produced by relatively straightforward reduction methods, titanium requires specialized techniques to separate it from its naturally occurring oxide ores.
Some economical ore of titanium include : Rutile (TiO2), Ilmenite (FeTiO3), Leucoxine (rutile contaminated with iron oxides, formed by alteration of ilmenite).
The extraction of titanium is summarized below:
- The chosen ore is roasted with carbon in the presence of chlorine as follows:
TiO2 + C + Cl2 ==> TiCl4 + CO2
The presence of chlorine is highly important because it facilitates the evaporation of titanium after roasting.
- Distill the titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) to remove chlorides of iron and other metals. Titanium tetrachloride is liquid at room temperature and takes relatively little energy to distill.
- To produce metal, the titanium tetrachloride is reacted with molten magnesium metal, in the Kroll process as shown in the below equation:
TiCl4 + 2Mg ==> Ti + 2MgCl2
This results in a porous sponge of titanium metal, filled with magnesium chloride.
- The product from the Kroll reaction is heated to melt the magnesium chloride and separate it from the titanium sponge. The molten magnesium chloride is then electrolyzed to produce magnesium metal and chlorine gas, which are recycled back into the process:
MgCl2 ==electrolysis==> Mg + Cl2
The titanium sponge is then melted under an inert atmosphere to form into ingots for further fabrication.
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