Document LgnBw2OQkjrw2rLX15j6Rx5r5

THE R. & H. CHEMICALS DEPARTMENT 1.1. flu Pont fle Nemours & Co., Inc Chemical Division--Niagara Falls April. SO, 1935. 27.2. Titanium Chlo Manufacture of Titanium Chloride By: A. A. Levine Speoial Report INTRODUCTION On Friday, April 14th., the author called on Dr. Keats at the flu Pont Experiment Station at Wilmington to discuss with him the manufacture of titanium chloride which in turn could he converted to the oxide. RECOMMENDATION In view of the large tonnage of chlorine involved, it is recommended that the problem of producing titanium chloride be reviewed and, if necessary, a certain amount of laboratory work he done in order to obtain a preliminary estimate of the possibility of producing titanium chloride. DISCUSSION The Krebbs Corporation manufactures titanium dioxide from titanium ore imported from India. The manufacturing pro cess consists of grinding the ore to 200 - 300 mesh and sub sequently dissolving the iron and titanium in 70 - 72$ sul furic acid.. The iron which is present in the ferric state is reduced to ferrous with scrap iron. The sulfuric acid solution is then diluted and the titanium sulfate hydrolyzed. The pre cipitated titanium dioxide is filtered, washed and calcined at 800C. The titanium oxide, known as anatase, obtained by the sul fate process is used in the preparation of paints. Anatase is not the most desirable form of titanium dioxide. Another form known as rutile is obtained on hydrolyzing the chloride. The rutile has better covering power and would be more desirable. Dr. Keats of the Experiment Station is now working on a project to find a suitable method of manufacturing the rutile instead of the anatase. Rutile may be obtained either by hydrolyzing; the chloride or else heating anatase to 1150C. The rutile obtained by heating anatase is not satisfactory. At N33662 -1- In view of the availability of large quantities of chlorine at Niagara Falls, it is logical for us to look into the pos sibility of manufacturing titanium chloride. Preliminary cost calculations by Dr. Keats indicate that the cost of the chloride would be less than the sulfate provided the manufacturing operations were carried out at Niagara Falls. At the present time, the Krebba Corporation manufactures 10 tons of titanium pigment per day. This amount of titania would require about 24 to 38 tons of chlorine per day, depend ing upon the manufacturing methods developed. The composition of the titanium ore now treated is: TiOg Fe Al&Os ) SiOg ) CaO ) MgO ) 52$ 30$ 5$ It will be noted that by-product iron chloride amounting to about 18 tons FeCl^ per day would be produced, or the amount of iron chloride produced as by-product would be equal to the present consumption of FeClg for Seweze treatment (5.500 tons in 1931). AALiNIF Copies to: Vault tTlT" Exec. Chem, T.Coyle E.A.Earding A.A.Levine 1-12 DUP050026423