Preparation technology of Ti-rich material from ilmenite via method of vacuum carbothermal reduction

A route of vacuum carbothermal reduction of Panzhihua ilmenite was introduced to prepare Ti-rich material. The effects of mass ratio of graphite to ilmenite, reduction temperature and vacuum condition on compositions of products and contents of impurities were investigated. Scanning electron microscope images showed that Mg mainly existed in MgSiO3, MgAl2O4 and MgnTi3−nO5 in ilmenite. Thermodynamic analyses showed that only after TiO2 was completely reduced to Ti2O3, the impurities Mg and Ca could be removed from the products in gaseous state. A Ti-rich material containing 0.39 wt-% Ca and 0.038 wt-% Mg was obtained when Panzhihua ilmenite was reduced with a graphite/ilmenite mass ratio of 0.130:1 at 1773 K for 1 h under the vacuum degree of 10 Pa. X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the final product was mainly composed of Ti2O3 and α-Fe.