Influence of TiO<sub>2</sub>% in Iron Sand on Cast Iron Production by Tatara Iron Making

Abstract

The aim of this project was to learn roles of titanium oxide (TiO2), an impurity contained in iron sand, in the products resulting from traditional iron making processes, tatara operations. For this purpose, iron sand was collected using two different mineral processing methods from four different locations in the Chugoku area of Japan, and these samples were used to run small-scale tatara experiments. Iron sand collected with traditional gravity separation method contained 8 to 12% TiO2, while iron sand collected with modern magnetic separation method contained less than 5% TiO2. When gravity-separated iron sand was used in a tatara under strong reducing conditions, zuku (cast iron) flowed out of the tatara. In contrast, magnetically collected iron sand failed to produce zuku, but did produce raw steel at the bottom of the furnace. Further, even magnetically isolated iron sand could produce zuku when it was supplemented with ilmenite, a titanium-iron oxide containing mineral. The results show that TiO2 plays a key role in producing cast iron in tatara operations, and the fact that Akome iron sand is known to produce cast iron as it contains higher levels of TiO2. In contrast, Masa iron sand which is known to produce steel (tamahagane) contains much less TiO2 and hence is not suitable to produce cast iron. These observations agree with historical descriptions stating that pre-modern tatara operators knew to add iron sand from a specific locality (which is rich in TiO2) to Masa-type iron sand to produce cast iron.