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Method and apparatus for producing metal

a metal and metal technology, applied in the field of metal production methods, can solve the problems of high production cost, high product price, and only high-quality and high-priced metallic titanium, and achieve the effect of high production efficiency

Inactive Publication Date: 2006-10-05
OSAKA TITANIUM TECHNOLOGIES
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010] It is an object of the present invention to provide a metal production method which is highly productive and free from such quality deterioration as contamination with carbon in spite of its employing the direct oxide reduction process featured by reducing a metal oxide with Ca, and a metal production apparatus for practicing such method.

Problems solved by technology

In the production of metallic titanium by the Kroll process, high-purity products can be produced but the production cost becomes high, rendering the product price high.
Therefore, it is a limitation of the Kroll process that it can produce only high-quality and highly-priced metallic titanium.
The deterioration in product quality due to contamination with carbon (C) becomes a critical problem in the production of metallic titanium and, therefore, any process based on direct oxide reduction process has not yet been put to practical use.

Method used

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  • Method and apparatus for producing metal
  • Method and apparatus for producing metal

Examples

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first embodiment

[0049]FIG. 2 is a drawing explaining the configuration of a titanium production apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment, the apparatus comprises a tower-shaped reduction chamber 1 and a horizontal separation means 2 connected to the lower part of the chamber 1. A CaCl2-based molten salt containing Ca is contained in the reduction chamber 1, and the raw material titanium oxide (TiO2) in the form of a powder is continuously introduced into the molten salt.

[0050] Thus, in the reduction chamber 1, TiO2 charged into the molten salt is reduced by Ca in the molten salt and metallic titanium (Ti) is formed and, at the same time, CaO is formed as a byproduct. Both the product Ti and the byproduct CaO settle and are separated from the molten salt and flow into the separation means 2 together with a certain amount of CaCl2.

[0051] A CaCl2-based molten salt containing Ca, together with the raw material titanium oxide, is additionally suppli...

second embodiment

[0060]FIG. 3 is a drawing explaining the configuration of a titanium production apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment differs from the above-mentioned first embodiment as shown in FIG. 2 in that part of the molten salt after completion of the chlorination treatment in the chlorination chamber 7 is sent to the electrolysis chamber 8, while almost whole of the remaining molten salt is returned to the reduction chamber 1 and that the transfer of Ca from the electrolysis chamber 7 to the reduction chamber 1 is carried out in the form of a metal. In the second embodiment, however, the transfer of Ca in the metal form to the reduction chamber 1 may be combined with the method comprising the step of transferring Ca being dissolved in CaCl2.

[0061] Therefore, in the electrolysis chamber 8, the molten salt from the chlorination chamber 7 is introduced into the anode side, and the Ca formed on the liquid surface on the cathode side, eithe...

third embodiment

[0063]FIG. 4 is a drawing explaining the configuration of a titanium production apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The third embodiment differs from the production apparatus according to the second embodiment as shown in FIG. 3, featured in that the chlorination chamber 7 is integrated with the reduction chamber 1. Otherwise, the configuration is substantially the same as that of the production apparatus according to the second embodiment.

[0064] The chlorination chamber 7 is laterally disposed being annexed to the vertical type reduction chamber 1 via a partition wall 10. In the reduction chamber 7, titanium oxide is introduced into the CaCl2-based molten salt within the chamber through a feeding tube 11 inserted into the CaCl2. The titanium formed from titanium oxide upon reduction with Ca in the CaCl2 settles on the bottom of the reduction chamber 1 and downwardly extracted and sent to the lower separation means 2.

[0065] The CaCl2 containing th...

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Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for producing a metal by a direct oxide reduction process with Ca. A CaCl2-based molten salt containing Ca is held in a reduction chamber 1, a metal oxide is introduced into the molten salt in the reduction chamber 1, and the metal oxide is reduced with the Ca in the molten salt to form said metal. The metal formed in the molten salt is separated from the molten salt in a separation means 2, and the molten salt deprived of the metal is introduced into a chlorination chamber 7 and subjected to chlorination treatment with chlorine gas to eliminate the byproduct CaO in the molten salt. The molten salt after chlorination treatment is introduced into an electrolysis chamber 8 and electrolyzed for the formation of Ca and chlorine from CaCl2, and the thus-formed Ca or Ca-containing molten salt is transferred from the electrolysis chamber 8 to the reduction chamber 1. The chlorine obtained in the electrolysis chamber 8 is used in the chlorination chamber 7. Thus, the present invention provides a metal production method and an apparatus wherein high levels of productivity are obtained and the product metal can be inhibited from carbon contamination due to CaO, without any generation of CO2 from the production process, while their being based on the direct oxide reduction process comprising the step of reducing a metal oxide with Ca.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a method for producing a metal by a direct oxide reduction process wherein a metal oxide is reduced with Ca to form a metal such as titanium, and to an apparatus for use in practicing the method. BACKGROUND ART [0002] It is the Kroll process that is a general method for the commercial production of metallic titanium. In this Kroll process, metallic titanium is produced via a reduction step and vacuum separation step. In the reduction step, titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) in a reaction vessel is reduced with Mg, whereby titanium metal sponge is produced. In the vacuum separation step, the unreacted Mg and the byproduct magnesium chloride (MgCl2) are eliminated from the titanium metal sponge in the reaction vessel, whereby the product titanium is produced. [0003] In the production of metallic titanium by the Kroll process, high-purity products can be produced but the production cost becomes high, rendering the product price high. ...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): C22B34/00C22B34/12C22B5/04C22B9/10C25C3/02C25C7/00
CPCC22B5/04C22B34/1268C25C3/02C25B1/26C22B34/129
Inventor OGASAWARA, TADASHIYAMAGUCHI, MAKOTOHORI, MASAHIKOUENISHI, TORU
Owner OSAKA TITANIUM TECHNOLOGIES
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