Production of titanium chloride by chlorination of ilmenite with carbon tetrachloride.

The chlorination of a Venezuelan ilmenite ore with carbon tetrachloride was investigated in an experimental reactor with the principal objective of assessing the feasibility of a process alternative to the traditional route which uses gaseous chlorine and coke. Experimental tests were performed at temperatures in the range 620-700 degrees C and at two different partial pressures of carbon tetrachloride on a concentrate obtained by selective screening and magnetic separation. The concentrate contained about 91 wt% ilmenite. Chlorination provided high extraction yields with nearly 90% recovery of impurity-free titanium tetrachloride. The qualitative trend of the observed kinetic curves was interpreted by postulating a series-parallel kinetic mechanism based on the preferential chlorination of iron as the first stage. Simple kinetic modelling provided an estimate of the apparent activation energy of the process.
The chlorination of a Venezuelan ilmenite ore with carbon tetrachloride was investigated in an experimental reactor with the principal objective of assessing the feasibility of a process alternative to the traditional route which uses gaseous chlorine and coke. Experimental tests were performed at temperatures in the range 620-700 degrees C and at two different partial pressures of carbon tetrachloride on a concentrate obtained by selective screening and magnetic separation. The concentrate contained about 91 wt% ilmenite. Chlorination provided high extraction yields with nearly 90% recovery of impurity-free titanium tetrachloride. The qualitative trend of the observed kinetic curves was interpreted by postulating a series-parallel kinetic mechanism based on the preferential chlorination of iron as the first stage. Simple kinetic modelling provided an estimate of the apparent activation energy of the process.