Titanium iron production process

The raw materials for industrial production of titanium iron include titanium iron concentrate (Fe-TiO3), rutile (TiO2), titanium dioxide (TiO2), and waste titanium metal materials (Ti, Ti-V-Al, etc.). Except for waste titanium metal materials, all materials need to be reduced with reducing agents to obtain titanium iron and titanium alloys. TiO2 is a relatively difficult to reduce oxide. Reducing TiO2 with carbon can only be achieved at high temperatures and generates TiC instead of Ti. Obtain high carbon titanium iron. It is not possible to reduce TiO2 with silicon, but adding CaO as a flux can promote the silicon reduction reaction. Titanium and silicon form stable silicides, which are beneficial for silicon reduction reactions, but the produced titanium iron contains high silicon. It is possible to reduce TiO2 with aluminum to generate Ti. But if the aluminum content is lower than the chemical calculation value, a large amount of TiO will be generated. TiO2 is more stable than TiO2 and cannot be reduced even with aluminum. It is a strong alkaline oxide that can form slag with Al2O3 or SiO2. So it is necessary to add CaO to prevent the slag formation reaction of TiO2, and it is also beneficial for the reduction of TiO2. Comparing the reaction in Figure 2, it is easier to reduce ilmenite (FeTiO3) with aluminum than to reduce TiO2, and adding CaO also has the same effect. So reducing titanium concentrate with aluminum is the main method for producing titanium iron. The obtained product has low carbon content, but higher aluminum and silicon content. Based on the above analysis, the main methods for producing titanium iron include aluminothermal method, electrosilicothermal method, and electrocarbothermal method, as well as the remelting method of waste titanium metal.
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