Methods of Extracting TiO2 and Other Related Compounds from Ilmenite

Abstract

Although ilmenite and rutile are extensively used to extract TiO2 at the industrial level, through the sulphate and chloride processes, they can also be recognized to possess the potential to be employed as the raw material to synthesize other titanium compounds as well. The Pulmoddai mineral sand deposit in Sri Lanka is considered as a valuable resource containing pure ilmenite and can be used as a very good source of both titanium and iron. Because of the lower TiO2 content compared to rutile, processes, such as the Becher process, Laporte process and Kataoka process, have been developed to upgrade ilmenite into higher grade synthetic rutile. Additionally, research studies have been carried out to develop methods, such as the hydrochloride process, H3PO4/NH3 process, alkaline roasting process, aluminothermic reduction method, alkaline decomposition method, molten salt electroreduction method and magnesiothermic reduction method, to synthesize TiO2 and other related titanium compounds, such as titanium and iron oxides, composites and alloys, from naturally occurring ilmenite where these methods possess both rewards as well as drawbacks over the others.