Investigation of thermal power of reaction of titanium slag with sulphuric acid

Abstract

Enriched titanium raw materials with high titanium content called titanium slags are received by the electrothermal reduction of ilmenite. Titanium slags are most frequently used in the titanium dioxide industry. The reaction of titanium slags with sulphuric acid is strongly exothermic and creates danger of thermal explosion. Kinetics of this reaction depends on the parameters such as temperature of initiation, sulphuric acid concentration and dimension of particles of titanium slag. The reaction of titanium slag with sulphuric acid was investigated at non-isothermal conditions in a special construction calorimeter. The observed thermal power changes in the calorimeter (“calorimeter run”), are the basis for estimation of reaction kinetics. A proposed model describing the thermal power changes and taking into account the moment of initiation of reaction is presented. The calorimetric investigations showed, that reaction rate of titanium slags with sulphuric acid depends on initial temperature of reaction, size of particles of titanium raw material and sulphuric acid concentration.