Method for producing beneficiated titanium oxides

Apparatus for producing beneficiated titanium oxides from low-grade titanaceous materials containing iron and iron oxides thereof, comprising:

• (a) means for pre-reducing agglomerates comprised of carbon based materials and low-grade titanium materials containing iron and iron oxides material to a pre-reduced agglomerate containing metallized iron material;
• (b) a moving hearth furnace having a refractory surface;
• (c) means for introducing carbonaceous materials into said hearth furnace and placing said carbonaceous materials on said refractory surface;
• (d) means for charging pre-reduced agglomerate into said hearth furnace on said refractory surface;
• (e) means for heating and reacting said pre-reduced agglomerate in said hearth furnace, to form a melted agglomerate of substantially titanium oxide product and a metallized substantially iron product having a carbon content of 0.01-4%;
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• (f) means for discharging said melted agglomerate from said hearth furnace.

A method for producing beneficiated titanium oxides from low-grade titanaceous materials containing iron and iron oxides thereof, comprising the steps of:

• (a) distributing hearth conditioning material on a refractory surface of a FHM furnace, where hearth conditioning materials are comprised of carbonaceous materials;
• (b) charging pre-reduced agglomerate comprised of titanium oxides and at least partially metallized carbon-containing iron onto the hearth conditioning material;
• (c) heating and reacting said pre-reduced agglomerates in said hearth furnace to a temperature sufficient to complete the reduction of oxides of titanium to titanium II, III or IV, and the metallization of iron, wherein the heating produces a melted agglomerate of solid iron product and slag, wherein the solid iron product are solid nuggets substantially comprised of iron and the slag is substantially comprised of titanium oxides;
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• (d) cooling and discharging the melted agglomerate containing solid nuggets, slag and hearth conditioning material from said FHM furnace.

A method for producing beneficiated titanium oxides from low-grade titanium materials containing iron and iron oxides thereof, comprising the steps of:

• (a) forming agglomerates comprised of titanium oxides, iron bearing, carbon containing materials, silicon oxide, manganese oxide and sulfur;
• (b) preparing a hearth surface of a moving hearth by charging the hearth surface with metal oxides and carbon containing materials, therein forming a carbon-metal oxide layer;
• (c) charging the moving hearth having the hearth surface with the agglomerates from said forming step onto the carbon-metal oxide layer on the moving hearth furnace;
• (d) pre-reducing the agglomerates in the moving hearth furnace by heating the agglomerates to form pre-reduced agglomerates with high carbon hot metallized iron;
• (e) discharging the pre-reduced agglomerates from the moving hearth furnace at a temperature of about 700° C. to about 1100° C.;
• (f) separating and collecting the pre-reduced agglomerates from the carbon-metal oxide layer, where the carbon containing material is now spent;
• (g) continuously introducing the pre-reduced agglomerates directly from the moving hearth furnace into an electric melter;
• (h) heating and melting the pre-reduced high carbon hot metallized iron agglomerates in the electric melter at a temperature of about 1300° C. to about 1700° C. to form high carbon molten iron and fluid slag which is rich in titanium oxides;
• (i) preventing oxidation of the high carbon molten iron via minimization of the ingress of oxygen containing gas in said continuously introducing and heating steps;
• (j) carburizing the high carbon molten iron to form high carbon molten metallized iron;
• (k) purifying the high carbon molten metallized iron by reducing titanium oxides to titanium II, III or IV and desulfurizing the high carbon molten metallized iron to produce high purity high carbon molten iron product;
• (l) discharging high purity high carbon molten iron product from the electric melter and tapping the melter to draw off beneficiated titanium oxides;
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• (m) maintaining a minimum high purity high carbon liquid iron heel of about 1 to about 4 times the quantity of the intermittently tapped high purity high carbon molten iron product.