Process For Chlorination Of Titanium Bearing Materials And For Dechlorination Of Iron Chloride

The chlorination of ilmenite concentrates and slags to produce Tic14 suitable for pigment or metal production was investigated by the Bureau of Mines along with the dechlorination of byproduct iron chloride to produce chlorine for recycle and iron oxide., Ilmenite concentrates or slag powders were fed into the bottom of a fluidized coke bed at 1,050º C using chlorine flow rates up to 20 l/min in a 10.2-cm-dim reactor. Tests showed that >95 percent of the various ilmenite concentrates reacted at optimum conditions, and recovery of TiC14 ranged from 95 to 100 percent of stoichiometric. Impurity dusts were removed from the vapors by cyclones and a fiberglass cloth filter. Iron chloride was condensed as a powder with less than 0.4 percent insoluble material. The TiC14 was collected in refrigerated condensers. Iron chloride was dechlorinated at 500º to 550º C by reaction with oxygen in a 16.5-cm-dim reactor using a fluidized bed of Fe2O3. Optimum processing was attained with a FeC13 feed containing 25 wt-pct Fe203 granules treated with 2 wt-pct NaCl catalyst; Under the above conditions, off gas chlorine concentrations of 62 to 90 wt-pct were obtained. During 2- and 3-day tests with technical-grade FeC13, conversion of FeC13 was 94 to 97 percent, chlorine concentrations were 76 to 90 wt-pct, and up to 92 pct of the stoichio- metric Fe203 was removed in the primary reactor discharge. Chlorine