Cavitation process for titanium products from precursor halides

Abstract

A titanium halide and, optionally, other precursor halides compound are reduced to a predetermined titanium product, suitably at or near ambient conditions. Titanium tetrachloride, for example, is added to an anhydrous liquid reaction medium containing one or more alkali metals or alkaline earth metals as reductants. The metal reductants are dispersed as very small globules in the liquid by cavitation of the liquid reaction medium, such as by application of high intensity ultrasonic vibrations or high-shear mixing to the reaction vessel. Continued cavitation of the liquid medium affects relatively low temperature reduction of the precursor halide(s) to produce a titanium-containing product such as titanium metal, a titanium alloy or compound, or a titanium matrix-ceramic composite material, or the like.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]This invention pertains to substantially ambient temperature preparation of titanium metal, titanium alloys and compounds, and titanium matrix-ceramic composite materials from hydride precursors in an anhydrous liquid medium using cavitation processing. Suitable alkali or alkaline earth metals may be dispersed by cavitation in the liquid medium for reduction of precursor halides. In an illustrative example, the practice pertains to the addition of titanium chloride or mixtures of titanium tetrachloride with other precursor halides to a cavitated liquid containing the reductant material to produce titanium metal or other titanium containing materials.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Titanium and its metal alloys are examples of materials that currently are relatively expensive to produce. Titanium alloys can be used in forms such as castings, forgings, and sheets for preparing articles of manufacture. Titanium based materials can be formulated to provide a combin...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent describes a method for producing titanium and titanium-containing materials using a reduction process with titanium halides. The process involves using cavitation practices to disperse the reductant metal in a liquid and promote the reduction of the precursor halides. The reaction takes place at close-to-ambient temperatures and at close-to-atmospheric pressure. The process is energy-efficient and can produce small particles of titanium or titanium-containing materials. The technical effects of this method include low temperatures, low energy consumption, and the ability to produce small particles of titanium or titanium-containing materials.

Problems solved by technology

Titanium and its metal alloys are examples of materials that currently are relatively expensive to produce.

But the usage of titanium alloys in automotive vehicles has been limited because of the cost of titanium compared to ferrous alloys and aluminum alloys with competitive properties.

Both of these processes produce titanium sponge and necessitate repetitive energy intensive vacuum arc remelting steps for purification of the titanium.

These high temperature and energy-consuming processes yield good quality titanium metal and metal alloys but, as stated, these titanium materials are too expensive for many applications such as in components for automotive vehicles.

However, the projected cost of the metal is still high, too high for many automotive applications.

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