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Direct electrochemical reduction of titanium dioxide to titanium in molten calcium chloride

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  • George Zheng Chen

    (University of Cambridge)

  • Derek J. Fray

    (University of Cambridge)

  • Tom W. Farthing

Abstract

Many reactive metals are difficult to prepare in pure form without complicated and expensive procedures1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18. Although titanium has many desirable properties (it is light, strong and corrosion-resistant1), its use has been restricted because of its high processing cost. In the current pyrometallurgical process—the Kroll process4,5—the titanium minerals rutile and ilmenite are carbo-chlorinated to remove oxygen, iron and other impurities, producing a TiCl4 vapour. This is then reduced to titanium metal by magnesium metal; the by-product MgCl2 is removed by vacuum distillation. The prediction that this process would be replaced by an electrochemical route6,7,8,9,10 has not been fulfilled; attempts involving the electro-deposition of titanium from ionic solutions have been hampered by difficulties in eliminating the redox cycling of multivalent titanium ions and in handling very reactive dendritic products6,7,8,9,10. Here we report an electrochemical method for the direct reduction of solid TiO2, in which the oxygen is ionized, dissolved in a molten salt and discharged at the anode, leaving pure titanium at the cathode. The simplicity and rapidity of this process compared to conventional routes should result in reduced production costs and the approach should be applicable to a wide range of metal oxides.

Suggested Citation

  • George Zheng Chen & Derek J. Fray & Tom W. Farthing, 2000. "Direct electrochemical reduction of titanium dioxide to titanium in molten calcium chloride," Nature, Nature, vol. 407(6802), pages 361-364, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:407:y:2000:i:6802:d:10.1038_35030069
    DOI: 10.1038/35030069
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    Cited by:

    1. Liang, Zengying & Ma, Xiaoqian & Lin, Hai & Tang, Yuting, 2011. "The energy consumption and environmental impacts of SCR technology in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(4), pages 1120-1129, April.
    2. Hodgkinson, Jane H. & Smith, Michael H., 2021. "Climate change and sustainability as drivers for the next mining and metals boom: The need for climate-smart mining and recycling," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    3. Kaifa Du & Enlai Gao & Chunbo Zhang & Yongsong Ma & Peilin Wang & Rui Yu & Wenmiao Li & Kaiyuan Zheng & Xinhua Cheng & Diyong Tang & Bowen Deng & Huayi Yin & Dihua Wang, 2023. "An iron-base oxygen-evolution electrode for high-temperature electrolyzers," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-8, December.
    4. Monica Cariola, 2010. "Critical aspects in the management of new technologies: A case study," CERIS Working Paper 201008, CNR-IRCrES Research Institute on Sustainable Economic Growth - Torino (TO) ITALY - former Institute for Economic Research on Firms and Growth - Moncalieri (TO) ITALY.

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