Research Progress of Titanium Sponge Production: A Review
Qisheng Feng,
Mingrui Lv,
Lu Mao,
Baohua Duan,
Yuchen Yang,
Guangyao Chen,
Xionggang Lu,
Chonghe Li
Affiliations
Qisheng Feng
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Special Steel & Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Ferrometallurgy & School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Mingrui Lv
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Special Steel & Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Ferrometallurgy & School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Lu Mao
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Special Steel & Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Ferrometallurgy & School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Baohua Duan
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Special Steel & Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Ferrometallurgy & School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Yuchen Yang
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Special Steel & Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Ferrometallurgy & School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Guangyao Chen
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Special Steel & Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Ferrometallurgy & School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Xionggang Lu
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Special Steel & Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Ferrometallurgy & School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Chonghe Li
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Special Steel & Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Ferrometallurgy & School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Titanium has excellent all-round performance, but the high cost of its production limits its widespread use. Currently, the Kroll process used to commercially produce titanium sponge is inefficient, energy-intensive, and highly polluting to the environment. Over the past few decades, many new processes have been developed to replace the Kroll process in order to reduce the cost of producing titanium and make it a common metal with as many applications as iron. These new processes can be divided into two categories: thermal reduction and electrolysis. Based on their classification, this paper reviews the current development status of various processes and analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of each process. Finally, the development direction and challenges of titanium production process are put forward.
