Direct Extraction of Ti and Ti Alloy from Ti-Bearing Dust Slag in Molten CaCl2

Abstract

Using process of solid oxygen-ion conducting membrane (SOM), titanium metal and its alloy can be prepared directly from Ti-bearing dust slag by immersing it in the molten CaCl2 at 1,100℃, which has been proposed by constant voltage of 3.5 V for 2–6 h. The dust slag was ball-milled and pressed into pellets, then employed as the cathode, while the liquid copper, which was saturated with graphite powder and encased in yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) tube, acted as the anode. The effect of forming pressure and electrolytic time on products was analyzed. The results show that the content of titanium increased with electrolytic time and the characteristic morphology presents as granule. Ti–Fe alloy can be obtained from Ti–Fe residue by 6 h electrolysis. For titanium-rich residue, when the forming pressure of pellets decreased from 6 to 3 MPa, only electrolysis for more than 4 h can completely remove the oxygen, and pure titanium is obtained by 6 h electrolysis. Besides, there is an unprecedented finding that the porous cathode is conducive to the removal of impurity elements.

Keywords

• ti-bearing dust slag
• titanium
• electrolysis
• solid oxygen-ion membrane (som)