Aluminothermic studies of a liquid partial reduced ilmenite

A non-traditional method for ferrotitanium production using aluminothermic reduction of ilmenite was investigated. It included preliminary melting of ilmenite in mixture with lime and anthracite for production of a liquid titanium slag. The liquid phase generated was reacted with Al in a separate reactor. Preliminary thermo-analytical investigations (DTA/TG) of the reduction were performed. These investigations were instrumental for finding out the start temperature of the reactions for different compositions of the charges. These experiments for ferrotitanium production were carried out using the novel application of electroslag crucible remelting (ESCR) furnaces of the portable and the stationary types. The ferrotitanium produced, which had a composition (wt.%) 25–28 Ti, 4 Si, 46–50 Fe, 14 Al and was also of high purity with respect to other detrimental elements, has an industrial application in specialty steels production. The safety and the cost effectiveness of the process were demonstrated as compared to the traditional technologies.