Continuous Electrolysis for High-Purity Titanium Powder Production
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for producing titanium powder, such as the Kroll process and fused salt electrolysis, face challenges with high raw material costs, low production efficiency, excessive oxygen and nitrogen content, and difficulty in adjusting particle size, leading to contamination and inefficient batch operations.
Innovation Solution
A continuous electrolysis method and device using a titanium-containing conductive ceramic anode and a rotatable cathode in an inert atmosphere/vacuum environment, with an automatic discharging mechanism, filtering, washing, and drying processes to produce high-purity titanium powder, allowing for continuous production and adjustable particle size.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If continuous electrolysis is used, then productivity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The electrolytic cell is divided into distinct functional zones: an inert atmosphere zone for electrolysis and a vacuum zone for powder collection. The cathode is segmented into an upper portion exposed to inert atmosphere and a lower portion in vacuum. This segmentation enables continuous operation while maintaining product purity, resolving the contradiction between productivity and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements continuous electrolysis where titanium powder is continuously deposited on the cathode and continuously discharged into the vacuum zone. The rotatable cathode enables uninterrupted operation, maintaining continuous useful action throughout the process, thereby significantly improving productivity while the modular design keeps complexity manageable.
2Ease of manufacture
If titanium powder is produced by HDH process, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but oxygen and nitrogen content increases
Solution Approach 1:
The electrolysis process is conducted in an inert atmosphere (argon or nitrogen) to prevent oxidation and contamination of titanium powder. The inert atmosphere zone maintains low oxygen and nitrogen content during powder formation, while the vacuum zone further protects the powder during collection. This resolves the contradiction by providing an protective environment that maintains both cost-effectiveness and product purity.
Solution Approach 2:
The inert atmosphere acts as an intermediary between the electrolysis process and the vacuum environment, protecting the titanium powder from contamination during transfer. The rotating cathode serves as another intermediary, enabling controlled discharge of powder from the inert atmosphere zone to the vacuum zone without direct exposure to air, thus maintaining low oxygen and nitrogen content.
3Device complexity
If batch operations are used for titanium production, then device complexity is reduced, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms batch operations into continuous operations by implementing a rotating cathode that continuously deposits and discharges titanium powder. The electrolysis process runs continuously with constant supply of TiO2 to the anode, and powder is continuously removed in the vacuum zone. This continuous operation dramatically improves productivity while the straightforward design keeps device complexity relatively low.
4Ease of manufacture
If sponge titanium is mechanically separated, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but particle separation difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the titanium powder directly in its final form during the electrolysis process itself, rather than producing sponge titanium that requires subsequent mechanical separation. The powder is deposited directly onto the cathode surface and continuously discharged into the vacuum zone for collection. This eliminates the need for mechanical separation operations, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing simplicity and particle separation difficulty.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables high-purity titanium powder production with improved efficiency, reduced contamination, and adjustable particle size, suitable for industrial-scale production, while minimizing exposure to air, thus enhancing the quality and cost-effectiveness of the process.
Implementation Method 1
a composite of titanium oxide with titanium carbide or carbon is sintered into an anode, and the anode is electrolyzed in a fused salt, where low-valence titanium in the anode is dissolved into the fused salt to form Ti2+ and Ti3+
Implementation Method 2
Ti3+ and Ti3+ are precipitated at a cathode to obtain titanium
Data Source
AI summary
A device and method for preparing high-purity titanium powder by continuous electrolysis are provided. The method includes: electrolyzing a titanium-containing conductive ceramic anode and a rotatable cathode in a fused salt electrolytic tank; continuously transferring titanium powder deposited on a surface of the cathode by the rotatable cathode to a position above the fused salt; scraping the titanium powder by a discharging scraper, and collecting; filtering the titanium powder, and recovering the fused salt; cooling separated titanium powder, washing with deoxygenated and deionized water, and vacuum-drying to obtain final titanium powder. The device includes a fused salt electrolysis mechanism, a continuous titanium powder collection mechanism, a filtering mechanism, a washing mechanism, and a vacuum-drying mechanism.