TiRON – A New Process for the Production of High-Grade Feedstock for TiO2 Pigment Manufacture

摘要

In the chloride process to manufacture TiO_2 pigment, feedstocks containing higher TiO_2 contentsrn(high-grade ores or HGOs) are favoured in order to minimise production of undesirable by-products.rnMost of today’s HGOs are produced through the smelting or reduction and leaching of ilmenite,rnprocesses which consume signifi cant energy and/or produce large volumes of non-titanium materialsrnthat may have to be landfi lled. In order to improve the economic and environmental sustainability ofrnits TiO_2 business, the DuPont Company, working with Kobe Steel Ltd, has developed an innovativernprocess called TiRON for making HGO. Using a rotary hearth furnace, the process reducesrnilmenite to a high TiO_2 slag and metallic iron granules. The TiO_2 slag is suitable for TiO_2 pigmentrnmanufacture, and the iron is suitable for steel making. TiRON can process sand or rock ilmenite ofrnvarying compositions and particle sizes. Fossil fuel instead of electricity supplies the energy for thernreduction. Dusts and off-spec materials are recycled. These process attributes, together with capitalrnrequirements estimated to be signifi cantly lower, give TiRON substantial economic, environmental,rnand process fl exibility advantages over conventional ilmenite upgrading processes. TiRON has beenrndemonstrated at the semi-works scale, and preparations are being made to bring it to the pilot scale.