Reduction of Titanium Dioxide to Metallic Titanium by Nitridization and Thermal Decomposition

Abstract

We report a novel process to produce metallic titanium from titanium dioxide—the raw material typically used in the conventional production of titanium metal—via a titanium nitride (TiN) intermediate. TiN is more easily reacted than titanium oxides such as titanium monoxide and titanium dioxide, and shows thermodynamic reactivity equivalent to titanium tetrachloride (TiCl₄), which is used industrially as an intermediate in the conventional metallic titanium manufacturing process. The thermal decomposition temperature of TiN (～3500 K), determined from a thermodynamic database, is also significantly lower than those of the oxides (～5300 K) and TiCl₄ (～6200 K); thus, it is suitable for use in the available temperature range of an electric arc furnace (～4000 K). Here, we demonstrate the use of TiN as an intermediate for the manufacture of metallic titanium by thermolysis using the arc melting method.