Titanium powder produced with the CSIR’s novel process.
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The CSIR has developed a process to produce titanium powder directly in a continuous manner on a commercial scale from titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4 – the usual precursor used for titanium production). To date, no organisation in the world has been able to do this.
Being able to produce titanium powder at a much lower cost than present imports will make this light metal an economically viable option, from which many industries can be created and sustained.
The CSIR’s process is being developed in a stage-wise manner to manage the inherent scale-up risks, and it has now reached the stage where the design, construction and operation of a small pilot plant have been approved by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the CSIR. The project is funded by the DST.
“The pilot plant has a nominal design capacity of continuously producing 2 kg/h of titanium powder. Construction and commissioning of the plant are to be completed by 31 March 2013,” says Dr Dawie van Vuuren who heads up the CSIR’s piloting of titanium metal production.
“Test campaigns to gain scale-up information regarding the process, and to produce sufficient product for evaluation by potential customers, are planned following successful commissioning of the plant,” he continues.
Titanium powder produced with the CSIR’s novel process.
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Similar to the CSIR, a number of organisations worldwide are busy scaling up their own variations of processes to produce titanium metal powder. Problems with the process include the very high heat of reaction; the very fast rate of reaction; the aggressive and hazardous nature of the chemicals involved; and the tendency of the titanium product to form lumps that block the reactor inlets and outlets.
Van Vuuren explains why the CSIR’s process works: “In the CSIR’s process, the rate of TiCl4 reaction is slowed down by executing the process in a molten salt medium that allows better control of the titanium particle morphology than other process variations.”
In parallel to the technical work, a commercialisation task team with representation from industrial and financial concerns has been formed to plan and manage work to ultimately realise commercial implementation of the strategy.
“South Africa’s entire titanium beneficiation strategy depends largely on the success of this pilot plant and its further commercialisation. The national benefits that would arise from a world-scale, low-cost titanium metal plant are considerable,” Van Vuuren concludes.
Enquiries:
Dr Dawie van Vuuren
dvvuuren@csir.co.za
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