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Novel metallurgical process for titanium production

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Abstract

In this work, a consumable anode composed of a solid solution of titanium carbide and titanium monoxide was prepared via carbothermic reduction of TiO2. Upon electrolysis, the anode fed Ti2+ into solution and carbon monoxide was generated; no excess carbon remained to contaminate the melt. On the cathode, high-purity titanium (>99.9%) was produced. Our results suggest anode and cathode current efficiencies of 93.5% and 89% respectively, indicating that the method is viable and extremely cost-effective, potentially dropping the cost of titanium to near that of aluminum.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Metallurgical and Ecological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, People’s Republic of China

    Shuqiang Jiao & Hongmin Zhu

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  1. Shuqiang Jiao
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  2. Hongmin Zhu
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Correspondence to Hongmin Zhu.

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Jiao, S., Zhu, H. Novel metallurgical process for titanium production. Journal of Materials Research 21, 2172–2175 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2006.0268

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2006.0268

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