Article ID

2003Bdb1002

Title

Calciothermic Reduction of Titanium Oxide and in situ Electrolysis in Molten CaCl2


Author(s)

Ryosuke O. Suzuki, Koh Teranuma and Katsutoshi Ono



Publication/Publisher

Metall. Mater. Trans. B., vol. 34B, pp. 287-295, (2003)



Abstract


A concept for calciothermic direct reduction of titanium dioxide in molten CaCl2 is proposed and experimentally tested. This production process consists of a single cell, where both the thermochemical reaction of calciothermic reduction and the electrochemical reaction for recovery of the reducing agent, Ca, coexist in the same molten CaCl2 bath. A few mol pct of Ca dissolve in the melt, which gives the media a strong reducing power. Using a carbon anode and a Ti basket-type cathode in which anatase-type TiO2 powder was filled, metallic titanium sponge containing 2000 ppm oxygen was produced after 10.8 ks at 1173 K in the CaCl2 bath. The optimum concentration of CaO in the molten CaCl2 was 0.5-1 mol pct to shorten the operating time and to achieve lower oxygen content in Ti.