Titanium Powder Prepared by Magnesiothermic Reduction of Ti^2+ in Molten Salt

A process to produce titanium powder from Ti^2+ in the molten salt was confirmed experimentally. It consists of two steps. In the first step, titanium (IV) chloride gas dissolves in the molten salt as the titanium (II) chloride by reacting chemically with the metallic titanium or magnesium. In the second step, this molten salt is exposed to the metallic reductant Mg for the final reduction to the metallic Ti powder. Experimentally, the feed of TiCl(4) gas and the subsequent reaction with Ti prepared the molten salt containing 5 to 10 mass pet Ti^2+. By Mg reduction of this salt, the well-isolated fine Ti particles were recovered. The powder morphology and particle size depended on the Ti^2+ concentration, reduction temperature, time, and concentration of the by-product MgCl(2). The stirring by argon gas bubbling effectively grew the fine and round particles to a few tens of microns in size.