Abstract
This paper describes laboratory techniques and subsequent results of US Bureau of Mines (USBM) research to produce chlorination-grade feedstock from an abundant, low-grade, domestic, rock ilmenite ore. The research is part of the Bureau effort to devise technology that may help decrease US dependence on imported raw materials. A rock ilmenite containing about 46 wt % TiO2 was smelted in an electric arc furnace with coke, wood-chips, and Na2CO3 to separate most of the iron as pig iron and to form a low-iron, titanium-enriched slag. The slag was ground, pelletized, oxidized, and then sulfated with mixtures of SO2 and air in a continuous 4.5- to 9.1-kg/h (10- to 20-lb per hour) apparatus at 1023° to 1223° K (1380° to 1740° F). The sulfated slag, containing 60% to 65% TiO2, was reground and leached in water at ambient temperature to decrease the combined levels of the troublesome calcium, magnesium, and manganese impurities from 7.0 to 1.7 wt %. The final product was upgraded to about 84 wt % TiO2. This material is potentially suitable for chlorination in a fluidized bed reactor. The most favorable results were achieved with leached slag sulfated at a feed rate of 4.5 kg/h (10 lb per hour) and at temperatures of 1073° to 1123° K (1470° to 1560° F).
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